http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,469785,00.html
A skull and bones found near the Florida home of missing child Caylee Anthony are those of the little girl and she was the victim of a homicide, the Orange County medical examiner said Friday.
"With regret, I'm here to inform you that the skeletal remains are those of the missing toddler," said Dr. Jan Garavaglia.
The manner of death was ruled a homicide by unknown means, according to Garavaglia.
Garavaglia determined the bones found in a privately-owned wooded lot were 2-year-old Caylee's through nuclear DNA analysis.
"They are not intact. They are all disarticulated. They are completely skeletonized," the medical examiner said. She said some of the bones found were "tiny."
Click here for photos.
The news caps a six-month-long search for the little girl ? who was last seen in mid-June but wasn't reported missing by her mother until a month later. The mother, 22-year-old Casey Anthony, is behind bars without bond and charged with her daughter's murder.
The child's next of kin, including her maternal grandparents George and Cindy Anthony; Casey Anthony and other relatives, have been notified of the findings, according to the medical examiner.
"The bottom line is, no child should have to go through this," said Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary, his voice breaking. He called it a police chief's "nightmare case."
Ahead of the announcement, Florida police released evidence photos from the Caylee Anthony crime scene, among them one of a book they say they found in the woods that the child had been photographed reading before she vanished.
The pictures were among several cops publicized before the afternoon news briefing.
The book is among numerous pieces of evidence Orange County Sheriff's deputies say they found in the wooded area where Caylee's remains turned up.
Also Friday, police re-interviewed a county water meter reader who earlier this month discovered what likely are the girl's remains.
Detectives deny the worker is a suspect in the child's death.
The worker found bones Dec. 11 near the Orlando house where then 2-year-old Caylee lived with her mother and maternal grandparents. He also had called in a tip to police on Aug. 11, 12 and 13, telling them to look in the same area for the remains, police said.
Orange County Sheriff's officials say they believe the unidentified tipster was in the area on Dec. 11 following up on his own lead when he discovered the bones and skull.
Capt. Angelo Nieves said police are questioning the worker again, as well as the sheriff's deputy who took the original call. They want to know more about what prompted him to contact authorities and how they handled the tips.
The meter reader first called Aug. 11 to report a bag by the side of the road, MyFOXOrlando.com reported. A deputy wasn't able to locate the worker, the station said.
The following day, the meter reader called a crime hotline. The information was passed on to the Orange County Sheriff's criminal investigation division.
And on Aug. 13, the utility worker called cops a third time, MyFOXOrlando.com reported. He met with police, and a deputy did go into the wooded area to investigate the worker's claims, but didn't find anything. The scene was then cleared as a possible place of interest in the case.
There is now an internal probe under way within the police department into how the matter was handled.
"There are a lot of questions about the thoroughness of that response," Nieves told MyFOXOrlando.com.
Investigators were back at the wooded crime scene Thursday in their exhaustive dig for evidence. They said late Thursday they found additional bones that appear to be from a child.
Meanwhile, a representative for the defense lawyer of Caylee's mother Casey Anthony accused police of lying to the press and suggested they could be tampering with evidence at the site where a little child's bones were found.
Todd Black, a spokesman for Anthony's lead attorney Jose Baez, complained that investigators won't let the defense team observe their work at the scene where remains believed to be those of Anthony's daughter Caylee were discovered.
"Some of their comments are blatant lies," Black told FOXNews.com. "History has shown that in some cases authorities have been caught tampering with evidence. That is something we hope is not happening. We're not accusing anyone of anything."
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A skull and bones found near the Florida home of missing child Caylee Anthony are those of the little girl and she was the victim of a homicide, the Orange County medical examiner said Friday.
"With regret, I'm here to inform you that the skeletal remains are those of the missing toddler," said Dr. Jan Garavaglia.
The manner of death was ruled a homicide by unknown means, according to Garavaglia.
Garavaglia determined the bones found in a privately-owned wooded lot were 2-year-old Caylee's through nuclear DNA analysis.
"They are not intact. They are all disarticulated. They are completely skeletonized," the medical examiner said. She said some of the bones found were "tiny."
Click here for photos.
The news caps a six-month-long search for the little girl ? who was last seen in mid-June but wasn't reported missing by her mother until a month later. The mother, 22-year-old Casey Anthony, is behind bars without bond and charged with her daughter's murder.
The child's next of kin, including her maternal grandparents George and Cindy Anthony; Casey Anthony and other relatives, have been notified of the findings, according to the medical examiner.
"The bottom line is, no child should have to go through this," said Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary, his voice breaking. He called it a police chief's "nightmare case."
Ahead of the announcement, Florida police released evidence photos from the Caylee Anthony crime scene, among them one of a book they say they found in the woods that the child had been photographed reading before she vanished.
The pictures were among several cops publicized before the afternoon news briefing.
The book is among numerous pieces of evidence Orange County Sheriff's deputies say they found in the wooded area where Caylee's remains turned up.
Also Friday, police re-interviewed a county water meter reader who earlier this month discovered what likely are the girl's remains.
Detectives deny the worker is a suspect in the child's death.
The worker found bones Dec. 11 near the Orlando house where then 2-year-old Caylee lived with her mother and maternal grandparents. He also had called in a tip to police on Aug. 11, 12 and 13, telling them to look in the same area for the remains, police said.
Orange County Sheriff's officials say they believe the unidentified tipster was in the area on Dec. 11 following up on his own lead when he discovered the bones and skull.
Capt. Angelo Nieves said police are questioning the worker again, as well as the sheriff's deputy who took the original call. They want to know more about what prompted him to contact authorities and how they handled the tips.
The meter reader first called Aug. 11 to report a bag by the side of the road, MyFOXOrlando.com reported. A deputy wasn't able to locate the worker, the station said.
The following day, the meter reader called a crime hotline. The information was passed on to the Orange County Sheriff's criminal investigation division.
And on Aug. 13, the utility worker called cops a third time, MyFOXOrlando.com reported. He met with police, and a deputy did go into the wooded area to investigate the worker's claims, but didn't find anything. The scene was then cleared as a possible place of interest in the case.
There is now an internal probe under way within the police department into how the matter was handled.
"There are a lot of questions about the thoroughness of that response," Nieves told MyFOXOrlando.com.
Investigators were back at the wooded crime scene Thursday in their exhaustive dig for evidence. They said late Thursday they found additional bones that appear to be from a child.
Meanwhile, a representative for the defense lawyer of Caylee's mother Casey Anthony accused police of lying to the press and suggested they could be tampering with evidence at the site where a little child's bones were found.
Todd Black, a spokesman for Anthony's lead attorney Jose Baez, complained that investigators won't let the defense team observe their work at the scene where remains believed to be those of Anthony's daughter Caylee were discovered.
"Some of their comments are blatant lies," Black told FOXNews.com. "History has shown that in some cases authorities have been caught tampering with evidence. That is something we hope is not happening. We're not accusing anyone of anything."
Moderator Note:
Normally this post would have subject to lock for lack of OP commentary. However, the OP has put in his own commentary just below as a reply
Fern
AnandTech P&N Moderator
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