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Nancy Grace

Casey Opposes Public Caylee Memorial

Aired February 09, 2009 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight in the desperate search for a beautiful 2-year-old Florida girl, Caylee. Six months of searching culminates when skeletal remains found in a heavily wooded area just 15 houses from the Anthonys` confirmed to be Caylee, manner of death homicide, the little girl`s remains completely skeletonized. This after a utility meter reader stumbles on a garbage bag containing a tiny human skeleton, including a skull covered in light-colored hair. The killer duct tapes the child`s mouth, then finishes off by placing a child`s heart-shaped sticker over the duct tape, little Caylee`s tiny skeleton double-bagged like she`s trash.

Bombshell. On the eve of little Caylee`s memorial, tot mom Casey Anthony`s dead set against the service. Speaking for the first time since the discovery of Caylee`s remains, she`s voicing her opposition. The service set in less than 24 hours under tight security, First Baptist Church, Orlando. Over 5,000 expected, with people flying in from across the country. Pointing out she had no hand in planning the service, tot mom saying she wants only a private service at a gravesite so she can visit. Well, again, it`s all about her.

And in a major development tonight, tot mom reveals Caylee`s remains have already been secretly cremated. That`s right, cremated. The Anthony lawyer says no. As of this hour, tot mom hasn`t even asked to watch the memorial behind jailhouse walls. Why? We also confirm the Anthonys still want that private memorial behind bars, grandmother Cindy composing a heart-breaking eulogy to Caylee, apparently, tot mom contributing nothing whatsoever to the service to say good-bye to her little girl, except complaining about it, of course. And tonight, with videotaped sworn testimony from the Anthony family set down, tot mom`s lawyer wants to stop the whole thing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New details emerge in the case of 2-year-old Florida toddler Caylee Anthony. With the public memorial for Caylee less than 24 hours away, tot mom Casey Anthony has yet to ask permission to watch the memorial service from behind bars.

CASEY ANTHONY, CAYLEE`S MOTHER: I`m not going to ask any of them for it because they`re not going to give that to me. They`re not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: However, she could listen on her radio inside her 12.5 by 7-foot jail cell.

CASEY ANTHONY: I am upset now. I`m completely upset. One, the media`s going to have a frickin` field day with this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Security`s expected to be tight at first Baptist Church of Orlando tomorrow morning, with guests having to pass through metal detectors, banned from bringing any cameras, phones or bags with them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Security will be tight. I don`t want anybody disrupting this little girl`s service.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Attorney Jose Baez read a statement from the tot mom this afternoon where Casey Anthony says she did not want a public memorial for Caylee.

JOSE BAEZ, ATTORNEY FOR CASEY ANTHONY: "I allowed my parents to be in charge of the funeral for Caylee. I asked them if there could only be a private funeral for just the family."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The eulogy for Caylee written by grandmother Cindy Anthony invites only those with truly honorable intentions to attend the memorial beginning at 10:00 AM.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The family is requesting that those who -- with only the purest of hearts and truly honorable intentions attend the service for their beloved child.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. The memorial for 2-year-old little Caylee in just hours, tot mom speaking out to oppose the service, pointing out she has no hand whatsoever in the planning. The rest of the Anthony family tonight in mourning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking developments in the case of 2-year-old Florida toddler Caylee Anthony, whose public memorial takes place just hours from now at the 5,000-seat First Baptist Church of Orlando.

CASEY ANTHONY: I just want her to come home. I just want my baby back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While the rest of the Anthony family prepares for the memorial service, tot mom Casey Anthony remains in the Orange County jail, where she has not requested to watch Caylee`s memorial on television.

CASEY ANTHONY: We know what that means to have -- to have our family broken apart by (INAUDIBLE) by tragedy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the statement by the tot mom read by her attorney, Jose Baez, Anthony professes her sadness over Caylee`s death but did not want a public memorial to be held for her daughter.

BAEZ: "I still don`t want a public event with cameras and everybody around for Caylee`s service, but I can`t stop my parents from doing what they want."

CASEY ANTHONY: I`m not control over any of this! My entire life has been taken from me! Everything has been taken from me! You don`t understand!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: With the public memorial set down in less than 24 hours, tot mom finally breaks for silence. We haven`t heard from her in weeks behind bars, but now she sends out a statement through her lawyer. Interesting, while she has time to issue a statement on her own behalf, she is contributing absolutely nothing to the memorial for little Caylee tomorrow.

