A jury has acquitted Casey Anthony in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, concluding a trial in Orlando, Fla. that had captured the nation’s attention.
The 25-year-old woman was found not guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter of a child. But the jury found Casey guilty of four counts of providing false information to law enforcement.
Anthony faced the death penalty if she had been convicted of the top charges. Instead, she faces up to four years in prison; one for each count of lying to police who were investigating her daughter’s dissappearance.
The verdict was read in court at 2:15 p.m. by Judge Belvin Perry. The verdict comes after the second day of deliberations.
The jury consisted of five men and seven women from Tampa Bay, according to CBS, and has listened to 33 days of testimony and another two days of closing arguments before deliberating.
As previously reported, the trial follows the death of Casey’s daughter, Caylee, who went missing in July 2008. Her remains were discovered in December 2008 and her mother, Casey, was immediately considered a main suspect.
Casey Anthony was arrested soon after the discovery and her trial started in early May. The defense argued that the 2-year-old girl drowned in the family swimming pool and wasn’t murdered by Casey.
Her attorney suggested that Casey’s mom, Cindy, forgot to pull up the safety ladder and the little girl slipped into the pool and drowned by accident. The defense also said that Casey didn’t call the police because she panicked.
During the trial, the defense also alleged that she was abused by her father as a child and by her brother and that she made up those stories because she was “trained to lie” through years of sexual abuse by the two.
The prosecution claimed that Casey Anthony killed Caylee with chloroform and then duct taped her nose and mouth.
