DALLAS, TX—
Dallas defense attorney, Kevin Ross has followed the courtroom drama surrounding the murder trial of Casey Anthony for weeks. But, even this seasoned lawyer never imagined the jury would find the Florida mother not guilty on the most serious charges."Is is a shocker and I am surprised."
A Florida panel acquitted the young mother of murdering her 2-year old daughter, Caylee nearly three years ago. Ross says the stunning verdict arrived quickly, indicating the jury has many questions about the girl's death.
"They were probably asking how did she die, when did she die and where did she actually die?"
Legal experts say all of those questions about the cause of death for Caylee created a mountain of reasonable doubt that Ross believes jurors could not climb over.
"I think it came down to the jury saying that they weren't sure and they couldn't make that ultimate decision without knowing for sure."
But, many believed there was enough evidence to convict Anthony on felony child abuse charges, after she partied for a month while Caylee was missing. But the jury too acquitted Anthony on that charge. Many were outraged at the decision.
"The fact that we have so many people following and reacting to this gives me hope, " Ashley Lind, with the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center, said.
Lind says the lack of justice for Caylee may push people to action earlier to try and prevent child abuse before there is a death.
"This was the worst possible outcome because a child is dead. This was the end of the story but there was a beginning and a middle and it didn't go well at any juncture."