Grandmother Cindy Anthony writes a heartbreaking eulogy, a eulogy clearly from the heart. And even George Anthony, who has just come home from a psych ward after a suicide attempt, will be there tomorrow to say good-bye to Caylee. Now we learn the tot mom hasn`t even asked to watch the memorial, which will be televised, from behind bars.

To Natisha Lance, our producer. She is there standing by at that Orlando church. She was there at the defense attorney press conference today. Natisha, what`s the latest?

NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: The latest, Nancy, just as you said, Casey Anthony released a statement today which was read by her attorney, Jose Baez. Now, this is the first time that we have heard from Casey Anthony throughout this whole ordeal, and Jose Baez said that this is the first time that Casey Anthony has been compelled to speak out.

Now, we heard a lot of things that went against her family, Casey Anthony saying that she wanted Caylee to be buried in a casket, and she said that she knows that Caylee was cremated. However, I spoke to Brad Conway, the attorney for George and Cindy Anthony. He says that he doesn`t even believe that decision has been made yet.

Casey Anthony also said that she did not want to have a public memorial for Caylee. She wanted it to be a private burial. And I asked Jose Baez if he was still planning to facilitate something, to have a face- to-face meeting or something of a video visitation that will not go out to the public eventually for Casey Anthony. And he said that he is planning to look into doing that, but he will follow the rules to make that happen.

GRACE: Let`s take a listen to the tot mom`s prepared statement through her mouth piece, the defense attorney Jose Baez.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAEZ: "I miss Caylee every day and every minute of every day. I can`t be there for Caylee`s funeral, but some day I want to go and visit her grave and tell her how much I miss her. I allowed my parents to be in charge of the funeral for Caylee. I told them that I wanted her buried in a casket and I wanted there to be a gravestone so I can go and visit her. I asked them if there could only be a private funeral for just the family. I know they cremated her. I still don`t want a public event with cameras and everybody around for Caylee`s service, but I can`t stop my parents from doing what they want. I truly hope that it will help them."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: And there we hear the defense attorney, Jose Baez, state again that little Caylee has already apparently secretly been cremated. The Anthony family says no through their lawyer, but it seems to me that Jose Baez would certainly know the affairs of his own client.

We are taking your calls live. Twenty-four hours before this memorial goes down for little Caylee, will it in any way affect the trial? Out to the lines. Renee, North Carolina. Hi, Renee.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, Nancy. It`s nice to talk to you.

GRACE: Likewise.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`ve got beautiful babies. I`ve been wondering, do you think that she is jealous that her mother is the one that`s taken control of the whole situation here and that she isn`t the one that`s in control now because she`s behind bars, and that`s why she doesn`t want to be in -- isn`t wanting to see -- or isn`t asking to see any of the funeral -- or memorial?

GRACE: Renee from North Carolina, I`m going to have to throw that to a specialist. I`m just a trial lawyer. To Dr. Janet Taylor, doctor and psychiatrist. Dr. Taylor, it seems to me that Renee`s question from North Carolina has a ring of truth to it.

DR. JANET TAYLOR, PSYCHIATRIST: Well, absolutely. It certainly talks about the conflict that has existed between Caylee and her mother and still does exist. It almost seems like Caylee is just -- I mean, Casey`s just trying to stick the knife in a little bit further.

GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What now? Who`s doing what?

TAYLOR: I said it sounds like, with that statement that she had, knowing that her parents are suffering, that she`s just trying to create a wider gap between their existing relationship.

GRACE: Well, Dr. Taylor, I`m going to point out two other things. If you`ll recall, former fiance Jesse Grund said that tot mom broke up the engagement with him because he, quote, "loved Caylee more than Casey," according to the tot mom. And also, according to many, many sources, tot mom has resented her own mother, Cindy Anthony, who`s done nothing but help her from the beginning, because she got to hold little Caylee first when little Caylee was born. It seems like a grudge that has gone on for a long time.

TAYLOR: Well, either a grudge or the fact that Casey really needs all of the attention on her. And again, this statement was another way to direct the attention back to her, even though she`s behind bars.

GRACE: Back to Natisha Lance, standing by there at the church. Natisha, what are the plans for tomorrow?

LANCE: Well, the plans for tomorrow, Nancy, the doors will open at 8:00 AM. And they`re planning for a very large crowd. Now, they already have barricades. I`m not sure if you can see behind me or not. But there are barricades here. There`s a tent that`s set up. There`s going to be a TV also for outside broadcasting.

They`re also saying that the family was supposed to enter through the front door. However, they`re saying that is subject to change. There will be no cell phones allowed inside, no cameras, no bags, no purses -- very tight security for tomorrow. So if you`re planning to come here, make sure that you don`t have any of those items with you.

