Giving Conflicting Statements and Depositions, It's an Anthony dilemma

George and Cindy Anthony's lawyer, Brad Conway filed a motion Tuesday, Feb.24 with Judge Jose Rodriguez who is presiding over the civil suit filed by Zenaida Fernandez- Gonzales and counter suit filed by Casey Anthony. The Motion For Protective Order was filed to prevent the Anthonys from giving sworn depositions on Thursday as scheduled in the Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez civil law suit. Conway said in the motion, that forcing them to give depositions in the suit is nothing more than an attempt to annoy and embarrass them.

Gonzalez is suing their daughter for defamation after Casey Anthony claimed a baby sitter named Zenaida Gonzalez kidnapped her daughter Caylee. Casey Anthony eventually was charged with first-degree murder in connection with Caylee's death. She is in Orange County Jail awaiting trial later this year.

Gonzalez's lawyer, John Morgan, has indeed said he planned to invite the media in and videotape the Anthony's deposition. Morgan is also reported to have said he would have some surprise questions for the Anthonys during the deposition. (This does seem to be somewhat of a taunt, and would have been best left unsaid.)

A hearing was held today to decide the motion filed by Conway. In his motion, Conway said George and Cindy Anthony have been under emotional stress since Caylee's death and their daughter's arrest, and have sought counseling."They should not be subjected to additional publication of personal information while they are still grieving deeply," he wrote.

In response Keith Mitnik, of Morgan and Morgan, agreed that George, having recently attempted suicide could wait. He stated that Cindy Anthony's deposition was more important and should go on. Gonzalez's attorney said the rights of his client and damages she's faced are lost in all this.

In his decision, Judge Rodriguez addressed the admission of media during the depositions. He allowed the media (television, print, etc.) 20 days to go back to their legal departments to have them prepare amicus briefs for the court as to why they should be allowed in the depositions. The judge also ruled to delay the depositions for 20 days to give Conway a chance to present evidence of the psychological problems the Anthonys are experiencing that Conway claimed in his motion.

While few would disagree that the Anthony's have been through a terrible loss and great emotional stress, Katfishponders wonders if their stated reasons for not complying with the deposition really holds water. George had no problem jumping in front of the cameras and involving himself in the Haleigh Cummings case and Cindy was well enough to plan a huge public memorial for Caylee.

It seems the desire to avoid being pinned down under oath is the more prevalent reason to avoid this deposition. Everyone in the Anthony family has been giving inconsistent statements to LE and the media since last July when Caylee was first reported missing. A company called Nifter Media put together a 4 part series of videos that illustrate this very well. These videos have been out there for a while, but I will post them here as a reminder of the wide range of inconsistent statements the Anthonys have put out there.

3/17/2010- for some reason the embed codes are broken...here are links to the video at YouTube:

part 1 0f 4

part 2 of 4

part 3 of 4

part 4 of 4


This is the description of the videos given by Nifter Media on YouTube:
This series of videos focuses on the 'Anthony family perspective,' so to speak; therefore most of the clips presented are of Anthony family members directly, or, about a specific family member. The song 'You Are My Sunshine' is used as a theme for these videos for a variety of reasons, foremost because videos of both Caylee and her grandfather singing this song have been released to the public, but also because the world has become so attached to this little girl and the song fits well within this context. There are also other reasons.These videos do not represent a timeline of the case, rather, they were picked randomly and pieced together in a way that we thought fit what we were trying to present. Additionally, this video is not intended to make anyone appear guilty of any wrong-doing. Editing that leaves the viewer with the impression of unlawful activity by an Anthony family member is purely coincidental and unintended.

orlandosentinel
wesh Sphere: Related Content

Should Nicholas Sheley's Wife Get Part Of The Reward Money For His Capture?

The Associated Press
Posted Feb 23, 2009 @ 03:17 PM
MORRISON —
The wife of a man accused of bludgeoning six people to death in Illinois and killing two more in Missouri says she's entitled to some of the reward money offered for her husband's capture.

Holly Gaul Sheley tells Sauk Valley Newspapers she should get some of the reward offered by the FBI before Nicholas Sheley's arrest last July outside a bar in the southern Illinois community of Granite City.

