Caylee Anthony's Eulogy

Due to decomposition the head and body of Caylee Marie Anthony, born Aug. 9, 2005 at 7:14 am, were found separately on Dec. 11, 2008 near her grandparents house. Her mother Casey Anthony sits in jail, accused of the little girl's murder. Read about the case here and the discovery of Caylee's body here.

A public memorial service is to be held Feb. 10, 2008 at the First Baptist Church of Orlando. The church can seat up to 5,000  people. The one person who will not attend the service is the mother, Casey Anthony, she will not be allowed out of jail.

Brad Conway, the lawyer for Caylee's grandparents, George and Cindy Anthony, describes the preparations for the memorial service and acknowledges that there is likely to be a huge crowd.

The family is requesting that those with only the purest of hearts and truly honorable intentions attend the service for their beloved child. This service will be a tribute to her life and a time for her family and friends to finally be together to openly express and share their love for her.

He also talks with the media and answers some questions in the following two-part video.

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Cindy Anthony has written a eulogy for her granddaughter which was first published in the Orlando Sentinel. Read the entire eulogy here. Cindy announced that a foundation will be setup in Caylee Anthony's name:

Because of this outpouring of compassion, the family will continue to honor Caylee's memory by establishing the Caylee Marie Anthony Foundation. The foundation's purpose will be to continue to generate awareness for missing children and to establish programs to assist in the well-being of those children in need of comfort and support during difficult and stressful times.

The case of Caylee Anthony has attracted international attention and the Anthony family is determined that this little girl will not have died in vain:

"Caylee's life may have been short-lived on this Earth," the eulogy read, "but her life will not have ended without a purpose. She will be sadly missed but never forgotten."

Caylee Anthony is Dead

There is no nice way to say this. The life of an innocent little 2-year-old girl, Caylee Marie Anthony, was extinguished and her body dumped in the woods near her grand-parents house. Her mother, Casey Anthony, sits in jail, accused of killing her baby daughter even though the girl's body had not yet been found. Read more about the case here.

In a press conference Dr. Jan Garavaglia, the Orange County medical examiner confirmed that the skeletal remains of a young child found in the woods on December 11, is that of Caylee Anthony. The remains were confirmed to be Caylee's through a DNA match. The cause of death was determined to be homicide but the medical examiner could not say exactly how.

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The six-month search for the missing Caylee is over. Questions however remain as to why it took so long to find Caylee's body. It appears as if some clues and tips were not followed up thoroughly.

Roy Kronk, the meter reader who found the remains and called the department four months ago, directing them to the site three times, came forward. He read from a prepared statement, telling reporters that

"Back in August of this year, I previously reported to Crimeline and to the sheriff's communications center that I had spotted something suspicious, a bag in the same area. I have been and will continue to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation by the sheriff's office and the FBI," Kronk said.

At a news conference, Capt. Angelo Nieves, a Sheriff's Department commander, said investigators were looking into whether Kronk's tips, called in August 11, 12 and 13, were properly followed up. In one of those phone calls, Kronk reported seeing a gray bag on the side of the road, Nieves said. On August 13, a deputy responded to the site and did a "cursory search" but found nothing, Nieves said. He said the department was investigating the "thoroughness" of the deputy's response but would not identify the deputy. Nieves also said that searchers combing the site after the skull's discovery had found "significant skeletal remains" consistent with those of a small child on the outer perimeter of the search area.

Kronk is not the only one, or the first, to have pointed police toward the site containing the remains. KioMarie Cruz, Casey Anthony's childhood friend, also told police to investigate the same wooded area near Hidden Oaks Elementary School a month before the meter reader.

Cruz said that she and Anthony "pretty much used to hang out there most of our time," would "snack on food for hours" and went there to "get away from our parents."

The Sheriff's Department followed up on that tip, but the wooded area was covered in floodwaters, preventing a search. Nieves said the water may have been present at the time of the meter reader's tips as well.

Caylee Marie Anthony died a horrible death but at least there is some closure in knowing that her body has been found. What follows next is the trial of Casey Anthony for the murder of her daughter. Will justice be served??