A Missing Child : Caylee Anthony - Case Study Example

Running head: Missing child 2-year-old Caylee Anthony, daughter to Casey Marie Anthony, disappeared. General case background Caylee’s disappearance took place in mid-June 2008, but she was not reported missing until a month later. The toddler would now be three. The case began with an emergency call from Anthonys mother, Cindy Anthony saying that she could not find her granddaughter and that her daughters car smelled like there had been a dead body in it. She said that Caylee had been missing for 31 days, but her mother had not reported it. The toddler mother, Casey Marie Anthony, 22, was arrested the next day on charges including child neglect. Casey claimed that she had been investigating Caylees disappearance on her own, which is why she did not contact police earlier. However, friends and family denied that Casey had asked them about Caylee. Media outlets also published Photos of Casey attending parties while Caylee was missing. Casey Anthony became a person of interest in the case after she allegedly gave police conflicting information about her daughters whereabouts. She had allegedly lied to investigators that she dropped Caylee off at an apartment complex where the babysitter, Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez (Zanie) lived, and it was the last time she saw Caylee. However, they found out that the named babysitter Gonzalez had never lived in the complex. When police found a local woman named Zenaida Gonzalez (not Fernandez-Gonzalez) and questioned her, she denied knowing either Casey or Caylee Anthony. She gave them other directions of getting the alleged babysitter, which turned out to be false. In addition, she provided a false name and phone number of her boss. Investigators reported that her friends described her as "a habitual liar". She also had charges of forgery, fraudulent use of personal information, and petty theft for forging $700 worth of checks and using her friends credit cards without permission (Montaldo, 2008). The investigators had trouble in determining the facts of the case because of Casey’s falsehoods together with other discrepancies. For instance, Cindy Anthony, the missing child’s grandmother later revised her account that her daughters car smelled like there had been a dead body in it stating that the smell was from an old pizza. There was also time discrepancy about when the grandparents last saw Caylee. Initially, they had reported that the last time they saw their granddaughter was on June 9, 2008, but authorities found a video tape, taken June 15, 2008, that showed Caylee reading a book. When the authorities questioned them about it, Cindy Anthony said that she had been confused. During the investigation, police officers discovered traces of Chloroform, a chemical compound used to induce unconsciousness that also is a component of human decomposition, hair samples similar to those of the missing child and a stain in the trunk of Casey Anthonys car. There were unconfirmed claims that the stain was from the victims blood. A lead investigator on the case said the hair was the major deciding factor leading authorities to believe that Caylee had indeed been in the trunk of Casey Anthonys car. Together with these findings, authorities "air tested" the area of the car trunk to determine if a decomposing body had been stored there. After a forensic examination, the results showed that a body had been in the car for two days. Investigators also found out that someone had searched the Internet on Casey Anthonys computer for the terms "neck breaking", "death" and "how to make chloroform". No dates of the search were given and they did not establish if Casey did the searches. Released documents also showed text messages from Caseys friends expressing surprise that she had never mentioned that her daughter was missing during the month between when the she disappeared and authorities were contacted (Ferran, 2008). An Orlando utility worker discovered and reported having seen the remains of a young child, including a skull, which fell from a bag in a nearby wooded area less than half a mile from the Anthony home in Orlando, Fla on Hopespring Drive. Evidence such as a pair of striped shorts and a toddlers size shirt, a Winnie-the-Pooh blanket, a stainless-steel knife, and a pink backpack with the word "adorable" on it, were just some of the items that were found among the remains. Caylees mouth area was covered with silver duct tape that had been adorned with a heart-shaped sticker, which had allegedly been put intentionally. Reports released by the state Attorney’s office also showed that the duct tape was attached to her hair and the girls remains were placed in a laundry-hamper bag and then secured in a plastic garbage bag before they were left behind in the woods. When investigators processed the duct tape at an FBI Lab in Quantico, Va, they noticed the residue of a heart-shaped sticker on it. This prompted authorities to execute a search warrant on Casey’s home despite her resistance (Ferran, 2008). State Attorneys Office in Florida released documents indicating that the same type of laundry bag, duct tape, and plastic bags discovered at the crime scene were found in the house where Casey and Caylee resided. Investigators also recovered heart-shaped stickers. The documents also indicate that Cindy Anthony stated to them that a Winnie-the-Pooh blanket was missing from the missing girl’s bed. Investigators also released a suspicious entry from Casey Anthonys diary. Casey Anthony, was indicted on October 14, 2008, for the first-degree murder of her daughter, Caylee. She pleaded not guilty to the charge. Actus reus It is the act, which, in combination with a certain mental state (mens rea), constitutes a crime. It is simply an act accompanied by specified circumstances and an essential element of a crime that must be proved to secure a conviction. The actus reus of the current event involved killing Caylee Anthony. It is important to note that the suspect could not be punished for thinking criminal thoughts but for voluntarily acting upon those ideas. Mens rea This refers to the mental intention or the defendants state of mind at the time of the offense. It is the mental component of criminal liability, which is a necessary component in order to prove that a criminal act has been