Suburban Drive - Four Years After

Suburban Drive is not far from Orlando International Airport, so as I left the Gun Rights Policy Conference early Saturday evening, heading for home, I decided to take a peek at where Caylee Anthony’s remains were found. What does it look like today? It’s been over four years since that steamy night in mid-June of 2008, when her tiny body and personal effects were thrown into those woods like a bag of trash.

What I expected to find was something akin to what it looked like back then, dumped beneath a tree in kudzu infested woods, a mere 19’ 8” from the curb. From all of my trips to the site, I never sensed the spirit of Caylee, but I was aware of all sorts of vermin, like snakes, that call the place home. I never wanted to go near it at night because of what may be lurking about.

What I saw Saturday was pretty much what I expected. Soon after law enforcement, anthropologists and forensic teams moved in on December 11, the day she was found by Orange County water utility meter reader Roy Kronk, the place was rendered as bald as the top of my head, as if an exfoliant like Agent Orange had been sprayed throughout. I knew the place would take a number of years to spring back to life and I didn’t expect it to ever look quite like it did that fateful day, before investigators began their work. Mother Nature has taken back what is hers, and for six short months, Mother Nature was more of a mother than Caylee ever had.

To anyone who questions whether she was purposely killed, I will tell you what I heard from prosecutor Jeff Ashton on more than one occasion — you don’t make an accident look like a murder.

You don’t throw a precious little girl into dark and murky woods, either; dead or alive. 

Caylee Marie Anthony. Born 8/9/05. Found at 8905 Suburban Drive.

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To the right of the cross is a tree wrapped in kudzu (Photo 4.) At its base was where Caylee’s skull and personal effects were found, along with other bones. The rest of her skeletal remains were scattered over a half-mile area.

Click photos to enlarge

The Labors of Social Ostracization

IT’S ALIVE! IT’S ALIVE! IT’S ALIVE!

“Osterman’s book and TV spot, although well-intentioned, are ill-timed and done without input and NOT approved by the defense.”

So said a recent @gzlegalcase Tweet from the George Zimmerman Legal Case website in response to the release of Mark & Sondra Osterman’s book, Defending our Friend: the Most Hated Man in America. Mark and his wife are the Zimmermans’ closest friends. Mark considers George his brother. It’s much more than just a mere bromance. From Dr. Phil’s interview:

“George had pure ideals, a nobility of character that I admired. I kind of wanted to be like him,” Mark says. “When I first heard that George had shot someone else, I was extremely shocked. I know that it would have been the absolute last resort.”

I sense a rather strange relationship between Mark O’Mara and his client. I’m certain that the attorney begged his ticket to fame and fortune to refrain from going on The Sean Hannity Show to spill the latest version of his face-to-face with Trayvon Martin. I think Osterman, Zimmerman’s own personal zenmeister, coaxed his li’l grasshopper to take to the airways. Unfortunately, that particular outing did absolutely nothing to enhance his credibility, but I suspect it was God’s plan all along to show the world exactly what made this grasshopper hop. In that regard, Osterman succeeded, and so did God, I guess, because li’l grasshopper ended up winning the hearts of no one. But don’t tell the Ostermans.

That’s why I am inclined to believe that this new book revelation came with George and Shellie’s blessings. Another shot. Any opportunity li’l grasshopper has to expose his name to glaring lights and stardom, he’s all for it. Cha-cha-ching! After all, he took this shooting as his ticket to paradise, as he and his wife alluded to in a taped phone conversation during his initial incarceration at the Seminole County jail, as the money kept rolling in:

“After this is all over, you’re going to be able to just have a great life,” Shellie said.

“We will,” George replied. “I’m excited.”

“Yeah, you should be. You should be excited,” Shellie said. “I wish you were here, of course.”

“I will be,” he said.

“Isn’t it crazy how something like this just makes you put everything in perspective in life?” Shellie said. “It’s amazing how insignificant the things we stress out over are.”

“I agree,” he replied.

Imagine that. They both agreed that the shooting death of Trayvon Martin was so insignificant, it was nothing to “stress out” over. Why, even the second-degree murder charge was nothing but a farce, and this is a complete contradiction of what Osterman told Dr. Phil. Oh, how George cried and cried. What this illustrates to me is that Zimmerman looked up to Osterman as his iconic mentor; the man who would justify his need to be a top cop. While I’m never going to infer that the 28-year-old set out to shoot anyone that night, he had convinced himself that it was a right thing to do given the right circumstances. He was trained. It was pumped into him and he was primed. What better way than to set those circumstances up the right way? His way. This would make him Osterman’s equal. Yes, this was God’s plan; this was his destiny. Osterman would be proud. And in the end, he was.

While I could ostracize the air marshal, I won’t. He has no idea what kind of Frankenstein monster he helped create. He only saw his student’s docile side. Granted, Osterman was once fooled by a con man when he and another Seminole County sheriff’s deputy met Juan Diaz, who convinced them he was a second basemen for the New York Yankees. Sure, the guy took them to strip clubs flashing money, and Osterman ended up losing his job over it in 1998, but that was a long time ago. Certainly, he wouldn’t be deceived again. Would he?

I think so. But still, I won’t hold it against him. Not personally. Even in the 1931 horror movie, we could feel some compassion for Dr. Frankenstein, who didn’t set out to create evil, but in the end, he still came to the beast’s defense and lost whatever innocence was left. While I am convinced Osterman is a fool for believing Zimmerman’s alibis, we all tend to put faith in our friends; some more than others, and there remains that inherent element of naiveté. We want to think people are well-intended. How many professionals — doctors, lawyers, airline pilots and, yes, federal agents — find out their spouses have been cheating on them long, long after the fact? Let’s face it, Zimmerman is a natural born liar. While you may question Osterman on his judgment, I think I’ll be looking at something else that hit me like a brick; something he said on the Dr. Phil show. It may be meaningless, but still…

“When I first heard that George had shot someone else, I was extremely shocked.”

Someone else? Just how many people has George Zimmerman shot? That triggered my alarm. Where was Osterman’s safety when he was shooting his mouth off? Oh, that’s right, he doesn’t use one. Straight from the hip. Just like li’l grasshopper.

TO EACH THEIR OWN

Speaking of the monsters we create, it’s easy to see what can happen when people let things get out of hand. Caution is thrown into the wind and trouble flares. During the entire time I covered the Casey Anthony case, I watched people go from friendly and mild-mannered to as loony as they come, all in the name of justice for a little girl they didn’t even know. Don’t get me wrong, we all seek justice, but people vary on how intent they are to get it and how far they are willing to go to prove it is their way or the highway. Talk about standing your ground. What is often neglected is that it is up to the court system to decide, not the public, as we shockingly found out when the jury came back with their verdicts at the end of Casey’s trial. Interestingly, as adamant as people were throughout that ordeal, how quickly they moved on.

Because I had a popular blog, I was subject to a lot of scrutiny. I think there’s another blogger who is quite aware of that now. Out of the woodwork came bands of miscreants determined to shut me down. I was gay, I had AIDS, I was a convicted felon and so were my parents. I was a plant for the defense out to take down the sitting judge. One woman had her grandchildren chanting “Death to Marinade Dave!” and she proudly told others. Everyone who dared comment on my blog became targets for attack. One was supposed to be thrust into a snow bank and left to die. It was the most disgusting group of people I had ever run into in my life. Ironically, these very people prayed deeply to God that justice would come for Caylee while they hypocritically spewed hatred on people they didn’t know from Adam.

