Grand jury returns capital indictment in Caylee case

ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) -- A Florida grand jury has returned an indictment in the case of missing toddler Caylee Anthony.

Caylee Anthony, 3, disappeared in mid-June but wasn't reported missing until a month later.

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The name of the person indicted and the specific charge is not yet known because the indictment remains sealed until an arrest is made.

But Lawson Lamar, the state attorney for Orange County, said the first count is a capital charge -- which could carry a penalty of life in prison or death.

Prosecutors are asking that the person named in the indictment be held without bond.

The 19 grand jurors -- 10 women and nine men -- deliberated for about half an hour before returning the indictment. Earlier in the day they heard from police, FBI agents and members of the missing child's family.

Casey Anthony, Caylee's mother, has been identified as a suspect in her daughter's disappearance. She will surrender to authorities if indicted, her lawyer said earlier Tuesday.

"I've already given official notice to the state attorney's office that should an indictment come down, Casey will surrender herself," attorney Jose Baez told reporters as his 22-year-old client wiped tears from her eyes.

"She's not running from this," Baez said during an impromptu media briefing. "She's doing her best to stand strong, to stand up to the powers that are working against her. And they threw the kitchen sink at her a long time ago."

Adding that his client "has been living a nightmare," the attorney asked the public to remember, "She has a missing child. She's also a child."

Source: cnn.com via master_jim2008

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ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) -- A Florida grand jury has returned an indictment charging Casey Anthony with first-degree murder in the disappearance of her 3-year-old daughter, Caylee.

Caylee Anthony, 3, disappeared in mid-June but wasn't reported missing until a month later.

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Prosecutors announced the charges Tuesday afternoon, shortly after a grand jury returned the indictment.

Lawson Lamar, the state attorney for Orange County, said the first count is a capital charge -- which could carry a penalty of life in prison or death.

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