Missing Fla. Girl's Mom Re-Arrested
The mother of a missing Florida girl was back in jail on check fraud and theft charges just over a week after being released on bond for charges related to her daughter's disappearance.
Orange County Sheriff's Office investigators took Casey Anthony into custody at her home Friday night. She was being held on $3,000 bond and was charged with uttering a forged instrument, fraudulent use of personal information and petty theft, Capt. Angelo Nieves said.
According to sheriff's office reports, Anthony used a friend's checkbook to buy items at Target and Winn-Dixie, and to write a check for cash in July.
"She used checks that did not belong to her," Nieves said.
The 22-year-old, who was released from jail on $500,000 bond last week, has already been charged with child neglect, making false statements and obstructing the investigation into her daughter's disappearance.
"The allegations surfaced during the investigation but we had to do our due diligence," Nieves said of the new charges.
Police say Anthony is a person of interest in the disappearance of her daughter, 3-year-old Caylee, who hasn't been seen since mid-June. She did not report her daughter missing until July.
Beth Karas, a crime reporter for TruTV, told CBS Early Show anchor Bianca Solorzano, said that holding Anthony on these new charges may be a way for police to squeeze her for more information, especially after DNA evidence indicates that a hair found in the trunk of her car is linked to her missing daughter.
But that evidence may be circumstantial, Karas said. "You know, hair is shed easily by all of us and transferred easily. While it's a little bit of evidence that maybe the toddler was in the trunk, it's not conclusive, because it could have been transferred on an item in the house and then placed in the trunk."
Much more serious are reports that investigators found signs of human decomposition in the car.
But if that is the case, can a case be made against someone if there are no remains found?
"People are prosecuted around the country without bodies," Karas said. "It's not common but it is done and there are successful prosecutions."
Attorney Slams "Grandstanding" By Law Enforcement
At a press conference outside the Anthony family home, Casey Anthony's attorney called her latest arrest "grandstanding" on the part of law enforcement.
"They are not searching for anyone," attorney Jose Baez said. "They are disingenuous."
Several people from a California bail bonds company helped Anthony post bond, saying she might be more likely to talk about her daughter's disappearance if she were released from jail. But a bounty hunter with the California company said Friday he no longer believes the girl is alive.
"Absolutely not," Leonard Padilla said.
Clearwater-based bondsman Albert Estes, who shares the same surety group as Padilla's company and helped post Anthony's bond, did not immediately return a phone message.
Anthony family spokesman Larry Garrison called the arrest a "three-ring circus."
"Casey's attorney, Jose Baez, diligently tried to contact authorities to surrender his client," he said. "The arrest and the drama at the Anthony home tonight only added insult upon injury for the family of the kidnapped child."
The State Attorney's Office and Anthony's attorney had discussed granting her limited immunity, according to e-mails from prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick. Under the offer, Anthony would provide statements to investigators, but prosecutors couldn't use them against her in court. However, they could use any evidence they find as a result.
"There are different types of immunity," Karas said. "It doesn't mean she doesn't get charged, scot-free. They'd want to know where that body is. The deal is, you come talk to us. Anything you say to us won't be used against you. We're not going to stand up in court and say, 'She told us this.'
"However, she has to lead them to the body or the remains or else no deal. It's off. Bring us to her."
Burdick said the offer is set to expire Tuesday.