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, Caylee was reported missing in a 9-1-1 call made by Cindy, who said she had not seen the child for thirty-one days. According to what Cindy told police dispatchers, Casey had given varied explanations as to Caylee's whereabouts before eventually saying she had not seen her daughter for weeks. Casey later called police and falsely told a dispatcher that Caylee had been kidnapped by a nanny on June 9. 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 residence. 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 of Florida sought the death penalty in its case against 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. Casey's defense team, led by Jose Baez, chiefly focused on challenging the prosecution's evidence, calling much of it "fantasy forensics". The defense stated that Caylee 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, Casey 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". Television personality Nancy Grace, who referred to Casey as "tot mom", was notable for the attention and corresponding publicity she gave the case.^{: 1598 n.94} Casey's acquittal on the murder charges was met with public outrage, with hundreds of thousands posting to social media accounts in response.