Here we are, at it again. With Zimmerman, there’s the race factor. There’s gun rights. Emotions are running quite high across a much broader spectrum. There’s politics; liberals against conservatives and Democrats against Republicans, not to mention the NRA and Second Amendment rights. There’s a $10,000 bounty on Zimmerman’s head, dead or alive. We are witnessing character assassinations of the “n”th degree, with “n” being the word that most folks should have thrown away with the dirty bath water they washed their mouths out with long ago. Once again, people are getting hurt in so many God-awful ways. Ironically, one blog opens their day with The Lord’s Prayer before their brood goes on a self-righteous rampage on everyone and anyone who stands in their path. Trayvon was a drug addicted thug dealer with a history of violence. Every single word that comes out of the mouth of George Zimmerman is the Gospel truth. Every word. Yet, they really know nothing about him.

This is my opinion. What they talk about over there is their business. While I certainly disagree with their opinions, they have a right to discuss the case the way they want, although I do draw the line on spreading falsehoods and, particularly in this day and age, republishing copyrighted artwork that’s licensed to someone else, especially when it’s pirated from the website they are attacking that actually paid for the work. This is a real war, folks, and people are going to get hurt.

CLICK TO IMAGE TO ENLARGE

There are also blogs that are intent on implicating others in the crime. We saw it with Roy Kronk during the Casey case. The poor guy was run through the ringer because he found Caylee’s body. Even Leonard Padilla claimed Kronk was involved in some sort of intricate daisy chain. Kronk placed the body there, not Casey. How sad that people who do good things are sometimes burned beyond recognition by a false story that’s so fiery to touch, it blinds some to the truth. Sadly, his life will never be the same. Almost a hero, he’s also seen as a villain.

Look at one of the rumors that’s made the rounds of late. Someone was in the vehicle with George Zimmerman the night of the killing. It was Frank Taaffe. No, it was Shellie. No, it was Mark Osterman. Whoever it was, it has become Gospel to those “fact” finders who choose to buy into it. They need no proof because, so it was written, so it must be true. Call it the Lemmings Doctrine.

The problem with this sort of missive is that it can destroy a person. No doubt, Frank Taaffe has his own monsters to fight, and he certainly needs no further encouragement to go off the deep end, so why push him off the edge? Is it fun to belittle a teetering man?

The fact is, George Zimmerman acted alone. All by himself, he pulled the trigger. Why try to include others? In his book, Mark Osterman wrote that Shellie was at her father’s house at the time of the shooting. She immediately called him while he was out walking his dog in his own neighborhood. He was never at the scene prior to the police showing up. Whether you choose to believe him or not is your own prerogative, but I base my opinion not on what he wrote. Instead, I use common sense, just like what generally guided me throughout the Casey Anthony case. I take my guidance through documentation, evidence and the State. Nothing points to anyone else. Not one shred of evidence.

For example, every piece of trash in the woods where Caylee’s body rested was not attributable to her. That old worn out tire did not come off her car. There was no proof the needle in the bottle ever touched her hands. The State of Florida never used it in any of their documents, and that’s where I put my faith. Nowhere in this present case has the State mentioned an accomplice at all, and until they do, the thought of it is not plausible.

In the meantime, we are not put here on this earth to make a mockery of others, are we? Take it from one who knows; one who’s experienced it — it’s not fun being the target of incessant, never ending ridicule, abuse and lies that lead nowhere but down, especially coming from people hiding behind some really strange faith in a god that not only encourages it, but seems to relish in it. That’s not my God, and it’s as much of a mockery of God as Zimmerman telling Sean Hannity that the shooting was God’s will. How ludicrous.

Tree hugger, Tray hugger, what’s the difference if it’s nothing more than a stupid mind game where all that matters is that YOU win? Plow into everyone in your path!

Cross Posted on The Daily Kos

Snakes and Rats and Spiders, Oh My!

Dr. Eddie DelValle is a humble man. He is the CEO and president of TBC Productions, which focuses on natural healing. He also runs With Love Ministries, a traveling Christian community service organization. Late Saturday afternoon, he was cleaning up the grounds on Suburban Drive, where Caylee Anthony’s remains were found on December 11, 2008. He does this at the request of the Chickasaw Oaks neighborhood, where George and Cindy reside, and for Bring Kids Home, the public charity that aspires to build a memorial on the Suburban site. While you may not recognize Eddie, he organized the Peace Walk for Caylee just hours after her mother was released from jail on July 17 of this year. He also put together the Suburban Drive balloon release, which I did attend, on August 5, Caylee’s 6th birthday. When Michelle Parker went missing, he was in charge of the candlelight vigil held for her on November 20. She disappeared 3-days earlier, on the 17th.

Since I began writing about the Caylee Anthony case, way back in 2008, I have been as pragmatic as possible. I can’t tell you how many times I said that a memorial for her on the site where she was found was not only impractical, it was downright dangerous. I still believe that, but after seeing what Bring Kids Home wants to do, I have softened a bit. While I still believe a memorial would be better served elsewhere, I do admire the plans put forth by the charity. However, one of my main arguments remains the same - that Caylee did not die there, and a memorial would only serve to remind us that she was tossed out like a bag of trash. Literally.

Speaking of Trash

While the Bring Kids Home plan still remains a dream, reality brings me back to the same message I preached when countless people wanted it to be a permanent shrine. There’s a school at the east end of Suburban Drive. Children walk by it during the school year. Granted, the sidewalk is across the street, but leaving countless stuffed animals is very enticing to children. They act as magnets. The ground drops down several feet, and it’s sometimes flooded. In the world we live in today, you could say it’s not user friendly.

I was there Saturday afternoon, watching Eddie clean up. All of the stuffed animals, save one, were tossed into garbage bags. He takes them home and slowly has them, piece-by-piece, hauled away with his household trash. There’s just too much to take at one time. I told him I had a problem with the type of memorial that’s there now because it invites rats, snakes, and other types of vermin that could harm school-age children and unsuspecting visitors who just stop by to pay their respects. Eddie’s wife was sitting in the van, but she told me she had seen a huge spider earlier. Eddie made a good-sized fist and said it was all of that, if not bigger. We all agreed that it’s not the kind of environment conducive for a memorial. Not in its present form, anyway. The new memorial plan is to elevate the land and keep it clean. I’ve seen architectural renderings and they look magnificent, but now, it’s just a repository for filthy stuffed animals and one more very important thing… MOLD. Yes, bags and bags of moldy stuffed animals are thrown away each time Eddie makes the rounds. Mold and mildew is not good for the lungs. It is unhealthy and his message was clear - if you want to bring something in honor of Caylee, bring flowers. Almost every stuffed animal is thrown away, so your money is going to waste. Some of the animals were large, too, probably costing $50 or more, only to be hauled away to spend the their remaining days in a landfill. What a nice reminder.

Why not donate the money spent to a good charity instead? Why not donate money to Bring kids Home if you want the location to be a permanent marker for Caylee? Like I said, only one was good enough to save. Eddie told me that the good ones go to homeless or domestic violence shelters. Why don’t visitors do just that? Stop by and pay your respects; then give. Help others instead of the vermin. I noticed that some of those stuffed animals were ripped into, and stuffing was coming out. What a perfect for rats to collect bedding! Better yet, Eddie said, what a great place to make a bed. How inviting.

