Volume 6, Issue 77
December 17, 2008
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Is it Caylee?...
Authorities are searching the wooded area in Orlando where a child's skull was found in hopes of discovering more clues to solve the case of a missing toddler. CBS News story here
Orange County Sheriff's officials say evidence is mounting that the skull belongs to toddler Caylee Anthony. Caylee's mother, 22-year-old Casey Anthony, reported the girl missing in July and was charged with first-degree murder before the remains were found. A utility worker found the remains Thursday, about a half-mile from Anthony's home. One of Anthony's attorneys said Friday that "anthropological measurements and hair color" of the remains matched Caylee. On the CBS Early Show Saturday, Carlos Padilla, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department, said that police are not yet able to confirm that the body is that of Caylee, "but the likelihood that it is, is very high and we're confident and we believe that it is her." Padilla gave three reasons for the belief the body is Caylee's (CNN News story here): 
Meanwhile, a judge denied requests from Caylee's imprisoned mother to force investigators to turn over their photos, videos and drawings from the woods where a child's remains were found last week. My Fox Orlando news story here
The judge also denied motions from Casey Anthony's attorneys to appoint a forensic expert and allow a second autopsy. Anthony's attorneys say they have concerns about how the remains are being preserved. "I can't assist you by interfering in a murder investigation. That's basically what this amounts to," said Circuit Judge Stan Strickland in rejecting the motions during an emergency hearing. "I just can't do it. They're still investigating it." Casey Anthony was charged in October with killing daughter Caylee, who was reported missing in July. The remains have not been positively identified but recent comments from attorneys and authorities indicate they believe the body is likely Caylee's. See more at vol6_iss49, vol6_iss55, vol6_iss61, vol6_iss65, and vol6_iss68. Anthony is being held without bond in jail, where she was removed Tuesday from psychological observation. She was placed under observation last week after the remains were discovered. She is in a cell by herself and has no contact with other inmates, according to an Orange County Jail spokesman. Casey Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, said that the judge risked denying his client a fair trial by refusing the defense access to the evidence from the crime scene. Crime scene technicians and experts on Tuesday spent a sixth day sifting through dirt and scouring the woods where the remains were discovered by a meter reader last Thursday. VIDEO:--Emergency motions for Baez denied VIDEO:--Latest from the crime scene VIDEO:--Anthony home becoming tourist attraction RAW VIDEO:--Baez Emergency Motion Hearing Timeline, Documents and Photos related to the Casey Anthony Case Adam Walsh murder solved... 
A drifter who died in prison 12 years ago was responsible for the 1981 abduction and murder of Adam Walsh, bringing to an end one of the country's most famous cold cases, police in Florida announced yesterday. ABC News story here
The six-year-old son of "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh went missing from a Hollywood, Florida, mall more than 27 years ago. His head was discovered two weeks later, though his body was never found. Hollywood, Florida, police named Ottis Toole, a convicted killer long suspected of the Walsh murder, who died in prison in 1996, as the perpetrator. "For 27 years we've been asking who could take a six-year-old boy and murder him and decapitate him? Who? We needed to know," said John Walsh, as tears streamed down his face. "And today we know. The not knowing has been a torture but that journey is over." Hollywood Police Chief Chadwick Wagner apologized to the Walshes for mistakes that he said were made early on in the investigation, before he became police chief, saying there was enough evidence against Toole to charge him before his death. Wagner said there was no new evidence against Toole that made police name him as the killer, but that there was a "vast amount" of circumstantial evidence. "If Ottis Toole were alive today, he would be arrested for the abduction and murder of Adam Walsh," he said. See a Today Show video interview with the Walsh family at MSNBC video link here. Adam Walsh's abduction happened 27 years ago, at a time when parents routinely left their children playing in the toy store, unattended, and continued shopping. AP News story here The case led to advances in police searches for missing youngsters and a notable shift in the view parents and children have of the world. Adam's death, and his father's transformation from a hotel developer to an activist, helped put missing children's faces on milk cartons and in mailboxes, started fingerprinting programs and increased security at schools and stores. It spurred the creation of missing persons units at every large police department. And it prompted legislation to create a national center, database and toll-free line devoted to missing children. It also prompted the television program "America's Most Wanted," hosted by John Walsh, which brought such cases into millions of homes. "In 1981, when a child disappeared, you couldn't enter information about a child into the FBI database. You could enter information about stolen cars, stolen guns but not stolen children," said Ernie Allen, president of the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which was co-founded by John Walsh. "Those things have all changed." In other news... 
