Ex-judge says Casey Anthony may have accidentally killed her daughter
Casey Anthony. Photo by Orange County sheriff’s office via Wikimedia Commons.
A former judge who presided over the murder trial of Casey Anthony relates a theory about the death of Anthony’s 2-year-old daughter.
Anthony was acquitted of murder, aggravated manslaughter and aggravated child abuse in the 2011 trial. But the former judge, Belvin Perry Jr., says the 2008 death of Caylee Anthony might have been accidental, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
Perry said Anthony had done online research about how to use chloroform as a sedative. “There was a possibility that she may have utilized that to keep the baby quiet … and just used too much of it, and the baby died,” he told the Orlando Sentinel.
Chloroform had been found in the trunk of Anthony’s car. A scientist said the chemical is associated with decomposition. The child’s body was found five months after her reported disappearance in a wooded area about a half-mile from her home. The defense had contended that Caylee accidentally drowned in the family swimming pool, and a relative covered it up.
Perry stressed that his theory is one of many about Caylee’s death. “As I’ve expressed, the only person that really knows what happened was Casey,” Perry told the newspaper.
Although she was acquitted in her daughter’s death, Anthony was sentenced to four years in jail for lying to police. The lies concerned working at the Universal Studios Florida theme park, about leaving her daughter with a nanny, about leaving her daughter with friends, and about receiving a phone call from the girl.