Let the pictures tell the story…

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Eddie said he watched a hawk follow me as I drove up, and as I was walking around taking pictures, he tried to point it out to me. He seemed somewhat amazed because the hawk kept it’s eyes on me. “He keeps watching you,” he said. I was rather unfazed, but it was an interesting part of my visit to Suburban Drive. I told him it was the same lightpole OCSO used for measuring where Caylee’s skull rested. It was a fixed point. I distinctly remember those coordinates. 89’ east of the lightpole, 19’8” due south. It’s the 6th photo down in this series - the one with the light brown teddy bear at its base. When I took the pictures of the hawk, his (or her) stare shifted away from me, but he knew I was there. It’s almost as if he proudly posed for my camera. In the bottom image, he seems to be keeping a watchful eye over that sad and lonely place in the woods.

Cautious Observations

I drove down to Carter Glen Condominiums and Townhomes late Saturday afternoon to poke around Dale Smith II’s neighborhood. When I put his address into my iPad 2 TeleNav GPS Plus app, it only directed me to the entrance of the development. While I had no problem gaining entry, I had no idea where to find his building, so I drove around. Fortunately, I did know the number and it didn’t take long to single it out.

Of utmost importance to me is to remind everyone that, while Smith is OPD’s only suspect in the disappearance of his ex-fiancée, Michelle Parker, he is innocent until (or if) a jury finds him guilty of a crime. Also, I cannot forget George and Cindy Anthony in one sense because, like Smith, they declined to take a polygraph test, and it really caused great consternation and suspicion. A lot of people decided right then and there that they were somehow involved in the murder of their granddaughter and of helping to dispose of the body, none of which turned out to be true. To this day, some still believe it. When people begin to argue with me, and they can be quite adamant and boisterous, I tell them to call law enforcement and the State Attorney’s Office to fight. Tell them they got it all wrong. Include Jeff Ashton please, because he exonerated them, too, in his book, Imperfect Justice. In Smith’s case, I’m not going to proclaim him innocent of anything, but since he is the only suspect, I want to look into whether he could be capable of being involved in Michelle Parker’s disappearance. Wherever it leads, my job at this point is not to be opinionated to any extreme; it is to present the facts for your consideration.

First, here are two overhead views of Carter Glen, Phase 2, where Smith resides. In the close-up shot, you can clearly make out his white van sitting in the driveway.

CLICK ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE

It wasn’t until I was ready to leave that I noticed a camera mounted near the entrance gate. I did not see one for exiting the complex. If the Orlando Police Department has a copy of the video showing Michelle pulling into the drive and putting in a code, or if she used an electronic gate opener, that would help to establish when she actually arrived.

While shooting the above pictures, I spoke with a man who had been walking nearby. I asked him if he was familiar with the case and he said he was, but not all that much. I was curious about the buildings. It was my understanding that the complex was made up of condos and townhouses. Were there any apartments? No, he replied. The two ends, on either side, are town homes with 2 levels. They have a single car garage. The middle two are condos and they share a two car garage. When I asked him what he thought happened to Michelle, he didn’t really have a clue.

Moments earlier, when I was in front of Dale’s building, there wasn’t much activity, but some children were playing in the driveway of the next building, to the left of his. I wasn’t about to confront them. Driving around, I did observe other people milling about, but for a Saturday afternoon, it was rather quiet. I was trying to see if it would be easy to commit the sort of crime Dale is suspected of, and to be able to escape unnoticed. On the surface, no, it couldn’t be done, but there were other factors at play. For one thing, he lives in a townhome and he has a two car garage, not a single. Secondly, the neighbor directly next to him has a security camera mounted on the small balcony that overlooks the driveway and street. Surely, Dale must have been aware of that camera on the afternoon Michelle dropped off her twins.

The next image is a still taken from the video shot by the neighbor’s security camera. You can see Michelle’s Hummer as it arrives at 3:18 PM on November 17, the time she was last seen by anyone other than Dale. The photo below that depicts the back of her Hummer with the GLOW decals in place. I took that photo where the vehicle was found abandoned, the next day. The last still shows a Hummer driving in the direction of the exit. It also shows the neighbor’s car in his/her respective driveway. The car has a spoiler that helps identify it. There are a few other observations I’ve made…

There is no GLOW decal or any other decal on the exiting Hummer. This is the only inconsistency reported by media, and it directly implicates Dale. However, I observed two more things that may help Dale. Or maybe not. Please understand, my only job is to find facts, and nothing more.

In the first still, the van is not parked on the street. Where was it? In the driveway? In the second still, the van is parked along the street. Why? Where did Michelle park when she arrived? Why was the van moved at all?

You can speculate all you want about it. You can assume that the Hummer was moved into the garage and the door was shut behind it in order to strip it of anything that directly links it to Michelle, but does anyone really know for sure?

Take a close look at the Hummer as it drives away. Do you notice anything other than the missing decals? How about the spare tire cover, as seen in the photo of fliers attached to the tree as a reference. This Hummer has no cover. Why? Was it removed, too, along with the decals? Or was it an altogether different vehicle?

Clearly, OPD has information we are not privy to. How many people living in Carter Glen own a black Hummer? Or are there visitors? How many black Hummers drove into the complex that day? If it’s not Michelle’s, it had to come from one of the buildings abutting the woods on the west side of the development because there’s no other reason why it would be driven past Dale’s, who lives on a corner lot. Assuming it is Michelle’s, 4:40 PM is a far cry from the time Dale gave police - that he and Michelle both left ten minutes after she arrived, around 3:30. It also negates his statement that he was at his parent’s house at 4:30. From the still, we can’t read the license plate. Most security cameras are not that good. Could law enforcement technicians use software to enhance the tag? All I know is that Dale could not drive the Hummer out of the complex alone. In order to dump it on the other side of town, over 12 miles away someone had to pick him up. Or someone else did it. He had no idea his home would be raided, so why wouldn’t he have driven it off the premises after darkness fell, knowing full well that his neighbor had a security camera that would capture it during the day?

When I left, and since I was down in the area of Suburban Drive, I took a ride over there, and I’m glad I did. That should be my next post. Meanwhile, let’s not jump to any conclusions. Not yet, anyway. Refusing to take a polygraph test is not an admission of guilt. Ask the state of Florida about George and Cindy’s involvement in Caylee’s death. As far as any other evidence that surfaces regarding this case, most definitely, have at it.

The Tale of Laura and the Barbarian Princess

If any of you are familiar with Florence Virginia King, you are aware that she is an American novelist, essayist and columnist from Mississippi. Born in 1936, alas, she put down her pen in 2002. Almost all of her works written under her real name have been non-fiction. You may recall 1975’s Southern Ladies and Gentlemen. You may also recognize her from the historical romance novel, Barbarian Princess, written under the pseudonym Laura Buchanan. Ironically, she’s not the only writer of fiction with that name. Another Laura Buchanan entered the fray more recently; one who seemingly attempted to parlay her name into the bright lights of stardom, tossing good judgment to the wind. She failed miserably and turned out to be the Clifford Irving of the Casey Anthony saga. Irving, in case you don’t know or remember, became famous  - infamous is more like it - for using forged handwritten letters from reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes in order to convince his publisher into accepting a counterfeit “autobiography” in the early 1970s. Hughes came out of the woodwork to prove it was nothing more than an elaborate hoax. Irving spent several years in prison, but later managed to publish some best sellers, including two aptly titled books, Final Argument and Daddy’s Girl.