GRACE: We`ll be back in 30 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Also joining Natisha Lance there at the church is Nikki Pierce with WDBO. Nikki, thank you for being with us. I notice that the family says they only want the pure at heart with the best intentions to be at memorial, and I don`t blame them. Who wants a bunch of nutjobs showing up at the memorial?

NIKKI PIERCE, WDBO: Well, hopefully, that won`t be the case, Nancy. But as we`ve seen, there`s been violence outside their house, protesters numbering in the dozens. They just want to be absolutely sure that gets honored.

GRACE: You know what? I hope that security arrests every single person that tries to interfere with Caylee`s memorial.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CINDY ANTHONY, CAYLEE`S GRANDMOTHER: The whole United States is looking for our Caylee.

CASEY ANTHONY: I know that, Mom.

CINDY ANTHONY: Everybody is looking for her.

BAEZ: People grieve in different ways. And she hopes that this will -- and if this is something they feel they have to do, she understands that.

GEORGE ANTHONY, CAYLEE`S GRANDFATHER: When you see her in front of you, the eyes...

CASEY ANTHONY: She`s captivating. She`s absolutely captivating.

GEORGE ANTHONY: She has a personality that`s so remarkable.

BAEZ: As far as her personal feelings, she feels it`s a private manner and wants to keep it that way.

CASEY ANTHONY: I truly, truly do love that little girl! I miss her so much!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight out to Kathi Belich with WFTV. Everyone, we`re taking your calls live. In less than 24 hours, the memorial for little Caylee set to go down. Kathi, to whom are the Anthonys referring? There are apparently people that have been banned from coming to the memorial.

KATHI BELICH, WFTV: Well, I think you know one of them pretty well. Apparently, bounty hunter Leonard Padilla is not welcome, and he told me today he plans to have his own memorial at the scene where Caylee`s remains were found at roughly the same time. Also, I understand some of the protesters who were at the Anthonys` home also would not be welcome. And I didn`t get any answers as to how they will try to identify those people, but I think they`re going to try.

GRACE: You know, I`ve got a question, Natisha Lance, about the church, First Baptist there in Orlando. Is it close to public property? Remember, a lot of the demonstrators could come outside the Anthonys` home and drive them crazy, because they were on public property, I guess, on the sidewalk. What about tomorrow? I just -- I just hate for the Anthonys to pull up and there be a barrage of people protesting.

CINDY ANTHONY: Well, it is a pretty closed-in campus, Nancy. There is a freeway not to -- right across the street from it, but there could very likely be protesters around here when they drive up. But what I`m being told is that the Anthonys will contact the Orlando Police Department when they are close by, and then they will tighten up security.

GRACE: Once again, the tot mom has made time from her schedule in her private cell there behind bars to not only make repeated orders for treats for herself -- chocolate, expensive bottled water, treats, body and beauty products -- she also made time to issue a statement against the public service that Cindy and George Anthony, the grandparents, have arranged. Here is what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAEZ: "I miss Caylee every day and every minute of every day. I can`t be there for Caylee`s funeral, but some day, I want to go and visit her grave and tell her how much I miss her. I allowed my parents to be in charge of the funeral for Caylee. I told them that I wanted her buried in a casket and I wanted there to be a gravestone so I can go and visit her. I asked them if there could only be a private funeral for just the family. I know they cremated her. I still don`t want a public event with cameras and everybody around for Caylee`s service, but I can`t stop my parents from doing what they want. I truly hope that it will help them."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. Joining me tonight, child advocate, Susan Moss, Jason Oshins, defense attorney out of New York, Alex Sanchez, veteran trial lawyer, defense attorney also out of New York. Alex Sanchez, if I had her on cross-examination, question number one -- You had plenty of time to write up a letter in opposition to your grandparents` memorial for Caylee, but you didn`t have time to write a eulogy to write one thing to contribute in any way to the memorial to say good-bye to your own daughter?

ALEX HERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, that`s a very nice question, except the defense attorney`s going to say, Objection. And the judge is going to...

GRACE: Too late! I`d already have it out in front of the jury!

SANCHEZ: Well, you know...

GRACE: Eh! Eh!

SANCHEZ: Well, you know what? The defense attorney`s probably going to ask the judge to bar the prosecution in advance from asking questions just like that.

GRACE: So will you just answer question, Alex, or can you?

SANCHEZ: That question`s going to be objected to, and it`s not going to be answered.

