Casey Anthony Indicted By Grand Jury For Murder Of Daughter Caylee Anthony

Posted on October 14, 2008

A Florida grand jury has indicted Casey Anthony, mother of missing toddler Caylee Anthony on first degree murder charges. Casey Anthony’s missing 3 year-old daughter Caylee Anthony has not been found.

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Casey Anthony, 22, was charged in an indictment unsealed today with intentionally killing her 3 year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony. Anthony was charged also with aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter and providing false information to law enforcement.

Little 3 year-old Caylee was reported missing July 15 in Orange County. Her mother, Casey Anthony allegedly told her family and police she had not seen her daughter for 31 days and investigators said she had given them changing and inaccurate information since then.

George Anthony, the father of Casey Anthony, testified this morning before a grand jury hearing evidence against his daughter, sources close to the case told ABC News. Casey Anthony’s father, George had claimed his daughter acted unusual around the time Caylee went missing.

The child’s grandmother first called authorities in July to say that she hadn’t seen Caylee for a month and that her daughter’s car smelled like death.

Casey Anthony told authorities that she had left her daughter with a baby sitter in June, and that the two were gone when she returned from work. She says she spent the next month trying to find her daughter and didn’t call authorities because she was scared.

Investigators immediately started poking holes in her story. The apartment where Casey Anthony said she had left her daughter had been vacant for months, they said. They said she also lied when she told them she had been working at an area theme park as a photographer.

If convicted of first-degree murder she could face the death penalty or life in prison. Prosecutors said no decision has been made on whether the death penalty will be sought.

A few hours before the sealed indictment was issued Tuesday, the 22-year-old Anthony stood silently, sometimes crying, as her attorney told reporters she is innocent.

A law enforcement source has told ABC News that investigators found evidence of human decomposition in the trunk of Anthony’s car, and the sheriff’s department has said it believes Caylee is probably dead.

Caylee Anthony’s paternal grandfather testifies in court: