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Mother Of Missing Orlando Girl Arrested 3rd Time

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The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 16, 2008

ORLANDO - The mother of a missing toddler, who authorities have called a person of interest in the girl's disappearance, was arrested a third time Monday on new theft charges.

Orange County sheriff's deputies took Casey Anthony, 22, into custody as she visited the jail to meet with her case manager about other charges. Her daughter, 3-year-old Caylee, was reported missing in July, about a month after the girl was last seen.

Detectives have said lab tests show Caylee's decomposing body was in her mother's car, and Anthony is their only "person of interest" in the girl's disappearance.

However, Monday marked the third time she was handcuffed and booked on far less significant charges. In fact, the three additional counts recommended by sheriff's deputies were identical to several others for which Anthony had already posted bail.

Anthony's spokesman accused investigators of grandstanding with the arrest.

"It is like addicts going through withdrawal," spokesman Todd Black said in a statement. "When things start calming down a little, the authorities inject another media fix, instead of conducting themselves professionally and taking care of whatever charges they have at the same time."

The sheriff's office said it expected Anthony to remain jailed at least until a hearing scheduled today.

Prosecutors have formally charged Anthony with child neglect, making false statements to investigators and 10 counts of theft involving goods bought with a friend's stolen checkbook. The Monday charges involved the same alleged theft from the same victim.

At a July hearing, detectives disclosed finding hair strands and a suspicious stain in Anthony's trunk, which had been left for days at a check-cashing business before being towed. Those who went near the car said it smelled of human decomposition.

Meanwhile, Anthony's neighbors are seeking a judge's order to keep groups of protesters, supporters and media away from their homes. Sheriff's deputies have been called several times to break up confrontations in what the complaint described as an "angry mob."

The mystery of what happened to Caylee and the constant twists and turns in the case, including Anthony's arrests, have drawn intense media and public interest from the start.

The area had been the staging ground for countless camera crews and live national television spots for weeks, but began to draw others - even tourists - at the end of August, when Anthony was first freed on an unusually high $500,000 bail.

The crowds have intensified in the intervening weeks, according to the homeowners' association's complaint, disrupting the sleep, traffic, peace and safety of the area.

A spokeswoman for the Ninth Judicial Circuit said no immediate ruling on the complaint was expected Monday.

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