GRACE: What about the answer, Jason? You know, I don`t want to hear the ostrich defense that Sanchez just gave me, poke his head in the sand and his butt in the air like it didn`t happen! I didn`t ask the question. It`s not out there. What about it? Face it. Face it! The jury will know this.

JASON OSHINS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I`m sure in some way that they will. Listen, Nancy, I didn`t find anything really objectionable about the statement. I see...

GRACE: Is that what I asked?

OSHINS: ... the skew you`re creating...

GRACE: I`m sorry. Am I crazy, but why isn`t she contributing at all to the service tomorrow?

OSHINS: Nancy, I think anything would be misconstrued, no matter what she said, so...

GRACE: Then why did she make a statement?

OSHINS: The statement covered her thoughts as to what she wanted to go down.

GRACE: Well, why not for the funeral?

OSHINS: She wanted a private ceremony. She didn`t want to -- I saw nothing wrong with her statement, Nancy. I really didn`t.

GRACE: All right. You know, Susan -- you know, Susan, if she were to take the stand -- which I`m sure she will not. But if she were to take the stand, this statement can come in against her.

SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: Absolutely. She didn`t ask to see the funeral seed (ph). Maybe that`s because she did the deed. Either that, or she really likes "The Price Is Right." But I doubt it. This is really damning to her, and it really takes all the sympathy for anyone who still has any sympathy left. I mean, this is just crazy. If people are honoring your child, you want to be there. You want to be part of it. You want to share.

GRACE: You know, Susan -- let me see Moss`s face. Susan, what she should have said, if she were in her right mind or -- she should have said that she thanked everyone for loving Caylee, for caring about Caylee. People are driving from all over the country, hours and hours, to go to this memorial, to thank her parents for planning this memorial for her child because she can`t do it from behind bars. Of course, she could have. But that`s what the statement should have said.

MOSS: Absolutely. How about thanking all of the people who`ve helped? How about thanking Leonard Padilla for looking for her child when other people had stopped?

OSHINS: I saw nothing wrong with the statement.

GRACE: You know -- yes, I hear you Jason. Leonard Padilla, bounty hunter out of Orlando, Florida -- I`ve got to agree with Susan Moss. You were looking when everybody else had given up. But I`ve got a little problem with you staging your own memorial at the same time as the grandparents` memorial. Why? Why?

LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER: It didn`t -- it`s not a memorial.

GRACE: OK.

PADILLA: It`s just a situation where we`re hoping that the people that weren`t allowed to go to the memorial would just kind of wander on over, and maybe it would get the protesters away from the church.

GRACE: Leonard, Leonard, it seems at first blush that you are trying to upstage the Anthonys. Now, listen, I was on your side from the get-go when you were looking for Caylee, when people were attacking you about that. At least you were out there looking for her. But to have a memorial or a service at the same time as the Anthonys` -- that doesn`t seem right.

PADILLA: Well, I know. I know. And the thing about it is, what we`re hoping is it`ll bleed off the protesters, the guys that want to cause problems, by telling them, Look, don`t go over there, you`re just going to get arrested. If you really, really want to grieve, come on over here.

GRACE: I don`t think the protesters are there to grieve, Leonard.

PADILLA: No, they`re not. I know they`re not. No, they`re not.

GRACE: Everybody, we`ve got to go to break. We`ll pick it back up with Padilla when we get back.

But I really want to ask for your thoughts and prayers tonight for veteran defense attorney Richard Herman. Richard is in the fight of a lifetime. He`s not in court battling a case, he is battling leukemia. Richard, please stay strong. We need you back. Hurry back, friend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CASEY ANTHONY: I need to be looked at as a victim.

BAEZ: She feels it`s a private manner and wants to keep it that way.

CASEY ANTHONY: I`m just as much as a victim as the rest of you. And it hasn`t been portrayed that way and it probably won`t be. But I know that, and at least there are other people that know that and understand that.

BAEZ: This is a personal event. This is a personal matter, and she wants it kept that way. And to allow protesters to come out and protest at a memorial service for a child is -- aside from being despicable, it`s just -- I can clearly understand, and I think everyone here can, as well, as to perhaps why she feels that way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Out to the lines. Cindy in Massachusetts. Hi, Cindy. Uh-oh, lost Cindy. Betty in California. Hi, Betty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.

GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I want to know if she`s avoiding to watch this on TV because she might confess to something because she`s so much in denial.