Jurors convicted the leader of an apocalyptic northeastern New Mexico sect of one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Fox News story here Wayne Bent, the self-described Messiah and leader of The Lord Our Righteousness Church, faced two counts each of criminal sexual contact of a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor in allegations involving 14- and 16-year old sisters in July and August 2006. Bent, 67, testified last week he placed his hand on the sternums, but not the breasts, of the teenagers as they lay naked with him in separate incidents. He said he was careful that the spiritual healing exercises with the sisters not take a sexual turn. An ex-member of the church said in May that Bent "said God told him that he was supposed to sleep with seven virgins." See more at vol6_iss34, vol6_iss36, vol6_iss37.
The home of an Oregon couple charged with abusing nine of their children looked like something out of a horror movie, the prosecution said during opening statements of the trial. Fox News story here Marion County prosecutor Sarah Morris told jurors that the children of Graydon and Robyn Drown were beaten with 2-by-4 boards, metal and plastic pipes, spoons and whips. The children, who range in age from infant to 16, hadn't seen dentists or doctors and didn't go to school, Morris said. The children were taken by state welfare authorities after the Drowns were arrested June 19 at their rural home. Each parent faces a 25-count indictment of assault and criminal-mistreatment charges. The Drowns also have three adult children. 
A 9-year-old girl's letter to Santa Claus asking that a relative stop touching her and her sister has led to the arrest of a 55-year-old Pharr man on charges of continuous sexual abuse of a young child, according to a newspaper report. CBS News story here Andres Enrique Cantu, 55, of Pharr, remained in the Hidalgo County Jail Monday night after his arrest Friday. His bond was set at $100,000. It wasn't immediately clear if Cantu had an attorney. The girl wrote the letter Thursday and turned it in at Cesar Chavez Elementary School, The (McAllen) Monitor reported. It wasn't clear if the letter was for a school assignment.
Roger Kiser and Dick Colon, two men who resided at the Florida School for Boys at Marianna, sat down for an emotional, exclusive interview on The Early Show with co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez. CBS News story here The two men recounted some of the horror stories from their stay in Marianna and urged others to come forward and visit the White House Boys Web site. Kiser and Colon's experiences are being made into a movie by SilverCreek Entertainment. Video of their stories is available online at CBSNews.com. Florida Governor Charlie Crist has ordered an investigation into reported abuses and the identities of those buried in 32 unmarked graves at the school. See also vol6_iss76.
One in 5 teenagers say they've electronically sent or posted online nude or semi-nude images of themselves, which may be fueling a more casual attitude toward sex, according to a "Sex and Tech" survey released by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com. Fox News story here About 22 percent of teen girls, including 11 percent of those between the ages of 13 and 16, and 18 percent of teen boys say they've shared racy photos of themselves and these racy images are also getting passed around: One-third (33 percent) of teen boys and one-quarter (25 percent) of teen girls say they have had nude/semi-nude images–originally meant to be private–shared with them, the online survey of 1,280 teens and young adults found. The study also found that 15 percent of teens who have sent sexually suggestive content such as text messages, email, photographs or video say they have done so with someone they only know online. The full study is available online at thenationalcampaign.org/sextech.
In other recently released studies:
Two child molesters working for Delaware's environmental protection department office were permitted to keep their jobs while serving time in prison for their sex crimes. delawareonline.com story here Accountant Robert Dick spent more than a year in prison for molesting a 14-year-old girl, and engineer Gene Pettingill served time for molesting a 7-year-old girl. The state has no policy regarding the status of employees in prison. But state budget spokesman Robert L. Scoglietti said Wednesday his office did not support Hughes' decision to let Dick and Pettingill–who both are listed on Delaware's sex offender registry–keep their jobs while serving prison sentences.
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