The FBI recently gave two Granite City residents $5,000 each in reward money for recognizing Sheley at the bar, then helping police capture the fugitive peacefully.

Sheley has pleaded not guilty and is jailed in Knox County on $10 million bond.

Holly Sheley says the reward money could help Sheley's six children.

She's been facing legal troubles of her own in Whiteside County, where she's been jailed in a DUI case.

Galesburg.com

Katfishponders doesn't know what part Holly Sheley played in the arrest of her husband, but if she is entitled to a part of the reward money that brings to mind a couple questions:

1. Has she been receiving assistance from the state?

2. If she has been receiving state assistance, is the state entitled to reimbursement should she receive the reward?

3. Does she have custody of all six of these children, or is she just willing to share should she receive the reward?

Katfishponders is not making a judgement about this matter.....just wondering.

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Death of Dominick Arceneaux ruled accidental drowning

Funeral notice:
Dominick Wesley Arceneaux arrived in heaven on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009. Jesus said, "Let the children come to me." He was 3‰ years old and a resident of Arkansas for two months, but was from Gonzales from birth. Survived by his father, Andre Jonathon Arceneaux; mother, Amber Cortez Arceneaux; half sister, Arlina J. Arceneaux; maternal grandparents, Jose and Martha Cortez; paternal great-grandfather, Robert L. Arceneaux Sr.; great-aunt, Relia Casebolt; uncle, Kaleb Boudreaux; godmother, Kathy Babin; aunts and uncles, Mike and Carmen Ryland, Hank and Kim Whittington, Keith Arceneaux, Robert Arceneaux Jr., Danny Arceneaux, Anthony and Melissa Johnson, Jennifer and Steven Johnson, Autumn and Jarrod Lebouef, Jesse Cortez, and Jose M. Cortez; cousins, Ethan Cortez, Laithen and Lawson Johnson, Derrick and Darriun Lebouef, Jarrod P. Lebouef, Daniel Arceneaux, Roarke Dunn, Rhonda Lambert, Braylin and Blain Lambert, Shea and Brad Wing, Adrian Buratt, Zachary Whittington, John Noel, J'lyn James, Paul and Sarah Ryland, Penny and Brent Roberts, and numerous other relatives. Preceded in death by great-grandmother, Marjorie Arceneaux; grandmother, Leslie Arceneaux; uncle, Scotty Waites; and great-grandmother, Laura Akin. Visitation at Victory Baptist Church, Ark. 278, Camden, Ark., on Monday, Feb. 23, was from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Visitation at the church on Tuesday from 10 a.m. until religious service at noon. Burial in the church cemetery.
Obviously Dominick was loved by many. Deepest sympathy from katfish!

2theadvocate

CHIDESTER (AP) — A 3- year-old boy who was found dead after an eight-day search in Ouachita County died by accidental drowning. Authorities said Friday that autopsy results indicate there was no foul play in the death of Dominick Arceneaux.

The boy was playing in his yard in Chidester on Feb. 10 when he vanished. The property abuts White Oak Lake, but Dominick’s mother, Amber Arceneaux, said her son was afraid of water. A massive search effort included the lake, nearby woods and anyplace else in the area that Dominick may have been able to reach. The boy was bare foot when he disappeared.

A volunteer firefighter found Dominick’s body on Wednesday. He was in the lake, about 10 feet from the shore. The search involved numerous agencies, including the Arkansas State Police and the FBI. Agents visited registered sex offenders in the region and questioned them about the boy’s disappearance. Ouachita County Sheriff David Norwood said law officers stopped motorists at roadblocks near the Arceneaux home in hope that drivers may have seen some thing the day Dominick disappeared. Amber Arceneaux said her son was outside for about five minutes, then she noticed he was gone.

Law officers expressed frustration throughout the ordeal, saying they had no clue what happened to the boy. Officials had to rule in all possibilities. Sheree Mitchell, a great aunt of Dominick’s, said the boy’s mother has not accepted that the death was an accident. "We still don’t believe he went into that lake," Mitchell said Friday from the Hog Wild Saloon, which is on the family’s lakeside property. "We still don’t believe that."