GRACE: You know, Betty, I doubt pretty seriously she`s going to break down and confess by watching this on television. However, people behind bars may see her reaction to watching it and repeat it, and I doubt she would want that to get out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSE BAEZ, CASEY ANTHONY`S ATTORNEY: I miss Caylee. Every day and every minute of every day. And I can`t be there for Caylee`s funeral. And some day I want to go and visit her grave and tell her how much I miss her. I love my parents to be in charge of the funeral for Caylee. I told them that I wanted her buried in the casket. And I wanted there to be a gravestone so I could go and visit her.

I asked them if there could only be a private funeral for just the family. I know they cremated her. I still don`t want a public event with cameras and everybody around for Caylee`s service, but I can`t stop my parents for doing what they want. I truly hope that it will help them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Back to Kathi Belich with WFTV. Kathi, Jose Baez says Caylee has been cremated apparently in secret. The Anthony family says no. But why would he state that in a formal statement?

KATHI BELICH, REPORTER, CNN AFFILIATE WFTV, COVERING STORY: I don`t know. We had heard rumors. I`d been e-mailed that there were rumors that she`d been cremated already. We were never able to substantiate that.

You know, from what I understand, Casey is in charge of Caylee`s remains. So that she would make that call. So if he`s saying that and the Anthony`s family saying they don`t know, I -- don`t know what to make of that.

GRACE: To Natisha Lance, standing by there at First Baptist Church in Orlando. Natisha, is it possible that the child was cremated without the Anthony`s knowledge at the order of the tot mom?

NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: It could be a possibility. But in the statement she`s saying that she knows that she was cremated and her wishes were her -- for her to be in a casket. So it doesn`t seem very likely.

GRACE: Now what does that mean, Nikki Pierce? She knows she was cremated, but the tot mom wants her in a casket.

NIKKI PIERCE, REPORTER, WDBO RADIO, ON LOCATION AT SITE OF CAYLEE PUBLIC MEMORIAL: Well, Casey said in the statement that she had wanted to be able to at some point come -- go to the headstone and say good-bye but I suppose that her wishes were not honored and Caylee`s remains had been cremated or they`re going to be cremated o r-- and I`m not entirely sure what`s going on there but.

GRACE: Well, if you look at.

PIERCE: But the long and short of it is.

GRACE: If you look at the wording, Nikki Pierce, it says, I told them I wanted her buried in a casket with the gravestone so I could go visit her. I wanted a private funeral.

PIERCE: Yes.

GRACE: . just for the family, quote, "I know they cremated her." So it doesn`t sound as if it was her wish.

PIERCE: Oh no, certainly not. As Natisha mentioned they want -- Casey wanted her buried in a casket. So if this did happen or if it`s going to happen, it`s going to be against her wishes.

GRACE: Tell me about the eulogy, Natisha Lance, the eulogy that is heartbreaking that Cindy Anthony wrote.

LANCE: Well, Cindy Anthony says that Caylee now has her wings, indicating that she`s now in heaven. And then she also goes into speaking that she only wants people here with the purest of hearts to be at this memorial for Caylee tomorrow.

GRACE: Out to the lines. To -- I think, we`ve got Cindy in Massachusetts back. Hi, Cindy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. Thank you for taking my call. I`ve been following this case since the beginning and what I`m wondering is if the forensics can prove when Caylee actually died? Because in the police questioning, Casey claims that she spoke to her on the phone and she talked about her book and that she was fine and what that will do to the case.

GRACE: Well, Cindy, if you`ll recall, the police have released information that none of those phone calls existed. They were not on any of the tot mom`s incoming phone calls or outgoing phone calls. They didn`t happen. So that`s just not true.

However, the time of the death -- to Dr. Marty Makary, physician and professor of public health at Johns Hopkins, is it possible? Can that be done? Can you look at these remains and tell when?

DR. MARTY MAKARY, PHYSICIAN, PROF. OF PUBLIC HEALTH, JOHNS HOPKINS: Only within a certain interval of months. You really cannot have any accuracy. When you`re dealing with decomposition, anaerobic bacteria, temperature fluctuations and water damage, all you can say is that it has been several weeks and that`s probably what they concluded here.

GRACE: To Brian Reich, deputy chief with Bergen County Sheriff`s Office. What about it, Brian? How can they pinpoint the time because they very clear after the discovery of her body that they believe Caylee was discarded there, dumped like trash, double-bagged immediately after her death?

BRIAN REICH, DEPUTY CHIEF, BERGEN COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE: It`s going to be very, very difficult to pinpoint the time of death. I mean the body was.

GRACE: Well, they`ve got it pinpointed to the day after Father`s Day

REICH: Well, based on the forensic evidence, it`s going to be difficult to pinpoint it forensically -- forensically. It`s going to take a lot of work. The -- some of the physical evidence that they have there may point to it. But you don`t have any, you don`t have any blood. You don`t have any remains there. Everything was -- was decomposed.