On October 24, 2009, Laura Buchanan declared, under penalty of perjury, that, “On September 3, 2008, I was a volunteer for Texas Equus Search.” On that fateful September day, she began her odyssey into the treacherous path of this unyielding monster that’s chewed up and swallowed its victims at will. As innocent as Casey’s first victim was, Buchanan’s not one of them, and whether her initial intent was righteous or not, her ship sunk. Today, she’s just another part of the ever-growing, Titanic-sized, Casey abyss.

“On September 3, 2008,” she continued, ”the team in which I was assigned went to Suburban Street in Orlando and searched the area near where the remains of Caylee Anthony were found… I personally searched near the privacy fence and worked my way towards and then beyond where the body was found… It is my opinion that the remains of Caylee Anthony were not there during the time of our search.”

How quickly memories change when facing someone as intimidating as an Assistant State Attorney; intimidating in the sense that they represent the will of the people, and no one is more fastidious than Linda Drane Burdick when it comes to truth and justice. From her first statement under oath to her last, Buchanan’s story wavered dramatically, especially under the skillful questioning of the seasoned prosecutor. Just how did this begin and where are we today?

First of all, by her own admission, she is a “virtual” emergency/law enforcement groupie. She gets high at the sight of flashing lights and blaring sirens. Riding around with the law had been a favorite pastime and after taking a class at the citizen police academy, getting involved became a hobby of sorts. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but at the same time, a lot hinges on where it takes you and how far you want to go. At the end of August, 2008, her husband was scheduled to come to Florida for job related training. She wanted to go far, so she tagged along. Of course, by that date, many people across the country and elsewhere were enamored by the “Tot Mom” story made famous by Nancy Grace and, mostly, by the shocking audacity and hollow gaze of this young and single mother in the news who would ever lose her child, let alone for a month. Caylee was special, too. No child could have looked more angelic. Her wide-eyed innocence and eager smile were plenty enough to melt the coldest heart. There is no doubt in my mind that Laura Buchanan, herself a young mother of three, was one of those who became overtly fascinated and now was her chance. In her mind, I’m sure she felt the same way as all the others, but something took over. Something or someone made her change.

It took around 13-hours to drive from Kentucky to Portofina Bay, the resort inside Universal Studios just south of Orlando. Texas EquuSearch was in high gear and thousands of volunteers had already joined in the search for little Caylee, but they still needed more help. She went to the TES command post the following morning. After her search, she and her husband went to Disney. While waiting for the monorail, she spotted a toddler who she thought was Caylee and reported it to Kid Finders (or OCSO) the following day. That led to her initial contact with Cindy when she called Laura about the sighting. Laura was quick to tell her she and several other searchers had a lot of compassion for the Anthony family. This is where the ball started rolling. It began the back and forth e-mails and phone calls between her, Cindy, George and Mark NeJame, who represented the Anthonys at the time. In one of her initial e-mails to NeJame, she wrote, “I’ve heard so many disturbing things, like George was molesting Casey when she was younger and started to molest Caylee..? That Caylee Could possibly belong to George and or brother Lee???” She also hoped that NeJame had given Cindy and George her e-mails. This message was sent on September 15. In my opinion, it, quite possibly, could have been where Casey got the rather bizarre notion to accuse her father of molesting her, or at least, to plant the seed. I would surely guess the Anthonys discussed the allegations making the rounds while she was home on bond that final month.

Correspondence went back and forth between Buchanan and NeJame beyond the point when the attorney and the Anthonys parted ways near the end of 2008. Meanwhile, she had begun communicating with Jose Baez soon after her supposed sighting. On October 9, Laura sent an e-mail to Jose at the Baez Law Firm. She mentioned being in Florida a month or so earlier and of spotting a girl who looked remarkably like Caylee while waiting to enter either the Magic Kingdom or EPCOT. She lamented that deputies never followed up on her tip because they were no longer looking for Caylee. [This is not factual. While being interviewed by Sgt. John Allen in December, 2009, the lead investigator told me point blank that over 100 law enforcement personnel continued to search for Caylee all over the country up to the date her remains were found.] On Monday, January 12, 2009, she sent Jose this e-mail:

“I spoke with a person that I hadn’t spoke with in a while and she has told me some very strange information and I think we need to talk again ASAP… Oh my god this is horrible… [REDACTED]

By now, she was thoroughly ensconced in the mechanisms of Casey’s defense. So much so, that she sent him pictures of herself and one with her 5-year-old daughter. Life was good and she was getting more cozy with each passing day.

I can’t say for sure who started fishing first, but by all signs, it seemed that they both swallowed each other hook, line, and sinker. She had something for him and he coaxed her for more. She had become an integral part of Casey’s defense, only she had no idea about the massive freight train that was going to hit her; the Burdick Express. Maybe, just maybe, GULP, she didn’t look exactly where Caylee was discovered. No, not precisely.

There were several passages in Buchanan’s August 2010 interview with the prosecutor that immediately sent red flags up as far as I’m concerned, and it showed Burdick’s adeptness and professional flair. The first one dealt with Buchanan’s statement that she searched behind the Anthony home. That’s impossible because the Anthonys have a privacy fence that keeps their backyard, well, private. Totally so. There’s no gate that opens up to the beyond. The beyond, by the way, is nothing more than a private backyard in the adjacent development, also filled with homes.

The second one was a real laugher. She told the Assistant State Attorney that, while she was following the end of the privacy fence on Suburban Drive, she stepped on an alligator. Obviously, this woman has a wild imagination, wilder than any of the inhabitants of the Suburban Drive woods. I addressed the issue of gators early on, soon after I began writing about the case. Alligators generally live in or very close to bodies of water. By that, I mean lakes, ponds, rivers and swamps. Although the end of the woods where Caylee was found had been under water at the time of the searches, it is not in that state all year round, and that’s not very inviting to a gator. They like to remain dead still for hours with just the slightest movement of their eyes so their target isn’t aware they’re even there. Then they pounce. What Buchanan described was that the reptile was resting in the brush. That’s just not true. They want to see what’s going on all around them, so they lurk in the open or with just their eyes above water level. They take their quarry to the bottom of the water to rot before eating. Generally, anyway. I’ve been in the Orlando area for almost 30 years, and let me tell you, I have never stepped on one. Not only that, I WOULD NOT stand there waiting for the creature to run away like she said it did. I’d be gone in a flash - as far away as I could get. Also, there’s a school nearby. Snakes are hard to control, but gators? No way, not as much as they love to sun themselves in the open.

So, two of her stories have been debunked, and now, we come to the matter at hand. That would be the twisted TES report that somehow became a lie. Who instigated it, Baez or Buchanan? That’s the subject of another post, but a search volunteer by the name of Lori Fusco told investigators that she asked Buchanan if she was working for Baez. “She wouldn’t give me a straight answer. She wanted to know everything that I knew, which I didn’t know much. She kept asking me if I was in that area and if I was on a team with her which she should have known.”

How true, and in a recorded phone call with searcher and friend Ann Pham, Buchanan was questioned about her inconsistencies.

