WFTV.com News 

Story

Women Say Anthonys Chased Them From Caylee Memorial

A group of women filed complaints with the Orange County Sheriff's Office saying George and Cindy Anthony chased them away from Caylee's memorial as they were trying to honor her memory.

Lois Peter says every time they left crosses at the site of Caylee Anthony's memorial on Suburban Drive, they were taken away.

"We found broken rosaries in the woods. We found broken crosses in the woods. It wasn't just taken away, it was destroyed," she said.


VIDEO REPORT: Anthonys Accused Of Chasing People

Monday night, Lois, Denise Hill and two others from St. Cloud put two more crosses at the site and then staked it out to find out who was taking them. According to Lois, George and Cindy Anthony chased them away.

"We went down there to see what they were doing and then we saw Cindy and George Anthony taking our cross," Hill said.

After they snapped a picture, the St. Cloud residents say Dennis Milstead, of KidFinders, confronted them.

"It was a picture. Seriously. Take my camera. I didn't know what they were going to do to us. Yeah, it was scary," Peters said.

Tuesday, they complained to the Orange County Sheriff's Office that Milstead and the Anthonys chased them down Chickasaw and Lee Vista.

"They were in pursuit of us in high speed. KidFinders had his strobe lights on like he was trying to pull us over," Hill said.

The group said they called 911, but then hung up when they saw a state trooper at the intersection of Narcoosee and Lee Vista. Peter said he told them all to go home, but said she still plans on leaving crosses there.

"We've got the wood to build 30 more crosses. We will keep building them," she said.

According to the Orange County Sheriff's Office, the case is currently the subject of an ongoing investigation.


NEW DEPOS RELEASED AS BAEZ FIGHTS VIDEO RELEASE

Casey Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, will try again to get a judge to seal the jail video of Casey's reaction when she was told that a child's remains had been found on December 11. The remains were later identified as Caylee Anthony's.


DEPOSITIONS RELEASED: Tammy Uncer | Billy Richardson
VIDEO REPORT: Attorney Files New Motion

Attorney Jose Baez filed another motion Monday regarding blocking released of the video. Baez filed the same motion last week, but the filing came so late that the judge didn't have time to read it.

Tuesday afternoon, Eyewitness News obtained depositions by Casey Anthony's defense team of the two corrections officers who were with Casey at the time of the remains discovery (read depos: Tammy Uncer | Billy Richardson). Baez claims the videotape was staged. He says Casey was brought in front of the camera and told the remains were found just to see her reaction.


CASEY'S ATTORNEY SAYS VIDEO RELEASE WOULD BE "CRUEL"

Casey Anthony and her defense team were in court Thursday to ask Judge Stan Strickland to keep the public from seeing a behind the scenes video from the jail as she watched a WFTV news report that a child's remains, later identified as Caylee, had been discovered on December 11.

Circuit Judge Stan Strickland delayed a decision on whether to release the video, saying he wanted input from lawyers from media organizations before he rules.


COURT HEARING: Part 1 | Pt. 2 | Pt. 3 | See Images
CASEY ARRIVES: See Images | Watch Raw Video
RAW INTERVIEW: Defense Team After Hearing
VIDEO REPORTS: Court Hearing | New Attorney

Casey walked into the courtroom smiling at 10:05am Thursday, wearing a long sleeve blue shirt and striped gray slacks. Wearing her hair down, Casey smiled a few more times then turned serious as her lawyers spoke.

Casey's attorney told Judge Stan Strickland the jailhouse video should be sealed permanently because making it public would be "cruel" and "inhumane." However, Baez will get access to two private investigators and her family's phone records because they did not contest the motion.

Baez will not get the phone records from Casey's ex-fiancé, Jesse Grund, Casey's former friend Amy Huizenga and meter reader Roy Kronk, because they contested the motion to release the records.

Jose Baez may have tipped his hand on his defense strategy while fighting for access to the phone records of Casey's ex-fiancé.

"Mr. Grund was for all intense and purposes a suspect in this case," Baez stated in Court.

However, the sheriff's office never named Grund as a suspect in Caylee's disappearance or murder.

Kronk is the man who reported seeing a suspicious bag in a wooded area, which eventually was identified as Caylee Anthony's remains.

Kronk's attorney, as well as attorneys for the other witnesses, told the judge that the request was too broad and amounted to a "fishing expedition." The judge asked Anthony's attorneys to re-file their motion for the phone records so that the timeframe of the information they're requesting is more narrowly focused.

Cindy and George Anthony, along with their attorney Brad Conway, were in attendance. Kronk was also in the courtroom. Also in attendance were WFTV legal analyst Bill Shaeffer and Casey Anthony's new death penalty-qualified attorney Professor Andrea D. Lyon.

Casey's defense team argued that their client's rights were violated when she was videotaped. The video in question reportedly shows Anthony doubling over and hyperventilating after learning her daughter's remains were found as she watched Channel 9.

Defense attorney Todd Macaluso told the judge that releasing the surveillance video would violate Anthony's right to privacy since it was filmed while she was in a medical office at the Orange County Jail, seeking medical treatment. Anthony's attorneys have alleged that her jailers worked with the Orange County Sheriff's Office to have the television news on in the medical office so Anthony's reaction could be recorded.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office has said there was no orchestration with the jail.

"This is cruel. This is inhumane. This is illegal. This is unconstitutional," Macaluso said. "This defies any common sense of what law enforcement should and should not do."

"Why is it so critical for Baez's team to keep that video away from the media? Well, the saying is, 'A picture is worth a thousand words,'" Eyewitness News legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said.

Baez claims the videotape was staged. He says Anthony was brought in front of the camera and told Caylee's remains were found just to see her reaction.

"Look, where is she? She's in jail. Does she have a right to privacy, in the jail? And the answer to that is no, she does not," Sheaffer explained.

Baez claims releasing the video could create more problems in getting a fair trail by tainting the jury pool.

Judge Strickland has to decide whether to accept Lyons as the death penalty attorney in the case. The judge also gave the media a week to decide whether they want to fight to get a copy of the jail video.

The jail has a week to respond to allegations it violated Casey's civil rights when it recorded her reaction to a child's remains being found.

Casey was charged with murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony, and Orlando prosecutors have filed notice they intend to seek the death penalty. Caylee Anthony disappeared last June and Casey Anthony has pleaded not guilty to her murder.

Click Picks
Video Clips
What do you get when you put a man's head on a baby's body and a baby's head on a man's body? It's a 'ManBaby,' possibly the freakiest way to tweak a family photo. View Images ››

Strange News Photos

From brilliant to bizarre, our 99-photo slideshow captures a variety of strange news. Photos are added often. Take A Look!

County-By-County News

Get Hyper-Local On WFTV.com

Visit our County-By-County section for the latest news headlines out of your county. » County-By-County

When you take videos or photos of Central Florida news or weather events, iWitness is your place to upload them. » iWitness

Visit your headquarters for county-by-county news and resources, and a place to share community videos and photos. » 9Central