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ABSTRACT
Research has shown that when a child is murdered, a parent is commonly found to be involved in the child's death. However, when a child is abducted prior to being murdered, the likelihood of a parent's involvement decreases significantly. Despite these findings, there are many instances in which parents have become primary suspects in investigations of child abduction homicides. This two-part series examines four cases of child murder that involved an element of abduction where investigators immediately suspected parental involvement. In three of the four cases, the parent suspects were eventually exonerated by DNA evidence after experiencing extensive scrutiny and persistent suspicions of guilt by police. The outcomes of these cases highlight the importance of carefully examining the crime scene by using victimology and crime scene classifications to differentiate between types of child murders.
CASE 3: Caylee Marie Anthony
Caylee Marie Anthony, age two-anda-half, lived with her 22-year-old single mother, Casey, and her maternal grandparents, Cindy and George Anthony, in Orlando, Florida. Cindy Anthony reported her granddaughter missing on July 15, 2008 after not seeing her for 31 days. Under pressure, Casey told police that she had given her child to a nanny (later determined to be fictitious) and claimed that she, too, had not seen her daughter, but was too frightened to notify authorities. In October 2008, Casey Anthony was charged with first-degree murder. On December 11, 2008, the skeletal remains of Caylee were found with a blanket inside a plastic bag in a wooded area near the grandparents' home.
A well-publicized but controversial trial was the Casey Anthony murder trial of her daughter, Caylee Anthony, which took place in May of 2011. The prosecution, along with a majority of the viewing public, was convinced that Casey Anthony was responsible for the murder of her daughter, but there was a lack of direct evidence proving Casey was guilty. Detectives working the case were suspicious from the beginning of the investigation because of Casey's delayed notification to police and her providing false information. Furthermore, one of the first officers to interview Casey, "noted the unemotional nature of Casey's behavior towards the loss of her child and claimed that she did not give any indication that she was legitimately worried about her child's...