She was seen leaving the Orange County Jail about 11 minutes passed 12 in the morning, sporting a pink shirt and jeans and being escorted out with her attorney Jose Baez into a gray SUV. She was surrounded by countless deputies wearing bulletproof vests and mass amount more encompassing the building.
Anthony was acquitted on all but the final four charges on July 5. She was accused by the state for the murder of her daughter, Caylee Marie Anthony, whose remains were found on Dec. 11 in a swamp in a wooded area around the corner from her family's home, after months of searching for the child, who was thought to be missing due to her mother's lies.
The state claimed she killed the 2-year-old by suffocation when she allegedly applied duct tape to her nose and mouth, but Anthony's defense argues the child died in an accidental drowning in the Anthony family's home on June 16, 2008 and covered up by her grandfather George Anthony, who was said to have placed the duct tape on the toddler's face and paid off a meter reader by the name of Roy Kronk to dispose the remains.
The 12 men and women of the jury originally voted 10 to 2 with majority not guilty, but some have stepped into the light to explain that they feel that there was not enough evidence to convict Anthony for murder, therefore acquitting her on the most serious charges, leaving an entire nation to react in anger.
Protesters gathered in front of the jail holding signs and yelling, "If you support Casey, go jump in front of a truck, "Baby killer," "A murderer has just been set free" and "Honk for Caylee" as innumerable aggregation of spectators observed from across the street and cars swarm by honking and yelling the same sentiments, as well.
Upon release, crowds stampeded to the street Anthony was exiting on, screaming. One man told a deputy, "It's a sad day in Orlando," and the sheriff replied, "It happens."
Susan Caplan arrived at the courthouse with her four granddaughters by the request of the 8-year-old for her July 17 birthday. "She's been following it," said Caplan. "She can't believe her own mommy would do it." Caplan said she and her grandkids are very upset with the jury's verdict.
Caplan and her family are from Pinellas County and she says she's ashamed to admit so. "I was in there watching them pick the jury," she explained, "and I'm very disappointed that Pinellas County jury found her not guilty of anything. Not manslaughter, not child neglect, nothing."
She says they came for a good cause; so they can remember Caylee. "We're not going to forget that little girl," Caplan said. "We're not going to forget. Her mother might live on but karma will come after her."
Three others, who traveled from various towns, have set up two tents which they call "Camp Caylee" - equipped with a cooler, fans and camping chairs - which they plan to stay at for a total of 24 hours from 3 p.m. Saturday until the following day. Sandra Oliver, Bree Thornton and Lori Richards met on the day of the sentencing and vowed to conduct a 24-hour protest the day Anthony would be released.
Oliver, who calls the jurors "jellyfish jury" because she says they lack a backbone, commuted from Deltona for the protest. "We needed one with a backbone," she said. "Stand up, America. We need to stand up and make our rights known and this was just such an injustice."One protest material in particular that they presented was a book made out of yellow construction paper entitled, "What Really Happened to Caylee," which Thornton said she hopes is not a bestseller. The inside covered with the term "lies" abundantly on the left side and the right stating, "What did you really expect?" adding "Boycott" in capital letters at the conclusion.
Meanwhile, two protesters stood in solitary with signs that read, "Not guilty - Get over it" and "Not Guilty - People deserve second chances."
David Antolic arrived at the jail on Saturday at 2 in the afternoon and says he is protesting to support the Anthony family's civil rights and holds a "Not guilty" sign because he says that's what the verdict is and he believes that the aftermath of the public's reaction was dispensable.
"My message is that the media, the protesters, would-be vigilantes, everybody - they're looking to destroy Casey and her family's character," said Antolic, 24, an Orlando resident. "And you know, I really wish people would just respect due process and the judicial system, instead of doing all this, all this protesting and threats and violence. It's just not necessary. We're civilized people. We've got a system for ways to deal with these things and people need to respect that instead of taking matters into their own hands."
The car Anthony was seen departing from the jail in was viewed entering a Bank of America in downtown where attorney Cheney Mason's office is but leaving with many others resembling diverging in separate directions as what some suggest was a decoy, one location being the airport. Some have speculated that she arrived at the Orlando Executive Airport on a flight to Columbus, Ohio, in a learjet and a young woman with a long brown ponytail and a white blouse was seen running out of an SUV at the airport, but the actual destination of where Anthony is remains unknown.
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