GRACE: Skeletonized. Well, you just hit the nail on the head, Brian Reich, when you said they may not be able to prove it forensically through the body itself, the remains, but.

REICH: But it`s going to be through -- yes, it`s going to be through the investigation, through the leads, through other means that they`re going to be able to kind of have a window in what they believe the body was disposed and in a timeframe that they got from interviews from information and the overall investigation.

But, forensically, it`s going to be, I would say, nearly impossible to really pinpoint it but through the totality of everything else that they`ve got, they`re going to be able to have an idea of when they believe the homicide took place and when they believe the body was actually placed but certainly not forensically.

GRACE: To Susan in Ohio, hi, Susan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy.

GRACE: What`s your question, dear?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks for having me.

GRACE: No, thank you for calling.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is -- wouldn`t Casey have the legal right to say whether she wanted Casey`s -- or Caylee`s remains cremated, doesn`t she have to sign something?

GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. What about it, Susan Moss? I mean, isn`t -- shouldn`t there be records of cremation?

SUSAN MOSS, CHILD ADVOCATE, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: Well, there certainly should be records of cremation, but the remains of Caylee were brought to and given to the grandparents. They were the legal custodian over the remains. So they did have the right to cremate if those were their wishes.

GRACE: What about it, Jason?

JASON OSHINS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Sue`s right. Once she gives away that legal authority, they made the decision making as they saw fit whether or not it ultimately followed with Miss Anthony`s desires.

GRACE: Alex?

ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The question is did she, in fact, give away that authority to the parents? She may have given away some authority, such as to bury the child, but not to cremate the child. So that could be an issue that comes up later on.

GRACE: Natisha Lance, what do we know? Did she given authority? I`m just stunned that she`s having no hand whatsoever in tomorrow`s memorial.

LANCE: Well, we do know is that Dr. G. when she made her press -- gave her press conference, she said that Casey Anthony would have to sign her rights over to her parents in order for them to be released -- for the remains to be released to them. So after that point, I believe that the custody belongs to George and Cindy Anthony.

GRACE: Out to the lines, Joanne in Illinois. Hi, Joanne.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. Thanks for having me on.

GRACE: Thank you for calling in, dear. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just wondered if you or any on your panel believe, like I do, that Casey`s statement today is just another day diabolical manipulation to disrupt her mother`s memorial service tomorrow.

GRACE: Interesting. What about it, Dr. Taylor?

DR. JANET TAYLOR, PSYCHIATRIST: Again, it certainly sounds like that. It`s not surprising that she would kind of throw this wrench in there, and says, she says "they," she says "them" and then she says "I hope it helps them." You just get this sense that there`s not this sincere remorse or sadness at all.

GRACE: You know what, I`m taking a look at her -- I mean a look at her statement. It says, I truly hope it will help them. As if she has absolutely nothing to do with it, Sue Moss.

MOSS: Absolutely. I just love the fact she`s probably too busy eating her jailhouse Doritos and spending her jailhouse money before Zenaida gets it in order to be -- instead of watching what`s going on with her daughter`s funeral.

GRACE: You know, to Jason Oshins and Alex Sanchez, we understand that she has not made any requests to watch the memorial at all. Now, again, I don`t think she`s going to take the stand, but if I were the prosecution, I would subpoena the jail records to show no such request was ever made. She showed no interest whatsoever in the good-bye to her daughter, Alex Sanchez.

SANCHEZ: You know, again, that`s irrelevant.

GRACE: I didn`t ask you is it irrelevant.

SANCHEZ: You know it is. And you know, Nancy, you shouldn`t encourage.

GRACE: I think it`s relevant.

SANCHEZ: Nancy.

GRACE: I think it`s relevant to her frame of mind.

SANCHEZ: You should not -- you should not encourage the prosecution to engage in gamesmanship.

GRACE: Not encouraging anybody.

SANCHEZ: If you know that question is improper, that`s not going to come up.

GRACE: Susan, to show her frame of mind is entirely proper at trial.

MOSS: Absolutely. I mean here she`s saying how upset she is. How devastated she is at the beginning of this case, and then when the funeral happens, she`s nowhere in sight.

GRACE: As we go to break a happy birthday to an Alabama friend of the show, Inez Holman. An inspiration to all of us. She`s turning 100 today.

