Pieces of a tiny skeleton found in swampy woods can tell investigators one thing: Missing 3-year-old Caylee Anthony was killed.
What they can't help explain, authorities said Friday, is how or when she died.DNA tests conducted on remains found by a utility worker last week less than a half-mile from where the child lived matched Caylee's genetic profile, a county medical examiner said. But the only clue they give about her death is that her bones didn't suffer trauma, said Orange County Medical Examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia .
"Bottom line is, folks, no child should have to go through this," Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary said.
The discovery of the child's remains came after months of searches, twists and turns in the investigation. Caylee's mother, 22-year-old Casey Anthony, was indicted in October on first-degree murder and other charges, even though no body was found. She has insisted that she left the girl with a baby sitter in June, but she didn't report her missing until July.
A search team said they did not check the wooded area sooner because it was under water from the summer's heavy rains. But the utility worker who provided the tip, Roy Kronk, said he had contacted the sheriff's office in August to report that he had seen "something suspicious, a bag, in the same area."
What they can't help explain, authorities said Friday, is how or when she died.DNA tests conducted on remains found by a utility worker last week less than a half-mile from where the child lived matched Caylee's genetic profile, a county medical examiner said. But the only clue they give about her death is that her bones didn't suffer trauma, said Orange County Medical Examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia .
"Bottom line is, folks, no child should have to go through this," Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary said.
The discovery of the child's remains came after months of searches, twists and turns in the investigation. Caylee's mother, 22-year-old Casey Anthony, was indicted in October on first-degree murder and other charges, even though no body was found. She has insisted that she left the girl with a baby sitter in June, but she didn't report her missing until July.
A search team said they did not check the wooded area sooner because it was under water from the summer's heavy rains. But the utility worker who provided the tip, Roy Kronk, said he had contacted the sheriff's office in August to report that he had seen "something suspicious, a bag, in the same area."
Snake Scared Deputy, Co-Worker Says
The utility worker who made the discovery -- and has not yet been identified -- first called in a tip to Crimeline on Aug. 11, saying he spotted a suspicious bag partially submerged on the side of Suburban Drive, near the area where he later found the skull and human bones.
"The deputy responds out to the scene, takes a look at the area, monitors the area, surveils the area to see what's available here for them to find. (The deputy) does not find anything, and then cleared the call," Orange County sheriff's Capt. Angelo Nieves said.
The same utility worker then called in the same tip on Aug. 12. A detective received the information but did not respond to the area, Local 6 News reported.
"They had information at that time that a detective was handling it, that the area had been searched -- which the area had been searched previously by cadaver dogs we understand -- but exactly what area we are still trying to determine," Nieves said.
The meter reader called in the same tip for a third time on Aug. 13, and an Orange County sheriff's deputy went to the wooded area to search for the bag but encountered a large snake and turned back, clearing the scene a short time later, according to the co-worker.
The same utility worker then called in the same tip on Aug. 12. A detective received the information but did not respond to the area, Local 6 News reported.
"They had information at that time that a detective was handling it, that the area had been searched -- which the area had been searched previously by cadaver dogs we understand -- but exactly what area we are still trying to determine," Nieves said.
The meter reader called in the same tip for a third time on Aug. 13, and an Orange County sheriff's deputy went to the wooded area to search for the bag but encountered a large snake and turned back, clearing the scene a short time later, according to the co-worker.
"That's where we're trying to determine the thoroughness of the follow-up," Nieves said.
The worker then returned to the woods on Dec. 11 -- four months after placing his first tip -- and discovered the bag. He picked it up, and a child's skull rolled out. The worker called the dispatcher who he works with, and his boss placed a 911 call about the finding.
The worker then returned to the woods on Dec. 11 -- four months after placing his first tip -- and discovered the bag. He picked it up, and a child's skull rolled out. The worker called the dispatcher who he works with, and his boss placed a 911 call about the finding.
The following is text of part of the conversation the worker had with dispatch:
Meter reader: I'm in the wooded area down by the school. I need you, like, now. I just found a human skull.
Dispatch: OK. I talked to the sheriff's department. They got somebody coming down there. Do not do anything that could cause any attention whatsoever. Just stay right there and they'll meet with you.
Meter reader: Understood. 10-4.
Dispatch: OK. I talked to the sheriff's department. They got somebody coming down there. Do not do anything that could cause any attention whatsoever. Just stay right there and they'll meet with you.
Meter reader: Understood. 10-4.
The meter reader, who has been pulled from his job so he can avoid publicity, is not considered a suspect in the case, Nieves said.
Nieves also said more skeletal remains found on Thursday appeared to be those of a small child.
Nieves also said more skeletal remains found on Thursday appeared to be those of a small child.
Nieves said accusations made by Casey Anthony's defense team that the search site is being held by authorities longer than necessary are not true. He cited the fact that more remains have been found as proof.
"This is a perfect example of why the public and media should not be prejudging the case," Black said. "I would imagine the meter reader should get an attorney before the sheriff's office accuses him of a crime."
"This is a perfect example of why the public and media should not be prejudging the case," Black said. "I would imagine the meter reader should get an attorney before the sheriff's office accuses him of a crime."
CNN show host Nancy Grace, a former attorney who has been following the Caylee case closely, said the new information could lead to doubt in the minds of jurors if the case goes to trial.