Norwood said no strangers were reported in the area on the day Dominick disappeared. Also, none of the dogs on the property barked during that time. Mitchell and Amber Arceneaux were home at the time Dominick vanished, but neither saw or heard anything out of the ordinary, Norwood said. Mitchell said the outcome offered little solace. "They did tell us it was very fast," Mitchell said of the boy’s death.

Now that Dominicks autopsy is complete there should be funeral arrangements forthcoming. I will post them as an update to this entry as soon as I hear anything.

As hard as it must be for his family to know this is a tragic accident, I'm sure they are or will someday be relieved that Dominick didn't suffer at the hands of a stranger or worse yet someone they knew. God, please help this family deal with the sorrow of this tragedy.

sources:

The El Dorado News- Times online

Arkansas Democrat gazette

Help Find The Missing

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Tipsters In Nicholas Sheley Case Are Honored

FBI Supervisory Senior Resident Agent G.B. Jones of the bureau's Chicago office, center, honors Gary Range, left and Samantha Butler, during a awards ceremony Thursday (February 12) for the Granite City residents.

Police were hot on Sheley's trail, but FBI Agent G.B. Jones of the bureau's Chicago office said during Thursday's (February 12) awards ceremony that the actions of Butler and Range shortened the search and allowed police to place a suspected dangerous killer under arrest with no injuries to him or anyone else.

Agents from FBI office's in Springfield, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri took time out Thursday to say thanks to two Granite City residents whose assistance led them to suspected spree killer Nicholas Sheley.

Samantha Butler and Gary Range were presented with certificates of appreciation from the FBI and a cash reward of $5,000 each. The money had been a joint reward by the FBI and Whiteside County, Illinois Crime Stoppers.

Both Butler and Range were modest about the recognition. "The law enforcement community also deserves a lot of credit," Range said.

"We all (people in the restaurant) had the same instinct," Butler said. She said she acted without thinking too hard."It was totally instinctive," she said. Butler said money had nothing to do with her motivation for reporting Sheley's whereabouts. "He took people's lives," she said. "I was thinking of those families."

Sheley was arrested without incident by Illinois State Police and local law enforcement on July 1, 2008, at Bindy's Restaurant in Granite City. Butler and Range were in the restaurant when they saw a TV news report discussing Sheley's supposed involvement in the murders of eight people in Illinois and Missouri during a two-week crime spree that began on June 14, 2008.

After recognizing Sheley seated nearby, they both (separately) slipped out of the restaurant and notified police of Sheley's whereabouts.

The top agent from the FBI's Chicago office, Robert D. Grant, said it took courage to do what Range and Butler did. "They performed an extraordinary service, displaying the type of personal involvement that law enforcement desperately needs," Grant said. "It is an honor for me to recognize them today for their efforts."

Katfishponders is happy these two people received the recognition they deserved as well as part of the monetary reward that was offered.

Many have expressed their regret that Sheley didn't resist arrest so that the police would have had no choice but to "take him out" and saved the taxpayer's money.


During a jailhouse interview that Sheley gave the Associated Press last September he said that he played an active role in his capture July 1 outside a Granite City bar because he wanted to get the ball rolling on the legal process and his family feared he'd be killed if a manhunt continued.


A blogging buddy of mine had the following to say about that remark:
"So he helped in his own capture.... huh??? What a hero. Too bad he didn't shoot the murderer while he captured him (himself)." LOL

Sheley is being held in the Knox County Jail in Galesburg, IL on a $10 million dollar bond. He is awaiting trial for the death of Ronald Randall, 65, Galesburg. He faces 17 counts, 10 for first - degree murder, and if convicted faces the death penalty.

Sheley is also charged in Whiteside County with five counts of first-degree murder in the death of Russell Reed, 93, of Sterling and 15 counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Kilynna Blake, 20, of Cedar City, Utah - her son Dayan Blake, 2, of Cedar City, Utah - her fiancé Brock Branson, 29, of Rock Falls - and Kenneth Ulve Jr., 25, of Rock Falls.
He also faces murder charges in Missouri in the deaths of Jill and Tom Estes both 54, of Sherwood, Ark.