Ann Pham: The first one they showed me is legitimate. Right?

Laura Buchanan: Both of them are legit. Somebody else had that form before I had it because they (expletive) spelled my name wrong.

Ann Pham: Your name is signed at the top, Laura. That’s what I don’t understand. It’s got your actual signature and it matches the signature from the first form.

Laura Buchanan: I don’t know that I can’t explain.

Shades of forgery! Ultimately, several of her friends were convinced she wanted to be in the media spotlight, and at Caylee’s memorial service, she seemed more concerned about being on TV than she did about Caylee. Jose Baez was just hit with a new ethics complaint, according to the Florida Bar; quite possibly stemming from the comedy of errors regarding former Anthony attorney Brad Conway and those persnickety TES search documents. What a mess. Did Casey’s lead attorney allegedly misrepresent facts to the court? Time will tell, but it’s common knowledge that he has skated very close to the edge on several occasions, and so far, he’s managed to keep clear of falling through the ice. What about this time? It’s been harshest of winters, but Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow yesterday. An omen? No, and no karma moment, either, but will the ingratiating Laura Buchanan come to his rescue as spring rolls in? Not a chance. Today, she, too, could be facing charges, and she tells her friends she wishes she never got herself involved in this mess.

Good old Florence King. She said it best. “People are so busy dreaming the American Dream, fantasizing about what they could be or have a right to be, that they’re all asleep at the switch. Consequently, we are living in the Age of Human Error.” It sounds just like Casey’s defense. Back to square one. Where, oh where, will it turn?

New Discovery Today

Casey Journal ink
Journal part 2
Phone call-threat to Amy H
Map Photos
TES images
Bone Analysis of Caylee Anthony
Computer Evidence Inventory Doc
Adhesive Tape Analysis
Property form-TES
Subpoena TES Laura Buchanan
Transcript of Phone call to Laura Buchanan
Transcript of Laura Buchanan
Transcript Kasper Jordan
Emails Mark NeJames-Laura Buchanan
More Emails

Cindy’s Letters to Casey
April 2010
July 2010
August 2010
Oct 2010

Laura Buchanan-Interview Aug 2010 Part 1
Laura Buchanan-Interview Aug 2010 Part 2
Miscellaneous Interview Transcripts

Robyn Adams Interview, Part 1 | Part 2

Thank you, Jonathan!

“I saw her eyes and they looked evil.”

- Laura Buchanan (hearsay)

This is what Buchanan’s friend, Anne W. Pham, told OCSO Corporal Yuri Melich in a lengthy transcript released today. Dated October 10, 2010, she said  that she and Buchanan searched Blanchard Park in September 2008. Buchanan claims she saw Casey after her release from jail on bond. Pham also remembered Buchanan telling her that searches off Suburban Drive were called off because “the water levels are really high.”

Pham told Melich that Buchanan told her Jose Baez only called her one time. Later, she claimed Buchanan said, “After all this [CENSORED] that I’ve heard after I wrote that statement…I could care less what they do to her…You know? All I did was tell the truth. Did not mean I was on her side… I simply feel sorry for, for George and Cindy.”

Pham also told Melich that she found it a little odd that Buchanan “was so interested in being a part of, you know, being on CNN and, um, the Nancy Grace show or whatever.” She described her as being a sensationalist. Buchanan had told the defense that she searched the area off Suburban Drive where Caylee was found. This was contrary to what Tim Miller of TES told searchers; that the water level was too high and to leave it alone. So far, everyone else who searched the woods also said the precise spot was too flooded to look, and Buchanan may have changed her tune when the State Attorney’s Office questioned her in a deposition.

“We would signal to each other, talk to each other, through hand gestures.”

- Robyn Adams

Adams figures prominently in today’s release in the form of audio recordings of a February 10, 2010 interview with an FDLE investigator. If you recall, she is the wife of a former Altamonte Springs police officer. In 2008, they were arrested after they were discovered to be operating a marajuana growing operation in Chuluota, a small community east of Orlando. Transcripts of her interviews were made public earlier. She was sentenced to 10 years inside a federal prison in Tallahassee.

In a series of recorded jail conversations between Adams and a friend, the friend asked her if she was still rooming with Casey and wondered how she was doing. Adams told her she didn’t seem good.

From the Orlando Sentinel:

Adams said Anthony didn’t seem good.

“I’m praying for her every day,” she said.

The friend asked if Anthony is a basket case. “Pretty much,” Adams said.

The woman told Adams authorities found a body and believe it to be Caylee.

“I had a feeling that it might be, but nevertheless, it’s not my place to judge her,” Adams said.

“I’ve had a complete change of heart Mel since I’ve been here.”

In another conversation with her dad, Adams asked her father to pray for Anthony and her parents.

“They really need it,” Adams said.

 

Many of the released photos show shots taken from a helicopter over search areas after the toddler’s disappearance. Some of the other photos show TES ground searches.

 

A threatening phone call was made to Casey’s former friend, Amy Huizenga. Most of the call is inaudible.

“You need to listen and listen good,” a male voice threatens. “Those charges need to get dropped.” This was in reference to the check fraud charges she brought against Casey.

UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY AS INFORMATION COMES IN

'twill be a very good year

Monday Monday

The defense filed a NOTICE OF HEARING on Thursday of last year. The judge’s hearing (the man in charge) is set to begin on Monday at 1:30 PM and it is going to be a long one. Twenty-Two motions are on the wish list in Courtroom 23A. How many will actually be heard is anyone’s guess:

1. Motion to Restrict Telephoto Courtroom Photography and Audio Eavesdropping of Defense
2. Motion to Compel Judicial Administrative Commission to Pay for Transcripts of Oak Ridge National Laboratory Depositions
3. Request Court Determine Bad Prior Acts of Mr. Kronk based on Motion Papers filed
4. Motion in Limine - Sexual Interrogation of Lazzaro
5. Motion in Limine - Sexual Interrogation of Rusciano
6. Motion in Limine - Speculation of Defendant Knowledge by Texas EquuSearch
7. Motion in Limine - Neighbor and Shovel
8. Motion in Limine - Table Knife
9. Motion in Limine - Character of Stealing and Lying
10. Motion in Limine - Tattoo
11. Motion to Suppress - Jail Interview of Defendant by “Agents”
12. Motion in Limine - Jail Video of Announcement
13. Motion in Limine - Jib Jab Cartoon
14. Motion in Limine - Defendant Myspace “Diary of Days”
15. Motion in Limine - Cindy Anthony Myspace
16. Motion in Limine - Decomposition Chemical (Frye)
17. Motion in Limine - Chloroform (Frye)
18. Motion to Exclude - Root Growth (Frye)
19. Motion for Subpoena Duces Tecum RE: Joe Jordan
20. Motion to Exclude - Post Mortem Banding
21. Motion to Exclude - Stain in Trunk of Car
22. Motion in Limine to Exclude K-9 Alerts

In the MOTION FOR APPLICATION FOR SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM, the defense has targeted Joseph S. Jordan. A subpoena duces tecum is a court summons ordering a named party to appear before the court and produce documents or other tangible evidence for use at a hearing or a trial.¹ It is true, as the motion states, that “the defense is charged with the responsibility of investigating their case in an effort to search for the truth.” Snicker if you must, but in every trial, civil and criminal, both sides will insist they are telling the truth and, invariably, it is up to the court to decide.

