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Judge Sets Bond At $500,000 For Mother Of Missing 2-Year-Old

The bond hearing for Casey Anthony began at 1:30pm on Tuesday and included testimony from several different people, including Casey Anthony's parents, brother and the lead detective on the case. The hearing ended just after 4:00pm.

"I don't see much of a willingness to help in the investigation. Having said that, I don't think that I can please anyone in this bond hearing," said Judge Stan Strickland. "I'm setting the bond at $500,000 plus GPS."

Only one of the charges Anthony faces is a felony; the other two are misdemeanor charges. Normally, someone facing those charges would have been released on bond right away, but investigators had asked that she be held in jail hoping that she'd feel some pressure to tell them where her daughter Caylee is. That has not happened.

Casey Anthony reported 2-year-old Caylee missing last week. However, Casey said she hadn't seen her daughter in more than a month and insisted she had left the child with a babysitter. Orange County sheriff's deputies have been searching for the child and say they're frustrated by a lack of cooperation from Casey Anthony.

"When was the last time you saw Caylee?" Casey's attorney Jose Baez asked Cynthia Anthony, Casey's mother, during Tuesday's hearing.

"Well, I thought it was June the 8th," Cynthia Anthony replied. "I was adamant it was June the 8th up until last evening, when it was brought to my attention by the deputies that it could be June the 15th, Father's Day."

Cynthia Anthony testified on the stand for nearly an hour before her husband and son briefly testified.

Detective Yuri Melich, the lead detective on the case, then took the stand. He testified about a car used by Casey Anthony that was found in an Orange County parking lot Friday afternoon.

"I actually went into the car to smell what the smell smelled like," testified Detective Yuri Melich, Orange County Sheriff's Office. "I was a homicide detective for two years with the Orange County Sheriff's Office. From my experience, the smell that I smelled inside that car was the smell of decomposition."

Detective Melich also revealed that investigators had found hair samples in the trunk of the car that could have belonged to little Caylee and offered evidence that Caylee may have suffered from abuse.

When asked about that evidence after the hearing, Cynthia Anthony said, "I have a bruise. Am I abused?" The Anthonys continue to insist they believe their granddaughter is alive.

Casey's lawyer claims that Casey can be more helpful to investigators if she's out of jail and that's what he argued to Circuit Judge Stan Strickland, saying that the charges don't fit the no-bond status.

Casey Anthony's attorney has told Eyewitness News that she will talk to investigators if she is given immunity from prosecution, but that's not something that investigators can promise and, at this point, there's no indication that any deal like that is in the works.

The law requires that the suspect post ten percent of the bond amount, or $50,000. But then, if she misses any court appearances, she, or her parents, who have said they would try to post the bond, would have to forfeit $500,000.

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