Search:
StoriesVideos
Home News 

Story

Bounty Hunter Questions Decision To Post Bond For Casey Anthony

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 – updated: 1:14 pm EDT August 27, 2008

In an interview Tuesday night on CNN's Nancy Grace, bounty hunter Leonard Padilla said he doesn't think he would have bonded Casey Anthony out of jail if he had read the information contained in 400 pages of documents released related to the case.


PADILLA TALKS: Questions Decision To Bond Out Casey Anthony
VIDEO REPORT: Bounty Hunter Questions Decision To Bond Out Casey
CASEY VISITS JAIL: See Images | Watch Raw Video
ROTTEN PIZZA THEORY: Second "Rotten Pizza Theory" Experiment Completed
ARCHIVE: Read Previous Reports On Anthony Case
MESSAGE BOARD: Talk About Anthony Case

"After reading it, I don't believe I would have talked my nephew Tony Padilla into posting the bond. And I don't think I would have come to Orlando after reading that. I mean, I'm still hoping that little girl's alive, but there's a lot of information in those 400 pages that would lead those people to believe something different," bounty hunter Leonard Padilla said during an interview with CNN's Nancy Grace.

The released court records reveal how Orange County Detective Yuri Melich grilled her, saying she could seem "cold, callous and a monster who doesn't care, who's just trying to get away with something." He told her Caylee "may not be the way we or the way your family last remembers her. We need to find out from you where Caylee is. This, this, this right now is just, this has gone so far down hill and this has become such a mess."

Casey replied, "Uh-huh." Then Melich said, "We need to end it. It's very simple. We just need to end it." Casey answered, "I agree with you. I have no clue where she is."

The documents also show Casey's parents actually led investigators to search a new depression in the dirt near their backyard pool after they had done their own search and that they had their own lawyer the day after her arrest. The documents include a poem Anthony wrote on July 7, eight days before she reported her daughter missing: "What is given, Can be taken away. Everyone lies. Everyone dies."

The State Attorney's Office released the more than 400 pages of documents Monday. Eyewitness News found out Casey wanted to give little Caylee up for adoption before she was born, but her mother, Cindy Anthony, was against it. Casey's own mother called her a sociopath and warned friends to stay away from her. Casey's ex-fiancé told detectives she had deleted more than 200 pictures of her with her daughter Caylee that were posted online.

According to the transcripts, hours before Casey's arrest one detective told her, "Caylee's out there somewhere and her rotting body is starting to decompose." Casey replied, "I know my mom will never forgive me. I'm never going to forgive myself because there's that chance that I may not see Caylee again and I don't want to think about that."

The documents also show investigators grilled Casey about what happened to her daughter, telling her after the lies she told them they were thinking either she "gave Caylee to someone that you don't want anyone to find out because you think you're a bad mom or something happened to Caylee and Caylee's buried somewhere or in a trash can somewhere and you had something to do with it."

Casey kept insisting to investigators the last time she saw Caylee was June 9. The detective told her, "The longer this goes the worse it's gonna be for everyone, everyone."

Casey kept insisting she doesn't know what happened to her except that she was last with Zenaida the nanny, who no one knows. She also told investigators she's absolutely petrified.


DEPUTY FIRED OVER ALLEGED RELATIONSHIP WITH CASEY

An Orange County deputy was fired following allegations that he had a secret affair with Casey Anthony. The lead investigators working on Caylee Anthony's disappearance, questioned rookie Tony Rusciano twice about his relationship with Casey.

It turns out Rusciano met Casey's ex-fiancé, Jesse Grund, while at the police academy. Grund introduced him to Casey Anthony and they began a relationship. But when Rusciano was questioned by detectives about it, they said he denied a relationship.

Detectives seized computer records that proved the two had been communicating. Detectives said Rusciano lied twice about their relationship until he was confronted with the records. Deputy Rusciano was still a probationary employee, so he was fired for lying on August 22.

"This is something we will not tolerate under any circumstances or any case especially a case that has national implications. We're talking about a situation where we're expending many man hours," said Capt. Angelo Nieves, Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Sources told Eyewitness News the deputy had nothing to do with Caylee's disappearance.


CASEY MEETS AGAIN AT HER ATTORNEY'S OFFICE

Casey Anthony was meeting with her attorney Tuesday afternoon while investigators were trying to decide if results from her alcohol and drug test should be made public.

Casey Anthony left her parent's house shortly after 10:00am. A vehicle pulled into the garage, the door closed and, when it reopened, the vehicle drove off with Casey sitting alone in the back seat.

Unlike other visits to her attorney's office in Kissimmee, her parents did not make the trip.

The 22-year-old mother of missing 3-year-old Caylee took a drug test Monday. Investigators are still deciding whether or not to make the results from that test public.

Casey remains in home confinement. She's scheduled to leave several more times this week to meet with her attorney, Jose Baez. She also plans to attend church this Sunday.

More Headlines

Strange News Photos

From brilliant to bizarre, this 99-photo slideshow captures a variety of strange news. Photos are added often, so prepare to be shocked and amused. Take A Look!

Submit News Video And Photos

Send Us Your Video And Photos!
If you're there when news happens, Eyewitness News wants to know! Send us your video or photographs of news events in the Central Florida area. Use your computer or cell phone, attach them to an email and send it to news@wftv.com.

By submitting photos, you agree to the terms of our license agreeement. READ THE AGREEMENT

Please note the following file requirements:
Video: No larger than 2 MB, mpg, .avi, 3GP
Photos: .Jpg or .Gif, No Larger than 500k

Eyewitness News Tipline
If you see news happening, give us a call. Or send a text to by going to News Tips on WFTV.com on your web-enabled cell phone. You can also email us at news@wftv.com.