ORLANDO, FL -- Air samples show there was evidence consistent with adecomposing body in the trunk of a Florida mother charged with killingher missing 3-year-old, according to a report released Friday.
CaseyAnthony's daughter, Caylee, disappeared in June but has not been found.Casey Anthony, 22, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.
Spokesmenfor Anthony's parents and her lawyer said the report from Oak RidgeNational Laboratory in Tennessee doesn't provide anything new. A judgeordered prosecutors to release it and they declined comment.
Airtesting is used to detect compounds that are released when a bodydecomposes, and the report found five compounds consistent with bodydecomposition in Anthony's trunk. Tests also found evidence ofdecomposition on a hair strand described as "microscopically similar"to one found on Caylee's hair brush.
Caylee has not been seensince June, but wasn't reported missing until a month later. Thechild's grandmother first called authorities in July to say she hadn'tseen Caylee for a month and her daughter's car smelled like death.
Anthonytold authorities she had left her daughter with a baby sitter in Juneand the two were gone when she returned from work. She says she spentthe next month trying to find her daughter and didn't call authoritiesbecause she was scared. Investigators say they have poked several holesin her story.
Residue of chloroform, which can be used to rendersomeone unconscious, was found on the spare tire cover and trunk liner,though a trace was also found in a control experiment on a similartrunk. No usable finger prints were found on a shovel in the trunk.
"Idon't feel the report came out with anything different that what(prosecutors) have been saying already," said Larry Garrison, spokesmanfor Caylee's grandparents. He said the grandparents "believe CayleeAnthony is still alive and are actively pursuing tips on herwhereabouts."
Todd Black, a spokesman for Anthony's attorney,Jose Baez, said nothing in the report links Casey Anthony to the deathof her daughter.
Donald Jones, a University of Miami lawprofessor who is not connected to the case, said the reports don'tprove Caylee's body was in the trunk because they were only"consistent" with the presence of a decomposing body.
"If you'rebuilding a house, it's a brick, not a wall," Jones said. "It's a nailin her coffin, and that coffin already has a lot of nails."
Still, he said, the defense has a difficult battle and needs evidence that leads away from Casey Anthony as a suspect.
"Casey needs good news," he said. "This is not it."
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