committed. The mens rea of the current event was the suspect’s intent to murder Caylee Anthony. Before conviction, the prosecution must prove not only that the accused committed the offence but also that the act was voluntary or purposeful. For criminal liability to occur, mens rea and actus reus must occur at the same time, a phenomenon called concurrence. The criminal intent must precede or coexist with the criminal act, or in some way activate the act. This current event was voluntary. Causation is the underlying relationship between conduct and result. Where establishing causation is required to establish legal liability, it involves a two-stage inquiry; establishing ‘factual’ causation and ‘legal’ causation. Factual causation is established using the but-for test, which inquires whether the harm would have occurred, but for the defendant’s act. In this current event we ask, “But for the suspect’s act, would Caylee have died?” The answer is ‘No.’ so we conclude that the suspect caused the death of Caylee. In legal causation, we establish whether in a chain of events the original actor is liable for all the consequences flowing naturally from the initial circumstances. In this case, the suspect is liable for all the consequences since no new intervening act breaks the chain. Together with first degree murder, Casey Anthony was also charged with aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter and providing false information to law enforcement. She pleaded not guilty to all charges (Montaldo, 2008). Colorado Revised Statutes analysis In title 18 of the Criminal Code, Colorado Revised Statutes, the statute for first degree murder, which includes the felony first degree murder provision, states: When a person knowingly causes the death of a child who has not yet attained twelve years of age and the person committing the offense is one in a position of trust with respect to the child, such person commits the crime of murder in the first degree as described in section 18-3-102 (1) (f). The murder suspect therefore committed a first-degree murder, which is a class 1 felony; and carries a minimum sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole and a maximum sentence of death. Section 18-3-104 (1) of Colorado Revised Statutes states that a person commits the crime of manslaughter if such a person recklessly causes the death of another person or intentionally causes or aids another person to commit suicide. The suspect committed the crime of manslaughter by killing Caylee recklessly and intentionally. Manslaughter is a class 4 felony whose punishment is imprisonment for two to 10 years and a fine of up to $100,000. A person commits child abuse if such person causes an injury to a childs life or health, or permits a child to be unreasonably placed in a situation that poses a threat of injury to the childs life or health, or engages in a continued pattern of conduct that results in malnourishment, lack of proper medical care, cruel punishment, mistreatment, or an accumulation of injuries that ultimately results in the death of a child or serious bodily injury to a child as provided in section 18-6-401(1) (a) of the Colorado Revised Statutes. The suspect abused the child by causing injuries that resulted in the death of the child. This is a class 2 felony, which carries a penalty of life imprisonment or a minimum of 20 years and a fine of up to $100,000. According to section 18-8-111(c) of the Colorado Revised Statutes, a person commits a crime of false reporting to authorities, if he or she makes a report or knowingly causes the transmission of a report to law enforcement authorities pretending to furnish information relating to an offense or other incident within their official concern when he or she knows that he or she has no such information or knows that the information is false. The suspect gave the police false information about her daughters whereabouts thereby committing the crime of false reporting to authorities. This is a class 3 misdemeanor whose punishment is maximum fine of $500. Any person who conceals the death of another person and thereby prevents a determination of the cause or circumstances of death commits a class 1 misdemeanor as provided in section 18-8-109 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. The suspect therefore committed the crime of concealing death by hiding the body of the deceased in the woods and failing to report to the police concerning her disappearance. This is punishable by confinement in jail for up to twelve months and a fine of up to $2,500, either or both. According to section 18-12-109 (2.5) of the Colorado Revised Statutes, any person who knowingly possesses, controls, manufacturers, gives, mails, sends, or causes to be sent a chemical, biological, or radiological weapon commits a class 3 felony. The suspect allegedly used chloroform, a chemical compound used to induce unconsciousness that is also a component of human decomposition to kill Caylee. The punishment for this would be imprisonment for five to 20 years and a fine of up to $100,000. The public, full of bitterness, suggests death penalty for Casey while others suggest life imprisonment. Her father on the other hand requests the public to pray for her (Forsloff, 2009). However, it is important to note that the suspect is innocent until proven guilty. Adequate evidence should be gathered before prosecuting her in accordance to the law. References Donaldson, C. (2008): Family of Missing Toddler Caylee Anthony Mum on TV Reports of New Concrete Slab in Yard. Retrieved February 23, 2009, from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,390054,00.html Ferran, L. (2008): Police Somewhat Confident Childs Remains Are Caylee Anthony. Retrieved February 24, 2009, from http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=6441931 Forsloff , C. (2009): Caylee Anthony Memorialized in Emotional Service by Grandparents. Retrieved February 23, 2009, from http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/266965 Montaldo, C. (2008): Casey Anthonys Lies Lead to Her Arrest. Retrieved February 22, 2009, from http://crime.about.com/od/current/qt/caylee_july16.htm Watts, S., Michels, S. (2008): Mom Charged With Murder in Caylee Anthony Case. Retrieved February 23, 2009, from http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=6032237&page=1 Read More