Miss Inez, happy birthday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Caylee Anthony`s grandparents are meantime setting off a charitable foundation in their granddaughter`s memory. Cindy Anthony made that announcement in a eulogy published in a Florida newspaper yesterday. Hear portions of that.

It says this, "For those who fell in love with Caylee Marie on national TV, their grief is only temporary. Their hearts will soon mend and their memory of her may eventually fade. The family is requesting that those who with only at purest of hearts and truly honorable intentions attend the service for their beloved child."

Now she remains in jail charged with Caylee`s murder.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the parents did the right thing when it comes down to the cremation because I just don`t think that these people out there with such interest, such fanatical interest ever let this little girl rest in peace.

CASEY ANTHONY, MOTHER OF CAYLEE ANTHONY: Can someone let me -- come on.

CINDY ANTHONY, CASEY ANTHONY`S MOTHER: Casey, hold on, sweetheart. Settle down, baby.

CASEY ANTHONY: Nobody`s letting me speak. You want me to talk. And then.

CINDY ANTHONY: All right, let me -- I`ll listen to you.

CASEY ANTHONY: . three seconds to say something.

CINDY ANTHONY: Go, sweetheart.

BAEZ: She really, in her heart, feels this should be a private manner. So it wouldn`t surprise me if she does not but it also wouldn`t surprise me if she does. It`s one of those things that I think she`ll make her determination at that point in time. We -- we just -- all have to understand that she is going through a very difficult time.

And she`s never felt compelled to come out and say anything until now because this is her daughter and she feels that strongly about it and that is why she has come out and made her first public statement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Back out to Natisha Lance, standing by at church there in Orlando.

Natisha, you said that barricades were already up. Describe the scene.

LANCE: Well, Nancy, if you could see a little bit behind us, there are already barricades that are up. There`s a placard when you first come into the church of Caylee Anthony`s picture in the middle, there`s other missing children`s faces around it. There also is a tent right behind me to the right back here.

And at that tent there`s going to be some things going on for the media in the morning, as well as, there is going to be a TV there. There`s also going to be an audio system so that you`ll be able to hear it if you were outside. Hear the service if you were outside.

Now they`re saying that the service is going to be about two hours. Cindy Anthony reportedly is supposed to speak at service tomorrow morning and they`re saying that there`s going to be security, metal detectors at three entrances which is where the public will be able to enter into the church and the Anthony family will enter, reportedly, from the front door.

GRACE: You`re seeing shots of the tot mom in court just recently. And aside from her usual attorney, Baez, you see Linda Kenney Baden, the blond lady sitting at the tot mom`s left.

Now, listen, Kenney is no idiot. I`ve known Kenney a long time and followed her career. She knows forensics inside and out. And if there is a way to get tot mom off the hook in this case, Linda Kenney Bade will try to find.

We`re taking your calls. To Melissa in Indiana, hi, Melissa.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. Thank you for taking my call.

GRACE: What`s your question, my dear?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is, who would be financing the burial? Because if it`s Cindy and Lee, you know, they`re strapped for money. And it takes an awful lot of money to do a casket and a headstone versus cremation.

GRACE: To Kathi Belich with WFTV, what do we know?

BELICH: Well, what I can tell you is that, according to the Anthony family attorney, there are some friends of the family, new friends, old friends as well, that are helping pay for this memorial service tomorrow so if are there people who are willing to give some money to the family to help them out I supposed they can give them money for that purpose, as well. But they did say that there are friends who are contributing to tomorrow`s memorial service so nothing will fall to the taxpayers.

GRACE: You know, Susan Moss, as much as the two attorneys -- the famed attorneys tonight don`t want to hear it, Jason Oshins and Alex Sanchez, the fact that she, tot mom, has had no input about the music, the flowers.

What flower did little Caylee like, if any? Was there a favorite song? We know she loved "You Are My Sunshine." What else, what were her favorite colors? Certainly she had favorite colors. I mean you`d think that somehow the tot mom would have input tomorrow.

MOSS: Absolutely. And she`d want input. It`s the last chance to say good-bye to her daughter. She`s not getting a funeral behind bars. This is it. And she should have taken this chance and run with it. I do hope they have money to do a proper funeral tomorrow and I also just hope Jose Baez isn`t working the gift shop to try to raise money for this defense team.

GRACE: Back to the lawyers, Jason Oshins, Alex Sanchez, and of course, Susan Moss.

Jason Oshins, will anything that happens tomorrow will have an impact on tot mom`s trial?

OSHINS: That`s a great question. I think it could. I mean, you know, depending upon.

GRACE: I agree.