Early last month, the defense deposed Joe. He testified that he was an active blogger on the Internet, and that he frequented the Websleuths and Scared Monkey forums that discuss various issues of the Casey/Caylee Anthony case The defense alleges that Jordan published photographs on both sites and on his now defunct personal Web site, josephsjordan.com. The motion further states that, “Some of the photographs illustrated areas searched that were near or on Suburban Drive.” The defense states that the “photographs are material to the preparation of the defense in this cause.”

Joe Jordan is listed as a Category A witness for the state. Both sides consider him to be crucial to the case. The problem the defense has at the moment is simple; Jordan published his images on Internet forums. The images have since been removed. Since they were made public by Jordan and not the state, they are not subject to discovery under Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, 3.220 [See page 98/197]. The defense wants those pictures. Why? Do they show dry land?

Alleged photos by Joseph S. Jordan

CELL PHONE IN BAG?

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

It should prove to be a great one.

Two Years Later

I shot a new video of the site where Caylee was discovered on December 11, 2008. It’s hard to believe it was two years ago. I really wanted to get this published earlier, but it takes time to edit and upload to YouTube. I hope it’s worth the wait.

A lot of lawyering, a lot of frustration

I arrived at the courthouse about a half hour early, early enough to breeze through security and go up to the 23rd floor. That afforded me ample time to have a good conversation with one of the senior reporters covering this story before others arrived. We talked about several issues related to the case, and one of the topics dealt with journalists and bloggers. There are a lot of crazy nuts out there, this person said, and because of where he and other media people work, be it a newspaper, network or local TV, cable or radio, there is a shield that protects them from harassment and stalking. Not so with bloggers. Bloggers are out in the open and ripe for attack, especially if they identify themselves like I have. In this, there’s no envy; instead, it’s more like a bit of empathy and compassion. Earlier this week, a letter was received by the court via U.S. Mail that attacked this blogger and the media folks were aware of it; some, but not all. It’s safe to say it went absolutely nowhere except the file that holds all correspondence related to this case, such as the letter from Joy Wray sent to Judge Stan Strickland before the nut jobs came out en masse. Fortunately, media people recognize when something is newsworthy, when it’s junk, and when to never give psychos their day in the sun. That letter came straight from a psycho; too cowardly to sign a name, let alone a real one, as if it would have mattered in the least. This is the type of correspondence that never makes its way to a judge. Instead, it collects dust in perpetuity.

Red Huber walked in and sat down in a chair. There are sofas and chairs outside the courtroom, more so on the 23rd floor, for people to relax before or after court proceedings. Sometimes, attorneys are interviewed there. I asked Red about cameras in the courtroom. He said he was the official photographer in the media pool, meaning that he is the only person who has a hand-held still camera. It’s quite a fancy one, I might add, but he is an incredible professional. I asked him about cell phones. He told me he caught an unnamed TV journalist holding up an iPhone (or something similar) while a hearing was in progress. He called on a deputy and the deputy warned the person that if something like that ever happened again, they would be barred from the courthouse. Red Huber is very proud of his work, and rightfully so. Imagine a low-res cell phone image plastered on a station’s Web site. That would have gotten the network affiliate in a bit of hot water because it’s not something Red would ever take credit for.

The media folks were called to file into the courtroom and as we did, the reporter said blogs are becoming more interesting and pertinent, and he makes it a point to read them, including mine. It’s part of the job now. That was encouraging.

We entered the courtroom before any of the attorneys, so when they meandered in, all at once, we said our hellos to both the prosecution and defense. I had a good feeling that Ann Finnell would make her debut and she did. I think it’s important to remember that the opposing sides seem to only be that way in the courtroom, not that they do an awful lot of socializing together outside, but I sensed a more relaxed attitude and an almost warmth that dissolved once the sides took to their stations and donned their battle gear, which was nothing more than notebooks and pens. Oh yes, this is the 21st century and I know Jose has an iPad. One of the first things I noticed was that video monitors all around the courtroom were turned on for a change. That was great because it afforded us a good view of the proceedings. In some of the video footage you got to view, you probably saw some of us looking up. That’s why. They were hung above us. We could actually see the faces for a change.

When Casey walked in, flanked by officers of the court, she was noticeably thinner. Her hair was pulled back tightly in a bun and she seemed to have a sad, blank stare, from what I could see before she sat down and faced forward. Within a minute, George and Cindy shuffled in and took their seats in the second row. Their attorney, Mark Lippman, sat directly in front of me. Cindy wore a burgundy colored blouse that complemented George’s lavender colored shirt.

Chief Judge Belvin Perry, Jr. arrived on schedule, although I was a bit disappointed he was 4 minutes early. Oh well, my late Grandfather Landis was always punctual, and like him, sometimes early. God knows, I’d rather be early than late.

The judge wasted no time getting the hearing under way. The first order of business was the MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION. Jose stood and walked to the podium. This is a motion Casey’s defense has fought for more than once, and it’s been shot down each time. Today was no exception, but I sensed a little more desperation in Jose’s voice. It was either that or a combination of frustration and exasperation. Personally, I don’t care what Casey eats from the commissary. I don’t fret over her personal mail and phone records, but inquisitive minds want to know, and because it’s the law, there’s no bending it - or in this case, Bent, as in Bent v. Sun Sentinel. Jail records are under the control of the legislative branch, not judicial. This time, Jose spent the brunt of his argument on mail from family, friends and strangers. He cited the case of the city of Clearwater (City of Clearwater, 863 So. 2d at 154) where it was deemed that private e-mails stored on a government computer are not automatically public record. In other words, private documents are not necessarily public record by virtue of their placement on an agency-owned computer.

OK, fine, but there’s more to it. When the attorney for Orange County Corrections got up to speak, she stated that she was merely there looking for clarification; that the county had no real dog in the fight, but she saw a problem. Here is where I have seen the defense go in the past, and it’s one of the reasons why some of the motions are lost, in my opinion. The county objected to the mail issue because the motion didn’t request it.

The Orlando Sentinel attorney then took center stage. One of the questions I posed to Red Huber before the hearing began was about this motion. I asked him if this was pooled, too, so all media outlets would share in the costs of any and all proceedings. He said, no, this is solely the Sentinel’s job. The attorney reminded the Honorable Judge of his ORDER DENYING MOTION TO SEAL JAIL VISITATION LOG RECORDS, back on June 7. There, the judge wrote:

The Court agrees with the County that a criminal defendant’s desire to “maintain the confidentiality of visitors” in a high profile case does not qualify as a lawful exemption. As mentioned supra, the Defendant’s Motion does not provide any statutory exemption or legal authority for the Court to “seal” documents that constitute public records.

Instead, the counsel for the defense entreats the Court to judicially create an exemption in this case. The Court is unable to acquiesce. Any exemption from the Florida Public Records Act must originate in the legislature and not by judicial decision.

Friday, Judge Perry took the Bent decision into consideration, but he only denied the Motion for Reconsideration at this time, and those were his precise words, which leads me to think the door is not completely closed. There is no doubt the Bent issue will be argued for years to come, but he did settle the matter of audio recordings. He said he will treat Bent as if it is final. In other words, audio recordings will remain under wraps. All other jail correspondence will be accessible to the public. So it shall be written, so it shall be done.

