« SARAH LUNDE REST IN PEACE | Main | DNA Tests From Car Trunk Indicate Caylee Anthony Is Dead »
August 27, 2008
Decomposing body was in Casey Anthony's trunk, air-sample tests show
Topics: NewsAir sample tests from Casey Anthony's car show a decomposing human body was inside the trunk, a sheriff's office official just confirmed.
Officials have offered Anthony a partial immunity deal if she admits 3-year-old Caylee Marie died as a result of an accident. If she takes the deal, any information Anthony provides to law-enforcement could not be used against her in prosecution.
Danielle Tavernier, spokeswoman for the Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office, said they are not disclosing any details of their prosecution, but that Anthony had been "invited to our office to shed light on the disappearance of the victim in this case."
During a bond hearing in July, investigators said they had found strands of hair, a questionable stain and bits of dirt in the trunk of Anthony's white Pontiac. That evidence led Orange County Sheriff's Office investigators to think it's possible that Caylee Marie is dead and her mother may be involved.
Family members initially said the smell came from a rotting pizza. But a 911 recording shows Cindy Anthony -- the missing girl's grandmother -- said it "smelled like there's been a dead body in the damn car."
Air samples from her car were sent to the University of Tenn. Body Farm and those results confirmed the investigator's preliminary conclusions.
Investigators with the Orange County Sheriff's Office met with Cindy Anthony and her daughter at attorney Jose Baez Kissimmee office today. Cindy Anthony walked out with Baez at 4:45 p.m. without commenting to reporters. Baez said he would make a public statement at the Anthony's east Orange County home later today.
Investigators left the attorney's office shortly afterward without commenting.
Casey Anthony had left Baez's office more than an hour earlier, wearing dark sunglasses, a shirt with Caylee Marie's picture and the court-ordered monitoring device on her ankle.
Meanwhile, California bounty hunter Leonard Padilla said Anthony has made no effort to help him find Caylee, he told the Orlando Sentinel on Wednesday.
"She has not communicated with us at all," Padilla said. "She has no interest in communicating with us."
Padilla, whose nephew posted Anthony's $500,200 bail last week, said if he knew what he knew today about the case, and that the 22-year-old wouldn't cooperate with him, he probably would not have helped get her out of jail.
Padilla said he still thinks Caylee is alive and that Anthony handed her off to someone. But he does not believe the toddler was dropped off with a baby-sitter named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez, which is what Anthony has told detectives.
"We don't believe [Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez] exists," Padilla said.
"[Anthony's] got an invisible friend that's called Zenaida," he said. "She's got a world that she lives in that's apart from ours."
Padilla said he is using Anthony's cell phone records as part of his own investigation and has spoken to some of her friends.
Additional information from WESH TV:
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Much-anticipated results from the University of Tennessee Body Farm reveal that the smell in the trunk of Casey Anthony, mother of missing 3-year-old Caylee, is human decomposition, a law enforcement source said Wednesday.
Air sample tests taken from Anthony's trunk were sent on Aug. 10 by the Orange County Sheriff's Office to be analyzed at the University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Facility, known as the "Body Farm."
According to two sources, including one with direct knowledge of the investigation, initial tests on that foul odor in Casey Anthony's car have come back positive for human decomposition. The finding is the first scientific signal that a dead body was in Casey Anthony's car.
Click here to find out more!
The Body Farm is a place where human corpses are left to the elements, and every manner of decay is fully explored. More On Body Farm
The missing toddler's grandmother, Cindy Anthony, originally told investigators that her daughter's car smelled like a dead body, but later the Anthonys argued that it was a combination of rotting pizza and cleaning fluid left in the hot car for 15 days that was responsible for the smell.
Casey Anthony was arrested in mid-July and was held on charges of child neglect until a Sacramento-based bounty hunter posted her $500,000 bond on Aug. 21.
A source in law enforcement close to the investigation also told WESH 2 that time is running out on a deal offered by the state to give Casey Anthony limited immunity for statements she makes, if it would help investigators find Caylee. The State Attorney's office confirms an offer was made on Wednesday afternoon. According to WESH 2's source, that deal will run out at the end of the business day on Thursday afternoon.
Casey Anthony has been a focus in the investigation into her daughter's disappearance since her arrest. Investigators also searched the back yard of her parents' home.
George and Cindy Anthony have stood by their daughter from the beginning and have repeated the message that the priority should be finding Caylee, passing out fliers and wearing T-shirts featuring the missing toddler's face.
A prosecutor said that these odor results are admissible in court as forensic evidence, but he cautioned that they are nearly as strong as DNA evidence. DNA tests are not yet back on the hair and stain from Casey Anthony's car.
Meanwhile, a couple from Pt. Saint Lucie, searching what has come to be known as Casey Anthony's "hide out." Deep within the 430 pages of documents released this week, was testimony from a childhood friend, that she and Casey Anthony used to come to a special place in the woods near her home to spend time. These amateur detectives said they drove to the area to take a look.
"To find this little girl and if she's deceased she can be properly buried," Janette Holgerson said, adding that she personally did not have any hope that Caylee was still alive.
Casey Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, told WESH 2 that he will be making a statement from the Anthony family home later on Wednesday night.
Posted by admin at August 27, 2008 5:28 PM