OSHINS: . how the ceremony goes, there could be an impact on the jury pool. You don`t know who`s going to be there or who might now or who`s prepared to admit that. So I think it can have a significant impact. And I think the family`s involvement is very key in terms of ultimately helping this criminal defendant.

GRACE: And Alex Sanchez, it`s a double edge sword because number one, it`s going to be broadcast. Everybody can see it on that jury pool. And then at jury selection time, voir dire, all they`ve got say is, my mind is blank. I can make a fair decision even though I watch this on television.

But number one, they will see that tot mom had no input whatsoever. But number two, they will see the clear and evident grieving that the grandparents and brother Lee are going through. And that in itself could cause someone to show mercy on the tot mom.

SANCHEZ: You know public relations very important in a criminal trial. And I think Casey`s big mistake was not implying to the court for permission to go to this memorial herself. She could have asked the court, can I go? They have guards escort her out of jail right to that church so she could say her good-byes.

And I think under those circumstances she would have garnered some sympathy from the general public had she done that.

GRACE: Just to show up. To Leonard Padilla, bounty hunter, who helped look for Caylee, did you ever think at any point that the tot mom would try to go to the funeral, to the memorial?

LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER, HELPED LOOK FOR CAYLEE AND SPENT TIME WITH CASEY ANTHONY: Let me -- let me say something about the cremation. Two weeks ago, a young lady that does research for me in the area was told by a solid source out of the Anthony camp that the body had been removed and cremated. That was two weeks ago.

I didn`t say anything about it at the time because I didn`t know and I couldn`t verify it. But as far as going to the memorial, I didn`t think that Casey would go to the memorial or show any emotion regarding the memorial. I don`t think she`ll even watch it on television at the jail.

GRACE: Why?

PADILLA: She`s just a very stoic type person. She`s just not going to let it interfere with her life. She`s going to sit there and do what she does every day while she`s in jail. And she, she never showed any, any emotion for the 10 days that she was out on bail.

GRACE: Describe, describe. I want to hear about that. I find that extremely significant.

PADILLA: There was no tears for Caylee at any time. There was no breaking down and -- my daughter`s missing, somebody took my daughter. There was never any emotion in that direction. The only time that we saw any emotion from her in that house is the day she ran me out of the house, none.

GRACE: You know what, Leonard, you know what, Leonard.

PADILLA: None.

GRACE: Lucy has had a little lung infection and I slept on the floor beside her and the other night.

PADILLA: Yes.

GRACE: . I just sat up and cried because I knew how bad she felt. And I just don`t understand the no-emotion whatsoever.

PADILLA: And every time you mention Lucy, I remember my mother because her name was Lucy and it tears me up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CASEY ANTHONY: I need to be looked at as a.

CINDY ANTHONY: Yes, but.

CASEY ANTHONY: But I`m just as much of a victim as the rest of you. And it has been portrayed that way and it probably won`t be. But I know that. At least there are other people that know that and understand that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Out to Nikki Pierce with WDBO, Nikki, what about the group from, I believe, Kansas that`s coming to protest?

PIERCE: We understand there`s a Fringe Element Church, they call themselves a church. But the Southern Poverty Law Center actually calls them a hate group. They`re a group that goes around usually to the funerals of soldiers that have fallen in Iraq and protest. And they are now going to be using this as a platform to protest. They`re expected to be here tomorrow morning.

GRACE: I hope the sheriff drags every single one of them off in a paddy wagon and gets them out of sight before the Anthonys get there. That`s the last thing they need is this bunch of kooks there protesting this memorial.

You know, you have to hand it to them -- out to Kathi Belich, they`re trying to have a memorial for Caylee in the face of so much adversity.

BELICH: That`s right. And they realize that she`s touched the hearts of so many people who have never met her, probably all of us who are talking about her almost on a nightly basis, they realize that. And I think they truly do want to give people a chance to feel what they need to feel.

GRACE: Everyone, let`s stop and remember Private First Class Bryan Thomas, 22, Battle Creek, Michigan, killed, Iraq. Remembered as an old soul, studied at Kellogg Community College and Western Michigan University.

An animal lover, volunteer with the Humane Society. Loved football, wrestling, Mt. Dew and shooting pictures. Dreamed of a career in photography. Leaves behind parents, mom, Pam, grandparents, Richard and Barbara.

Bryan Thomas, Bryan Thomas, American hero.

Thank you to our guests, but especially to you for being with us. And tonight, a special good night from a New York friend of the show, Latisha, isn`t she precious?

Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And tomorrow after the memorial here on HEADLINE, and until then, good night, friend.

END