The Telegraph

ksdk Sphere: Related Content

Pictures Of Dominick Wesley Arceneaux, Missing 3 Year Old Arkansas Boy

update: sheriff confirms body found is 3-year-old's

Katfishponders is sad to report that HLN just televised that a childs body has been found near the area where Dominick lived. It hasn't been confirmed yet that it is Dominick but it doesn't look good. I will update as I get information.

Local media is reporting:
Ouachita County Sheriff's Department says that they found a small child's body that matches his description, but they are waiting for positive identification.
The body was found in White Oak Lake about 200-300 yards from where Arceneaux was last seen. Members of the search and rescue team found the body at about 11:45 a.m.

RIP Little Dominick! Deepest sympathy to those who knew and loved Dominick.

insert katfish here weeping.

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal;
Love leaves a memory no one can steal.

PLEASE SAY A PRAYER FOR DOMINICK ARCENEAUX

Sphere: Related Content

The FBI and local Ouachita County Sheriff's Office hold a press conference about missing 3-year-old Dominick Arceneaux.

update: 2/18
Because there isn't a lot new I will just add to this post. . According to this news report, Sheriff’s deputies put up roadblocks Tuesday along Arkansas 42, stopping everyone on the two-lane gravel and asphalt highway lined by pine trees and scrawny cactus.

“We’re trying to do it about the time the boy went missing,” said Capt. Jason Dickinson of the Ouachita County sheriff’s department, as he handed out fliers to motorists. “We got everybody we can spare out here.”

Each driver received the same battery of questions, asking whether they knew Dominick or passed by around the time he went missing. Deputies also wrote down each license plate number, hoping for some sort of clue. But out-of-town drivers are rare in the town of 300 people in Ouachita County (pronounced WASH-it-tah). Logging trucks occasionally rumble by the rural lane that Dominick and his mother live on. A large FBI mobile command center sits at the corner, its blue and red LED lights blinking as another FBI agent takes notes on everyone passing by.

I heard this morning from someone that lives in NW Arkansas, that there hasn't even been coverage of this case there. wtf ? I don't know that televised media attention will bring Dominick home, but I do know unless there is some we won't know will we?


update: 2/17
A nationwide Amber Alert has now been issued for Dominick. Members of the FBI's Child Abduction Rapid Deployment (CARD) teams have been deployed to the area. The CARD teams usually do investigation of non-family child abductions, ransom child abductions, and mysterious disappearances of children.

The FBI and local Ouachita County Sheriff's Office held a 30 minute press conference about missing 3-year-old Dominick Arceneaux. To view the pressor click here.

Katfishponders is happy to hear from the officials involved in investigating the disappearance of little Dominick. While we/they still don't know where Dominick is, we now know from the "horses mouth" what is and isn't being done in the efforts to find him. The consensus among law enforcement is that Dominick is not in the lake or in the woods for one square mile perimeter of his home. This leaves open the possibility that Dominick has been kidnapped.

The biggest message that came out of this pressor is the need for the community to think back over this last week and report anything they may have seen or heard of that was out of the ordinary. If anyone saw a suspicious or unfamiliar car in the Highway 24 or Ouachita County Road 332 areas last week, you're asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or 1-800-225-5324.

Officials have released a new missing poster flyer and are asking for the public's help in finding him. The poster has been sent to surrounding states, like Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. Click here to see the missing poster released by the FBI.

Dominick's father has posted a $15,000 reward for his safe return.

While efforts to get National television coverage of Dominick's story hasn't been successful as of yet, CNN.com has done a story on Dominick. Click here to see that story.

