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Questions Linger About Who Is Making Money Off Anthony Case

Posted: 4:54 pm EDT September 11, 2008Updated: 9:25 am EDT September 12, 2008

Thursday night was relatively quiet outside the Anthony home with fewer protestors and no major confrontations. But there are questions about whether someone in the Anthony family is making money off the case.


ANTHONY HOME VIDEO: See Images | Watch Raw Video
READ DOCUMENT: State Attorney's Office Files Formal Charges (PDF)
VOTE: Block Protesters? | Grandparents Are Victims? | Allow Casey To Leave?
TEAM COVERAGE: Did Anthony Family Cash In On Caylee Home Video?
LEE TAKES SIGN: See Images | Watch Raw Video
ARCHIVE: Read Previous Reports On Anthony Case
MESSAGE BOARD: Talk About Anthony Case

Eyewitness News is following the money in the Caylee Anthony case, both the money Casey Anthony is charged with stealing and the money someone in the Anthony family may be making from home video obtained by ABC's 20/20.

Every day, Casey Anthony leaves her parent's home and is driven to her lawyer's office in Kissimmee by one family member or another and then driven back home. Casey's lawyer says he's being paid, but won't say by whom, and now Eyewitness News has learned that someone in the family might have gotten a big paycheck because of the tragedy.

ANTHONY HOME VIDEO
Images | Raw Video

The home videos of Caylee Marie Anthony celebrating a birthday and swimming in the backyard pool, which appeared exclusively on ABC News, have captured the hearts of many. But they are also raising questions now over whether the network paid for them, how much it paid and to whom.

There are reports that ABC possibly paid $200,000 for licensing rights to the videos. On Thursday, ABC News told Eyewitness News, "ABC News licensed footage and photos from rights holders. We do not discuss the details of our licensing agreements."

Eyewitness News has learned only four people would have access and or rights to the family videos and photographs: Caylee's mother Casey, Caylee's uncle Lee and her grandparents, Cindy and George Anthony.

Through their Orlando attorney, Mark NeJame, Cindy and George strongly deny having anything to do with the release and/or sale of the videos.

"Absolutely not. And anybody that would suggest such a thing is a damnable liar. They did not receive one penny. They did not negotiate or utter one syllable towards that," NeJame said.

Eyewitness News contacted Casey Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, to ask if he or Casey has received any money from ABC for the videos and photos. His public relations firm refused to answer specific questions about the licensing fee but said, "The Baez law firm is focused solely on defending their client, not the commercialization of their client's missing daughter Caylee."

Baez's public relations firm said he's received offers for book and movie deals for more than a million dollars, none of which have been accepted. But, again, they won't answer specifically about licensing fees.


STATE FILES FORMAL CHARGES AGAINST CASEY

The State Attorney's Office filed formal charges (read document) against Casey Anthony on Thursday for allegedly stealing money from a friend. Thursday's announcement simply formalizes charges already filed against Casey by the Orange County Sheriff's Office and will not impact her custody situation.

The ten charges include third-degree grand theft, fraudulent use of personal identification information and forgery. The charges stem from checks police say she stole from her friend, Amy Huizenga.

Casey was re-arrested on the charges recently, but is now free on bond. It's possible she could be re-arrested again since other charges are pending.


WOMAN LEAVES FLOWERS, NOTE FOR ANTHONYS

Just as he's done numerous times before, Lee Anthony once again drove his sister Casey to Kissimmee to meet with her attorney Thursday morning. Once again, they drove off around 10:00am without saying a single word to reporters.

The Anthony house on Hopespring Drive in east Orange County continues to be a popular destination for protestors and supporters alike. Eyewitness News spoke with a woman who walked up to the front door to drop off a few flowers.

"Did you leave a note as well?" WFTV reporter Gustavo Almodovar asked the unidentified woman.

"Yes I did," she said. "Just hope that no matter what the outcome is, that maybe one day there will be a law passed and maybe it will be Caylee's law."

A missing persons billboard parked in front of the house serves as a reminder that the whereabouts of Caylee Marie Anthony are still unknown to detectives.

Maria Rodriguez and her sister came from Tampa to take pictures of the house that has been seen on TV all across the country.

"We want to send them to a friend in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela, because they said the girl is in Mexico or Puerto Rico and that’s not true," Rodriguez told Eyewitness News.

The Anthonys have had several well-documented confrontations with angry protestors. Rodriguez believes they'll stop coming if the family does one thing.

"They need to say the truth, what happened with Caylee. They need to say what they do with Caylee," she said.


HOA TRYING TO GET RID OF PROTESTERS

An attorney for the Chickasaw Oaks Phase 3 Homeowners' Association plans to file an injunction as early as Friday that would limit the hours and location of the protests. Neighbors said they don't care if demonstrators support or criticize the Anthonys, they're just tired of how it interferes with their family lives.


VOTE: Supprt Neighborhood's Desire To Block Protesters?

The Chickasaw Oaks HOA sent out flyers Thursday calling for a special meeting next Tuesday between neighbors, the Orange County government and the sheriff's office.

Neighbor Joyce Dickens says relief can't come soon enough.

"The pressure is mounting between the homeowners and the protesters," said Dickens. "We've seen fights out here."

Dozens of people often show up daily in front of the Anthony's home to protest the fact that their daughter Casey was bonded out of jail on charges related to the disappearance of her daughter, Caylee. Caylee was reported missing nearly two months ago and Casey has been charged with child endangerment and lying to authorities as they investigate the case.

Cindy Anthony told Eyewitness News she wanted to work with the homeowners' association. She said she and her family had been writing down license plate tag numbers of protesters so they could eventually be turned over to authorities in hopes of filing trespassing charges.

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