Death of Caylee Anthony

Caylee Marie Anthony (August 9, 2005 – June 2008) was an American toddler who lived in Orlando, Florida, with her mother, Casey Marie Anthony (born March 19, 1986), and her maternal grandparents, George and Cindy Anthony. On July 15, 2008, she was reported missing in a 9-1-1 call made by Cindy, who said she had not seen Caylee for 31 days. According to what Cindy told the operators, Casey had given varied explanations as to Caylee's whereabouts before eventually saying she had not seen Caylee for weeks. Casey later called the police and falsely told a police dispatcher that Caylee had been kidnapped by a nanny on June 9.^: 1587 Casey was charged with first-degree murder in October 2008 and pleaded not guilty.

On December 11, 2008, Caylee's skeletal remains were found with a blanket inside a laundry bag in a wooded area near the Anthony family's house. Investigative reports and trial testimony varied between duct tape being found near the front and mouth of the skull. The medical examiner listed Caylee's cause of death as "homicide by undetermined means".

The state sought the death penalty for Casey. Relying largely on circumstantial (i.e. non-eyewitness) evidence, the prosecution alleged Casey wished to free herself from parental responsibilities and murdered her daughter by administering chloroform and applying duct tape to her nose and mouth. The defense team, led by Jose Baez, chiefly focused on challenging the prosecution's evidence, calling much of it "fantasy forensics". The defense stated that the child had drowned accidentally in the family's swimming pool and that George had disposed of the body. On July 5, 2011, a jury found Casey not guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and aggravated manslaughter of a child, but guilty of four misdemeanor counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer. With credit for time served, she was released on July 17, 2011. A Florida appellate court overturned two of the misdemeanor convictions on January 25, 2013.

The case attracted substantial attention from the public^{: 1590–91}—Time magazine described it as "the social media trial of the century". Nancy Grace, who referred to Casey as "tot mom", was notable for the attention and corresponding publicity she gave the case.^{: 1598 n.94} The not-guilty murder verdict was met with public outrage, with hundreds of thousands posting to social-media accounts in response.