Sphere: Related Content

Missing 3 Year Old Dominick Arceneaux Case Deserves Media Airtime

update:
This is a link to a page on CNN that has a form to fill out for news tips and story ideas, it might be a good idea to fill out the form here as well as sending the e-mails to the addresses below:

http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form11b.html?1

Katfishponders is frustrated that the case of 3 year old Dominick Arceneaux has not recieved any airtime other than local media. Dominick has been gone for 6 days now. If you would like to help Dominick, e-mail the following media outlets and ask that they give some airtime to Dominick. I will post here the message that I sent, feel free to copy and paste it into an e-mail or write your own message, beneath that I will place the e-mail addresses of some media organizations. These can be copy and pasted into the address box of your e-mail for a mass e-mail if you prefer :

I am writing to ask that you give some air time to this missing 3 year old Arkansas boy, Dominick Arceneaux. He went missing on Tuesday Feb. 10 and after a water search by divers and sonar by Texas Equusearch and Arkansas Game and Fish ; land search by 60+ National Gaurd soldiers, many volunteers along with bloodhounds and horses; and an air search by the Arkansa State Police helicopter for the 5th day there have been no signs of Dominick. The FBI is involved with this case as well. A kidnapping has not been ruled out, therefore I ask that you please give this little boy's story some airtime on the chance he has been taken out of his local area.

Media Outlets:
LarryKingLive@cnn.com, weekend@foxnews.com,FoxReport@foxnews.com, studiob@foxnews.com, AtLarge@foxnews.com,ontherecord@foxnews.com, nancygrace@cnn.com, mailto:Jamie@foxnews.com,Heartland@foxnews.com FNS@foxnews.com,Hannity@foxnews.com, Special@foxnews.com, hardball@msnbc.com, joe@msnbc.com, nightly@nbc.com, today@nbc.com,evening@cbsnews.com, 48hours@cbsnews.com, ftn@cbsnews.com, netaudr@abc.com, nightline@abcnews.com,2020@abc.com, LouDobbs@cnn.com


Here is a link to a thread in Dominick's name on a website called "Help For The Missing". They have been keeping up to date on this case as much as possible. This is where I learned about Dominick.:

http://helpfindthemissing.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=163 Sphere: Related Content

Haleigh Ann Marie Cummings and Dominick Wesley Arceneaux, Where Are These Children?

No sooner had two year old Caylee Marie Anthony been memorialized in Orlando, FL on Tuesday, February 10 in a public memorial that was televised around the world and word broke that another little girl had gone missing in Florida.

Five year old Haleigh Cummings of Satsuma, FL was reported missing at about 3:30 Tuesday morning by her father. Ronald Cummings, 24, received a phone call from his live in girlfriend, Misty Croslin, 17,as he pulled in his driveway, when he came home from work in the early morning hours, telling him that his daughter Haleigh was missing.

Cumming’s girlfriend reports that she had put Haleigh to bed at 8 p.m. Monday along with Haleigh’s 4 year old brother Ronald Jr. and joined them in the bedroom at about 10 p.m. There have been conflicting reports as to who was in what bed, but it appears that Haleigh was in a small bed by herself and Croslin and Jr. were in the bigger bed. When Croslin got up at approximately 3 a.m. to use the restroom she noticed the kitchen light was on and the back door was open. She returned to the bedroom and found that Haleigh was missing.

Within 1 hour the FL Department of Law Enforcement activated the Child Abduction Regional Team. Searching began by over 100 officers from county, state and federal law enforcement by helicopters, bloodhounds, ATV riders and ground searchers conducted grid searches of the wooded area and boats, divers searched the nearby St. Johns River. By 9:30 a.m. Tuesday an Amber Alert had been issued.

"The girlfriend and the father are cooperating with police," Special Agent Steve Donaway of the Florida Dept of Law Enforcement said at an afternoon news conference. "It could be an abduction. We're looking at it from all angles. Haleigh’s mother Crystal Sheffield, 23, lives about 100 miles away from Satsuma. She and her family came to Satsuma to be close to the search site and wait for any word about Haleigh. According to Sheffield's mother, Marie Griffis, her daughter and Cummings split up about three years ago. She said that they had not been fighting and that Haleigh and Ronald would visit with the child's mother every other weekend

On Wednesday morning, the FBI dispatched 16 federal agents to assist local authorities. They are trying to rule out roughly 44 sex offenders who live within a 5-mile radius of the Cummings home. Haleigh's disappearance is now being treated as an abduction, according to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office during a Wednesday news conference.