§

The judge brought up the JAC motion and Ann Finnell stood up and walked over to the podium. She is a rather stately woman, but not statuesque by any means. In my opinion, she appeared to be a quintessential professional, and she was. She had a certain elegance and a homey warmth about her, if that makes any sense. She looked like she would be a wonderful mother, aunt and grandmother, although I know nothing about her personal life. Well, hardly anything.

It was during this back and forth the judge became most animated, although he didn’t direct it at Finnell, in particular. It was the entire defense, but that’s because the course of the conversation really opened up into other areas, such as TES, which had nothing to do with her. Jose and Cheney piped in and it seemed to frustrate her a little. She made it clear she was not involved at all in TES documents at one point, but prior to the confusion, Judge Perry asked her about the 384 hours the court approved for Jeanene Barrett. She said that at least a half to a third of those hours had been exhausted. She said she needed at least another 100 hours. The judge said he wants to first see how the hours had been utilized before giving her more.

He asked her about the 300 hours given for private investigators. This is when Jose responded. He said he needed an additional 300 hours. The judge said he realized some of those hours will remain under seal, but where did they go? Jose said that many TES searchers didn’t want to get involved. The judge was pretty clear about all those searchers. The defense is not to go on some sort of fishing expedition. “You’re not to go drilling for oil when there’s no sign of oil anywhere.”

The majority of searchers were nowhere near the remains. He said he had provided them a special master. They were given the right to read the records and take notes. Jose said the defense had made over 1,000 phone calls and talked to 150 who were in the area. The “area” was confusing because there was no clear definition of what constituted the Suburban Drive vicinity. Cheney Mason said a lot of searchers looked on their own; that they had uncovered people from leads and some people who did not report everything to TES. Even so, some TES records were not clear. He questioned whether Texas EquuSearch kept bad records or whether they hid info on purpose? Here is where the judge made his succinct statement du jour:

“I am not going to write an open check. I am just not.”

Ann may have been rightly frustrated because it was at this point she said her motion was not about TES. It was about mitigation, such as medical history and school records. The judge interjected. “Miss Finnell, I’ve done a few capital cases.”

He turned to Cheney and asked him if he was planning on sticking around for the penalty phase, if Casey’s convicted. Cheney nodded and said yes.

Throughout this exchange, I looked up at the monitor to see the looks on the attorneys faces and that of Casey. Quite clearly, she was shaken. This was, shall I say, a bit more vibrant and enlightening and here she was in the thick of it. Sticking around for the penalty phase. Oh my. She seemed distressed to a certain degree. We’re coming to the end of the year and May is on its way. Time is running out.

When the dust settled, the new attorney continued. She made more requests, and in the end, Judge Perry approved some things and denied others. Her travel expenses from Jacksonville will not be covered. If she wants to send an investigator to Ohio, try phone calls first. There are investigators in that state that will work at JAC rates and not have to fly from Orlando or anywhere else. For each request, he wants to know the reason why he needs to spend taxpayers’ money. He said he’d be happy to take ex parte material into consideration and under seal. (Ex parte is generally a judge meeting with one party and not the adversary.)

The JAC attorney got up and rebutted. He said that the penalty phase funds may be premature at this time, but the judge disagreed. In the matter of capital cases, the cart comes before the horse, he said. With regard to psychiatric evaluation, he awarded $2,500 at this time. He said the standard exam may not be enough at the JAC rate. He approved $500 for copies and an additional 60 hours, or$2,400, for a private investigator. Most of all, he said he remains open for more expenditures, but he needs to know where all the money is going now and where it’s been going.

In several instances, I noticed that the defense does not come prepared. The judge asked how much money was spent on public records, for instance, and Jose didn’t know. At some point, he said something that caused a stir in the gallery. Sitting on the other side, someone roared in laughter. Jose turned to look, but the person was quickly silent and lost in the crowd. In my opinion, this was very rude. This is a murder case and not a joke, no matter what that narcissistic person thought of him. No one should ever laugh in a courtroom unless the judge prompts it. The murder of a child is a very serious matter. To be honest, I felt a little for Baez. The day wasn’t going his way and he told the court of the endless, almost thankless, hours the entire defense has been working. It was their life, and he was emotional about it. It did lighten up, though, however brief.

Judge Perry granted Linda Kenney Baden’s request to withdraw from the case, but not before he asked if there were any objections.

“I liked working with her,” Jeff Ashton exclaimed.

“Pardon?” Judge Perry asked.

“I liked working with her,” Ashton repeated. That brought out a few light chuckles, but here it was a lighthearted statement and the laughter was not made out of ridicule.

“Mr. Baez, it sounds like Mr. Ashton has objected,” the judge retorted.

“Yes, it does,” Baez joked.

§

Linda Drane Burdick asked for and received a 30-day extension on depositions. Some of the witnesses are difficult to track down. The defense is having the same problem. One of the things I’ve noticed about Judge Perry is his flexibility. As stern as he is, he’s very giving and in some cases, willing to bend.

The judge then reminded Ann Finnell that the deadline for listing all penalty phase witnesses is November 30, a mere month away. All of the state’s experts have not been deposed yet and that deadline is November 19. A Frye hearing was brought up. Jeff Ashton said he wants to sit down with the defense and go over what is new and what is old science. A Frye hearing is used to determine if novel scientific evidence is reliable enough to be permitted in court. It can also apply to testimony from psychologists and psychiatrists, not just forensic experts.

There was a brief exchange between Cheney Mason and Linda Drane Burdick that became somewhat heated. It was over some of the TES records still being held by law enforcement. Burdick explained that the defense had ample opportunity to look it over when their experts were in town back in July. Of course, the defense said they had never received property forms or receipts and Burdick begged to differ. Oh, the frustration of it all! The judge gave the defense two weeks to settle the matter. He then asked the state if all evidence had been disclosed. If not, everything must be disclosed by January. This means that there will be no surprises weeks before the trial is underway. The defense should have everything in its hands by the first month of 2011.

Before the judge gave the attorneys a rather stark speech, I must say that this was the first hearing I’ve attended where Linda Drane Burdick came across loud and clear. It was my observation that she seemed more agitated and direct, and certainly, more animated than I had ever seen her before. With that, the judge stated that if the depositions are not done on time, the court will set dates and he will make sure they are not convenient for either side. He said he will start running the case at his pace, so everything had better be ready come January.

“All the posturing has been nice, but come January, it will be according to my schedule.” And that means the schedule could be at midnight. If there are people unwilling to be deposed, by golly, the court will make them comply. Judge Perry means business.

§

A somewhat odd thing occurred near the end. The gentleman next to me started to breathe deeply. When I glanced his way, he was sound asleep. To me, this had been an exciting day, one filled with many highs and lows. Just like in church, the judge gave a great sermon, but I guess there’s always a chance that someone will be napping in the crowd. The hearing lasted two hours, as I expected, but I’m used to them by now. He wasn’t, obviously.

As we got up to leave, an attorney was loudly castigating one of Orlando’s best known journalists about dumb questions. It wasn’t pretty. I gravitated toward Ann Finnell. I had a message for her from her niece or cousin, but darn if I didn’t write it down. Instead, I had a senior moment and I asked her if she would be attending the next hearing. She said she would, and I said I would remember next time. She asked me how I knew it was really a relative and I said because I know her real name and she told me you would recognize it. She was more than friendly and open. She’s every bit a class act and you could tell that she’s a very caring person. Who better to handle a penalty phase? If Casey is found guilty, she’s in good hands. Anyway, it’s her cousin, and I’m sorry. I’ll make sure I get it right next time, and that will be on November 29, at 1:30 PM. I’ll be there. I need to set the record straight.