"The remains were not there earlier when the area was cleared apparently by police and cadaver dogs, and therefore, the remains were put there while tot mom, Casey Anthony, was behind bars, ruling her out. That is an obvious argument," Grace told Local 6 News.
"If we missed a window of opportunity, we don't know," Sheriff Beary said. "I'm not throwing anybody under the bus because we don't know."
"The remains were not there earlier when the area was cleared apparently by police and cadaver dogs, and therefore, the remains were put there while tot mom, Casey Anthony, was behind bars, ruling her out. That is an obvious argument," Grace told Local 6 News.
"If we missed a window of opportunity, we don't know," Sheriff Beary said. "I'm not throwing anybody under the bus because we don't know."
It took authorities several days to analyze the remains found last Thursday, and some are still undergoing tests. Some of the bones were as small as a pebble and had been scattered, and the fragments were hard to find by excavators who searched on their hands and knees, authorities said.
Dr. G. Medical Examiner
Garavaglia ,the star of cable TV's "Dr G: Medical Examiner" , said authorities concluded Caylee was killed through DNA tests and "circumstantial evidence." But she said she was certain this was homicide, not an accident, and didn't expect further testing to reveal a specific cause.
"I wouldn't have issued the report if I wasn't sure," she said.
A jail chaplain told the girl's mother that the remains were Caylee's before the news conference began. Her attorney, Jose Baez, was with her at the jail shortly after.
"This is her private moment," Baez said. "This is her life she's trying to battle through right now."
The case captivated the Orlando community where the little girl's family lived, and Caylee has been a staple on national news as her grandparents pleaded for tips, promising that the girl was still alive.
Volunteers and investigators mounted several searches through the summer and fall, looking at wooded areas near Orlando International Airport, local parks and even the grounds where the bones were found.
Caylee's grandmother first called authorities in July to say she hadn't seen the girl, whose third birthday passed shortly after her disappearance, for a month. Her daughter's car smelled like death, she said.
Police immediately interviewed Anthony and soon said everything she told them about Caylee's whereabouts was false. The baby sitter was nonexistent and the apartment where Anthony said she had last seen Caylee had been empty for months. Anthony also lied about where she worked, they said.
Other troubling details emerged: Photos surfaced of Anthony partying after her daughter went missing. Friends said she was a habitual liar, but also a good mother.
Last month, the Orange County State Attorney turned over almost 800 pages of documents showing someone used the Anthonys' home computer to do Internet searches for terms like "neck breaking" and "household weapons."
In mid-March, someone searched Google and Wikipedia for peroxide, shovels, acetone, alcohol and chloroform. Traces of chloroform, which is used to induce unconsciousness and a component of human decomposition, were found in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car during forensic testing, the documents say.
Brad Conway, an attorney who represents George and Cindy Anthony, Casey's parents, said they will cooperate with investigators.
"They know now their precious granddaughter is safe and can serve as a guardian angel to protect missing children and their families," Conway said.
If convicted of first-degree murder, Anthony faces an automatic life sentence as prosecutors have announced they will not seek the death penalty. Her trial is scheduled for March.
Without knowing how the girl died, a defense lawyer can suggest to a jury that labeling Caylee's death a homicide is only speculation, said A. Russell Smith, a Jacksonville attorney and immediate past president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
"Juries are particularly conscientious in homicide cases because the penalties are so severe," Smith said. "So, to the extent that there are gaps in critical evidence, it makes the prosecutor's job much more difficult."
"This is her private moment," Baez said. "This is her life she's trying to battle through right now."
The case captivated the Orlando community where the little girl's family lived, and Caylee has been a staple on national news as her grandparents pleaded for tips, promising that the girl was still alive.
Volunteers and investigators mounted several searches through the summer and fall, looking at wooded areas near Orlando International Airport, local parks and even the grounds where the bones were found.
Caylee's grandmother first called authorities in July to say she hadn't seen the girl, whose third birthday passed shortly after her disappearance, for a month. Her daughter's car smelled like death, she said.
Police immediately interviewed Anthony and soon said everything she told them about Caylee's whereabouts was false. The baby sitter was nonexistent and the apartment where Anthony said she had last seen Caylee had been empty for months. Anthony also lied about where she worked, they said.
Other troubling details emerged: Photos surfaced of Anthony partying after her daughter went missing. Friends said she was a habitual liar, but also a good mother.
Last month, the Orange County State Attorney turned over almost 800 pages of documents showing someone used the Anthonys' home computer to do Internet searches for terms like "neck breaking" and "household weapons."
In mid-March, someone searched Google and Wikipedia for peroxide, shovels, acetone, alcohol and chloroform. Traces of chloroform, which is used to induce unconsciousness and a component of human decomposition, were found in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car during forensic testing, the documents say.
Brad Conway, an attorney who represents George and Cindy Anthony, Casey's parents, said they will cooperate with investigators.
"They know now their precious granddaughter is safe and can serve as a guardian angel to protect missing children and their families," Conway said.
If convicted of first-degree murder, Anthony faces an automatic life sentence as prosecutors have announced they will not seek the death penalty. Her trial is scheduled for March.
Without knowing how the girl died, a defense lawyer can suggest to a jury that labeling Caylee's death a homicide is only speculation, said A. Russell Smith, a Jacksonville attorney and immediate past president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
"Juries are particularly conscientious in homicide cases because the penalties are so severe," Smith said. "So, to the extent that there are gaps in critical evidence, it makes the prosecutor's job much more difficult."
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