In related news, Joshua Duckett, the father of missing Leesburg toddler Trenton Duckett, and George Anthony, grandfather of child murder victim Caylee Anthony have both traveled to Putnam County to show their support for Haleigh's family. In addition, celebrity bounty hunter Leonard Padilla is in the area, assisting in the search. Padilla is offering a no-questions-asked $25,000 reward to anyone who returns Haleigh before midnight on Saturday. Members of the search and recovery group Texas EquuSearch began arriving in Putnam County Thursday to assist in the search.

Haleigh Cummings is described as three feet tall, 39 pounds, with blonde hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a pink shirt and underwear. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to contact the Putnam County Sheriff's Office at 386-329-0808 or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS.

Meanwhile Tuesday in Arkansas, a 3 year old boy, Dominick Arceneaux went missing as well. According to Dominick’s mother, Amber Arceneaux, around 2:00 p.m., Dominick walked outside their mobile home and she hasn’t seen him since. "He went outside and played, then came back in and knocked his boots off. He wanted to play in the mud. He walked back outside and just disappeared. It was only about 5 minutes when we noticed anything was up," says Amber Arceneaux. She and a relative, Sherry Mitchell, looked for Dominick for about 15 minutes before calling 911.

White Oak Lake is directly behind their home, but Sheriff David Norwood says the boy's mother taught Dominick about water safety and always instructed him to stay away. Norwood says, "From her indication he is scared of water and wouldn't go around water." Still though dive teams are searching the lake, but so far there are no clues, which are why deputies aren't ruling anything out. "We are treating it as a drowning. We are treating it as someone may be missing in the woods. We are also treating it as it may be a kidnapping," Norwood explains. The child’s mother believes someone abducted him.

The child's father, Andre Arceneaux, is on his way back to Arkansas from Georgia where he is stationed in the Army. A Morgan Nick Amber Alert has been issued for the 3-year-old, plus deputies spent the day talking with what they call potential suspects. On the list was about 25 different people, but so far those interviews have lead to no leads. Norwood says, "We are pulling video tapes from all stores, sex offenders that we are interviewing, doing everything we can from all different directions of all different possibilities about what happened."

About 70 volunteers showed up Wednesday to help search for Dominick as ground and water searches continued. Arkansas State Police and the FBI are also investigating.

On Thursday, two members from the National Center for Exploited Children arrived from Virginia to help the search. Smelser explains, "They have maps of areas and this is their expertise. This is what they do and they are guiding us in the investigation." Meantime, deputies still have not ruled out the possibility that Dominick was kidnapped. In fact, again Thursday they were interviewing frequent customers of the Hog Wild Saloon, a bar just a few yards from the boy's home.
As for the nearby 1,700 acre lake, four divers spent the day dragging the water looking for any clues. However, the water is murky which is making the search more difficult.

Friday, Texas EquuSearch is deploying a team from Texas and Florida to assist in the search at the request of law enforcement. Sixty Soldiers with the Arkansas National Guard’s 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team were also called to join the search on Friday.

Dominick Arceneaux is described as a 3 year old male with an olive skin, 3' tall, 38 lbs. with brown hair and brown eyes. The boy was last seen wearing a pair of blue jean shorts with red stitching on the pockets.

If you have any information, contact the Ouachita County Sheriff's Office at 870-837-2200.

update:

The FBI has just released this number to call with any tips about Dominick:

The number is 1-800-CALL-FBI or 1-800-225-5324.

Haleigh Source:

msnbc

firstcoastnews

CNN

Dominick Sources:

todaysthv

arkansasmatters

lexisnexis

cwarkansas.com

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ICB DETECTIVE AWARDS NOMINEES, 2009

It has come to my attention that my two favorite true crime blogs, Trials and Tribulations and Juror Thirteen have been nominated for an ICB Detective Award for 2009.

I would like to encourage you to join me in supporting these two very worthy blogs. If you would like to vote, click on the link here and then scroll down until you see the category for true crime blog. There is a drop down menu for each category, click on the blog of your choice and then vote! Be sure to bookmark the page or feel free to come back here to access the link. 8~)
You can vote once a day for two weeks. You can only vote once every 24 hours.

