Caylee Anthony

On July 15, 2008, Cindy Anthony called 911 to report that her two-year-old granddaughter Caylee Marie Anthony had been missing for 31 days and that her daughter Casey's car smelled like a dead body. Casey Anthony, 22, had told her parents various stories about Caylee's whereabouts, including that she was with a nanny named 'Zanny,' who turned out not to exist.

Casey was arrested and charged with murder. The investigation revealed she had been partying, getting tattoos, and living with her boyfriend during the month Caylee was missing. She told police numerous lies about her employment and Caylee's supposed caretaker.

On December 11, 2008, Caylee's skeletal remains were found in a wooded area near the Anthony family home, wrapped in a blanket inside garbage bags with duct tape over the skull area. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide by undetermined means.

Casey Anthony's 2011 trial became a national sensation. Despite compelling circumstantial evidence, the jury acquitted her of first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter, and aggravated child abuse, convicting her only of four misdemeanor counts of providing false information to police. The verdict shocked the nation and remains one of the most controversial in American criminal history.