Pat Dollard | Young Americans

Tragic…all around fucking tragic.

R.I.P. Little One.

Casey Anthony was indicted today on seven charges in the disappearance of her missing daughter, Caylee Marie Anthony, including first-degree murder.

She also was charged with:

One count aggravated child abuse One count aggravated manslaughter of a child Four counts of providing false info to a law enforcement officer The decision came after an Orange County grand jury heard more than six hours of testimony from a half-dozen witnesses, including Anthony’s father, George Anthony, and sheriff’s Detective Yuri Melich, who is heading up the investigation.

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Jurors completed their work at the Orange County Courthouse at mid-afternoon. Chief Judge Belvin Perry, who presided over the proceeding, received the indictment shortly before 4 p.m. today but ordered it sealed until Anthony was arrested.

The young mother, who spent much of the day at her lawyer’s office in Kissimmee, was on the road shortly before 5 p.m. when Orange County deputy sheriffs stopped the vehicle in which she was riding on the Beachline Expressway.

She was taken to the Sheriff’s Office command center in Orlando and was taken to the Orange County Jail this evening.

Caylee Marie’s body has not been found, but the indictment indicates that prosecutors believe they can prove at trial that her mother killed her. The first-degree murder charge carries a possible death penalty if she is convicted.

“The investigation contains intricate forensics that are on the cutting edge of science,” State Attorney Lawson Lamar said after the indictment was unsealed. “We are used to complex forensics and are ready to manage this evidence at trial.”

To win a grand jury indictment, prosecutors had to demonstrate only probable cause that Anthony committed the crime. Proving a case beyond a reasonable doubt is the standard for a criminal trial.

Anthony, 22, has been the main suspect for months in the disappearance of her daughter, who was reported missing July 15. The mother told detectives that she last saw Caylee in mid-June when she left the girl with a baby sitter.

When Anthony returned later, both the child and the baby sitter were gone, she said. Authorities have not been able to find the nanny, and they question whether she exists.

Deputies charged her with child neglect a day after reporting her daughter missing.

They also charged her with providing false information, saying she told lies and directed them to dead-ends. Among the lies, they said, was leading deputies to a vacant apartment she said belonged to the baby sitter and telling them she was an event planner at Universal Studios.

Anthony also is facing several check fraud cases. “The case will not be prosecuted by news release laying out our case to further excite the public,” Lamar said. “We will properly do our work in a courtroom setting with a circuit judge presiding to ensure a fair trial for the defendant. Remember that this indictment is not proof of guilt, it is a grand jury finding, an accusation.”

Anthony’s first appearance will be Wednesday either at 8:30 arm or 1:30 p.m.

(Newsday)