There is currently voting going on for several different categories in the True Crime Genre besides Best True Crime Blog, there is Best True Crime Book, Best True Crime TV Program, Best Film based on True Crime and more. I should also note there are other true crime blogs nominated as well that are good blogs but I want to give my full support to T&T and Juror13....They are the BEST! Really! Just ask me. LOL! Sphere: Related Content

Laying Caylee Anthony To Rest

UPDATE:
The Memorial service will be shown in it's entirety on HLN this morning; however, If you prefer to watch on the computer via live streaming here are some links (ie. no commercials):

CNN

WFTV

CLO


A date has finally been set for a public memorial for little Caylee Anthony, the Orlando, Florida toddler who went missing last June and whose remains were found near her home on December 11. If you aren’t familiar with Caylee’s story you can read about it here.

The long awaited date for Caylee’s public memorial service was confirmed today via press conference by Brad Conway, attorney and spokesman for George and Cindy Anthony. The arrangements for the memorial are as follows:

PLACE: FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF ORLANDO

DATE: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2009

TIME: 10:00 a.m. Doors will open at 8:00 a.m.

According to Mr. Conway, there will be tight security in place to ensure safety for all who attend and ensure there are no disruptions. Accordingly attendees will enter through metal detectors, no cell phones, cameras or video equipment of any kind or purses, handbags or backpacks will be allowed. There will be provisions made for the press with a place for video pool and still photography pool. HLN will carry the memorial service live.

Mr. Conway was asked about a list of people who would not be allowed into the church. He said they were not releasing a list, but the security personnel will be aware who these individuals are and they will be respectfully turned away at the door. He added these people are aware who they are and when asked specifically about bounty hunter Leonard Padilla, Conway sort of chuckled and said something to the effect that he was starting to think Padilla was moving in and he wished he would just go home. Conway also made it clear that no one will be allowed to get on their soapbox about the legal aspects of the case. This memorial is for the purpose of showing dignity and respect to Caylee and memorializing her life.

The church holds 5000 people and Conway said there are plans in place for overflow, although he didn’t elaborate other than saying he expected it to be standing room only.
Conway said the reason the Anthony’s wanted to do a public memorial is to give thanks to those who have helped them out and those who have come to love Caylee. When asked if the Anthonys would be speaking during the memorial he said he didn’t think so.

There has been criticism because Cindy has planned this memorial and not Casey. To me, it makes sense that Cindy is the one planning this memorial, she is the one who took responsibility for Caylee much of her life and who Caylee seemed to turn to for consolation.

There is also speculation that the Anthonys plan to profit financially off of this memorial and I hope that isn’t true. During his press conference, Brad Conway said this memorial was made possible by anonymous donors who are covering the complete cost of the event and the Anthonys will bare no burden of the expense. My gut says that some media outlet/s have donated these funds. Many media outlets have gotten a lot of “mileage” out of the public interest in this case and I wouldn’t be offended to hear they have foot the bill for the public to memorialize little Caylee.

My thoughts on this memorial service are that personally I wouldn’t attend, even if I lived nearby, but I can understand some of those who would. Particularly those who know the Anthonys in some way, whether a neighbor, a church member, a clerk at a store where they shopped, someone who volunteered in the search for Caylee whether it was physically looking or making donations of some kind, school friends or coworkers, etc… Do you get my drift ? I think it is inappropriate to attend just because you are curious or want to be able to say…I was there and the Anthonys did this or that wrong…that in no way honors Caylee.

I haven’t decided whether to watch the memorial on HLN, but I have already included this little girl in my prayers for sometime now and can honestly say she will always have a special spot in my heart. I guess it boils down to each of us doing what we can feel comfortable with. There are some wonderful tributes to Caylee on YouTube here is just one of many:





One last thing about laying Caylee to rest. During the press conference today Brad Conway was asked if Caylee's remains would be at the memorial service, he said they would not. He said no private burial has taken place yet. I am not calling Mr. Conway a liar but I don't expect the public will be told when the private funeral has taken place and I wouldn't be surprised if it already has been held. Rest in peace little Caylee! Sphere: Related Content