Creepy Cryptic Casey, Part 2 Revisited

This is an article I wrote and published 12 August 2009. Because someone sent a printed copy to Casey at the jail and it was released in the discovery documents yesterday, I decided it might be worth another look. You will find it HERE. You need to go to page 177-179 to view the scanned pages. Thanks, Snoopy. She’s the one who found it last night and alerted me.

Also, bear in mind that we know more today than we did last August. Some people don’t believe Casey was smart enough to conjure up a scheme like this. Others believe she was. I just presented some rather odd coincidences. Some people believe in them and others don’t. This is for you to discern.

At the bottom of this post are 2 videos titled Driving Miss Casey. I had to break it into 2 parts because of size limits on YouTube. In a nutshell, I took a ride down Chickasaw Trail to Hopespring and Suburban Drives. Included are a real time trip from the Anthony house to the woods, a real time trip from the end of Hopespring to the abandoned house the PIs scoped out, a trip to Lee’s old place, and the famous Amscot parking lot with a bonus shot of the dumpster. You can read the article first or last, but I really do want you to read it because it should prove to be thought provoking.

CREEPY CRYPTIC CASEY, PART 2

In January of this year [2009] I wrote an article titled, Creepy Cryptic Casey. It was there that I mentioned the two dwellings at the corner of Suburban and Hopespring Drives. The last two lots on the east side of Hopespring are numbered 4709 and 4701, respectively. In the house next to the end lives Zenaida Almodovar. In the corner lot lives Peter Gonzalez. Some could safely surmise that by combining parts of the two names you come up with Zenaida Gonzalez. Is this merely a coincidence or is there more to it?

Images can be enlarged by clicking them

In that January article, I wrote, “Some people love to play mind games. They bask in the unfounded superiority they feel they have over you. They love to tell riddles. Casey was good at that.” I continued by including something she said to Lee in response to one of his questions:

LEE: What do you think, where do you think. You think Caylee’s ok right now?

CASEY: My gut feeling? As mom asked me yesterday and even Jose asked me last night, the psychologist asked me this morning that I got through the court, um in my gut she’s still ok. And it still feels like she’s close to home.

What was most unusual about Casey’s statement was that she was absolutely right. Caylee was very close to home as we later found out, and it is here that I am going to expand on those words by showing you evidence that could, quite possibly, shed more light on why the state of Florida charged her with premeditated first-degree murder. As puzzling as Casey tried to be, did she hand out clues and truisms at the time of her initial oral and written statements to investigators? Was she telling the truth? In some cases, I allege that she was absolutely telling the truth.

On her first written statement to law enforcement, dated July 16, 2008, she said something that appears to have come from her mother. Cindy told her (and deputies) that she hadn’t seen Caylee since June 9. Casey wrote the same thing on her statement. She also wrote that she hadn’t seen her daughter in 31 days. Obviously, June 9 to July 15 add up to more than 31 days and later the confusion over the date was remedied by the Father’s Day video taken on June 15. What is extremely interesting and telling to me is one thing she wrote in particular…

“… between 9am and 1pm…”

Could that be true? Oh, I’m not talking about the time George said he saw them leave the house together on June 16. I’m looking at the time Casey wrote, between 9 and 1. Take a good look at where Caylee’s body was found:

Caylee’s body was found behind Zenaida’s and Gonzalez’s properties by meter reader, Roy Kronk. Look at the two addresses again:

4709

4701

Casey kept insisting that Zenaida Gonzalez had her. What are the two house numbers and who lives there? Where was Caylee found?Between 9 and 1. Incidentally, this information, like the Zenaida MySpace page, was right under our noses all along, and it came from akfhome27 when she left a comment on my YouTube video of Suburban Drive. The video can also be viewed on my blog.

Are those nothing more than mere coincidences that can readily be shrugged off? One could easily think so, except I have one more thing to show you. This one came to me by way of Laura, a frequent contributor here. Wait until you get a load of this…

Laura Googled 8905 Suburban Drive and this is what she came up with…

At first glance, it really seems innocuous enough, but look at that number again. 8905. Wasn’t Caylee’s birthday on Sunday, August 9? Wasn’t she born in 2005? Isn’t that 8/9/05? Isn’t that where the body was found?

Driving Miss Casey Part 1 (YouTube link)

Driving Miss Casey Part 2 (YouTube link)

An Observation

Someone on one of my other sites mentioned something that, I think, is very interesting. Most of us know by now that Casey and her friends played in the woods across from Hidden Oaks Elementary School. One of her friends, KioMarie Cruz, stated that the area was also a burial ground for pets. Today, those woods are separated by a chain link fence. So are the woods on the north side of Suburban Drive.

From my own observations of the area, and from video footage I've shot, the land directly across the street from the school is the only place elevated enough to keep from flooding. Because of this, I maintain it was the spot where neighborhood children played, before the fence was installed. They did not play close to where Caylee's bones were found.

From Pipkin50:

"... I would like to remind everyone who is interested in this case that Casey went past these same woods for 6 years while attending elementary school. Basically, for her entire life she had observed this particular area of woods go unattended by the land owner---making it a perfect place, in her mind, to dispose of a body. 'Close to home' =down the street in the woods 'safe' = protected with 3 layers of bags."

That's a compelling thought. Living close to Hidden Oaks, Casey walked that path almost every day during the school year. I know some people think Casey said 'close to Hope' and that may be true, but it's not necessarily relevant because Caylee was found close to home and close to Hope, short for Hopespring or Hidden Oaks Elementary School, which is a stretch in my opinion. 'Holt' has also been tossed around.

Do you think that, because she walked by those woods every day, she was very familiar with that precise spot? It's solitary, and I would say, very uninviting and downright spooky to young children. As I said, the woods on the school side (north) are separated from the street by a fence, and there is a sidewalk on that side only, not on the south side where the body was found. From my trips to the neighborhood, I have not seen any children walking on the south side of Suburban as they leave school, particularly in that area where snakes and other vermin abound. Prior to December 11, 2008 and beyond, were children told by their parents and teachers to avoid that place because of inherent dangers, and to always stay on the sidewalk? Has it been drilled into them? Remember, that's also the age when children have wild imaginations and the boogeyman exists. Was it the perfect spot because no one ever went in there? Until Roy Kronk came along?

Could this observation be presented by the prosecution at trial, or is it too vague and not relevant?

Two Years Later

Yesterday afternoon, I took a ride down to Suburban Drive to shoot a video of the site where Caylee Marie Anthony was found. It's been two years since she was tossed into those dark and lonely woods like a bag of trash and I wanted to give you another glimpse at how it might have looked back then. I knew before going there that the area where her bones were discovered had been cleared out and that it would never look the same as then. The last time I was there, on April 24, most of the foliage was still dead from winter and what I would guess to be some kind of defoliant. As you will see, it doesn't look like that any more.

Needless to say, I was out of the house and off the computer most of the day. No time to play silly games. When I returned, I had to edit the numerous scenes I shot to make it transition well and make sense.

I know I'm a day late, but better late than never...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DIANA!