Judge Opens Up on Casey Anthony Case

Judge Opens Up on Casey Anthony Case
Casey Anthony leaves the United States Courthouse in Tampa, Fla., with a U.S. Marshal after a bankruptcy hearing Monday, March 4, 2013, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)
The Associated Press
3/2/2017
Updated:
3/2/2017

The judge who presided over the acquittal of Casey Anthony in a murder trial televised live around the world said Thursday that an accidental killing is the most logical explanation for her 2-year-old daughter’s death.

Former Judge Belvin Perry Jr. told The Associated Press that the theory that makes the most sense to him now, based on the evidence presented at trial in 2011, is that Anthony accidentally used too much chloroform while trying to quiet Caylee, and the infant died.

“You have a child that can become cranky, that you want to go to sleep. That is a simple way to do it,” said Perry, who is now in private practice. “What we tend to forget is, chloroform was used to render people unconscious long before we had anesthesia.”

Asked to respond on Thursday, one of her attorneys, Cheney Mason, said: “I’ve got your response: She was acquitted.”

Anthony, now 30, was acquitted of first-degree murder and convicted of misdemeanor counts of lying to law enforcement