Casey Anthony Case Continues to Make Waves in South Florida

Fort Lauderdale criminal lawyer William Moore has been closely following the Anthony murder case. Casey Anthony is a 25-year-old Florida woman who has been accused of murdering her toddler, Caylee Anthony. Caylee’s remains were found several months after her disappearance, not far from the Anthony home where Casey and Caylee had resided with Casey’s parents. Casey Anthony was charged with her murder, however, prior to the discovery of the young girl’s remains.

The prosecution claims that entries made in Casey Anthony’s diary are from the time period immediately following her daughter’s death. In the entries, Anthony appears to be documenting excitement at new changes in her life and states that she has “no regrets” and that she knows she “made the right decision.” Anthony also wrote that she was “the happiest [she had] been for a very long time.” However, it was not yet clear if those entries were in fact made at the time the prosecution has alleged that they were. An “03” notation in the diary has caused speculation that the diary’s entries could pre-date Caylee’s death — or even her birth. The prosecution is also rumored to plan on presenting evidence regarding a tattoo obtained by Anthony shortly after her daughter’s death. The tattoo, placed on her left shoulder, reads “Bella Vita” — beautiful life in Italian, according to Broward criminal lawyer Moore.

The trial is being held in Clearwater, Florida, rather than the Orlando area, in the hopes that Casey Anthony will be able to obtain a fair trial. Jury selection has begun. The judge has indicated that he hopes to begin swearing in jurors once 12 regular jurors and three alternates have been selected. Ultimately, the court hopes to have six alternate jurors sworn. The jurors will be transported to Orlando, where the trial will actually take place. The court has suggested that time is of the essence, because of the media attention devoted to this matter: the longer the jury selection process takes, the more likely that the potential jury pool will be tainted by hearing or reading opinionated materials regarding Anthony’s innocence (which is presumed until and unless she is found guilty) or suggested guilt. The state is seeking death in this case; as a result, there was no possibility of a plea bargain. At this point, Anthony’s defense strategy remains unknown.