Editor's note: For more on the jury's finding that Casey Anthony is not guilty in daughter Caylee's death read our full story here.
[Updated at 8:20 p.m.] From the moment word came that Casey Anthony was acquitted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, online networking sites were flooded with a cascade of amateur commentary. A few big names, including Kim Kardashian, joined the fray. Most condemned the verdict - "no justice for Caylee" was a common comment - which comes after years of the case serving as fodder for cable news, tabloids and the like.
[Updated at 7:55 p.m.] Mourners of Caylee Anthony want you to turn your porch lights on tonight in honor of the slain 2-year-old.
The Facebook event, "Porch lights on for Caylee Marie Anthony," urges people "all over the world" to start participating at "9 pm in your own time zone."
Already, 546,610 have said they're attending, and some say their lights are already on.
[Updated at 7:20 p.m.] Alternate juror Russell Huekler said he agrees with the jury's verdict "wholeheartedly" and surmised that Caylee Anthony's death was a "horrific accident" gone awry.
"The prosecution did not prove their case," said Huekler, who sat through the entire case but did not get to deliberate the charges.
Prosecutors failed to answer the question of how Caylee died, he said.
From the testimony, Huekler said he drew the conclusion that "it was probably a horrific accident" that Anthony and her father, George Anthony, covered up.
"Unfortunately it did snowball and got away from them," Huekler said. "It was such a horrific accident that they didn't know how to deal with it. The family appeared to be very dysufintional and instead of admitting there was an accident, they chose to hide it, for whatever reason."
[Updated at 5:08 p.m.] Attorney Mark Lippman issued a statement on behalf of Lee, George and Cindy Anthony:
While the family may never know what has happened to Caylee Marie Anthony, they now have closure for this chapter of their life. They will now begin the long process of rebuilding their lives.
Despite the baseless defense chosen by Casey Anthony, the family believes that the Jury made a fair decision based on the evidence presented, the testimony presented, the scientific information presented and the rules that were given to them by the Honorable Judge Perry to guide them.
The family hopes that they will be given the time by the media to reflect on this verdict and decide the best way to move forward privately.
The family also wanted the public to know that if anyone wanted to honor Caylee by leaving stuffed animals or other toys at any area near their home, that they would prefer those items be donated in Caylee’ s name to families in need, religious centers, or any other entity where the toys would be appreciated.
ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
[Updated at 4:10 p.m.] Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings issues a plea for restraint after Casey Anthony is acquitted of murder.
"As the verdict has been rendered we ask our community to respect the decision the jury and court have made today. We ask for your continued peaceful acknowledgement of that verdict.
[Updated at 3:47 p.m.] The delay in recovering Caylee Anthony's remains worked to the "considerable disadvantage" to the prosecution's efforts to prove Casey Anthony's guilt, Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Lawson Lamar said.
With no "smoking gun" and a victim who was "reduced by time and the elements to skeletal remains," made the case all the more the more difficult to prove, he said. Nonetheless, he said, police and prosecutors did their job - and so did the jury.
"I never, ever criticize a jury; theirs is a task of deciding what to believe," he said. "We're disappointed with the verdict today and surprised because we know the facts and we put in absolutely every single piece of evidence that existed."
He said his staff would return to the task of addressing the 101,00 cases that come to his office each year, including a handful of open child murder cases.
"Child murders, regrettably and terribly, are not rare in America today and those deaths are no less horrible," he said. "The only difference is the news has not highlighted their murders."
He also praised his staff for not talking about the case outside of the courtroom, saying the rush to convict Casey Anthony in the news "led to the great expense" of having to seek a jury "outside the media market."
"So much of the angst and taxpayer expense could've been avoided if others had not succumbed to the temptation provided by quick notoriety," Lawson said.
"For us the case has never been about the defendant in particular. It has always been about seeking justice for Caylee and speaking on her behalf."
THE JURY
[Updated at 3:14 p.m.] Members of the jury in the Casey Anthony case have said they are not interested in speaking with members about the case or the verdict, a court spokeswoman said.
[Updated at 3:10 p.m.] We are waiting on an expected news conference from the jurors in the Casey Anthony trial.
A room has been set up for them to address the media, but none are required to actually say anything if they do not want to.
[Updated at 2:50 p.m.] Defense Attorney Jose Baez said he had mixed emotions about the case and that he had to work hard against media bias that existed during the search for Caylee and the case against Casey Anthony.
"You cannot convict someone until they have their day in court," he said.
Baez said he was happy for Casey Anthony and the decision made by the jury. Now he hopes Casey Anthony can move on.
"I want her to grieve and to grow and somehow get her life back together," he said.
Baez said the case was a true example of a jury doing what they are supposed to - finding their verdict based on evidence and not emotion.
"We have the greatest constitution in the world and if the media and other members of the public don’t respect it, it will become meaningless," he said. "And today and yesterday on the Fourth of July, there was a breath of life."
Baez said he is thrilled that when he goes home today and his daughter asks what he did today he can say - "I saved a life."
"I think this case is a perfect example for why the death penalty does not work... " Baez added. "Murder is not right no matter who does it."
[Updated at 2:45 p.m.] Dorothy Clay Sims speaking first for the defense team addressed the media.
"I am thankful for today's verdict on behalf of Casey Anthony," she said.
Defense Attorney Cheney Mason also addressed the media, angrily scolding them for their coverage of the case.
"I hope that this is a lesson to those who have indulged in media assassination for three years," he said.
Defense Attorney Jose Baez added that "while we're happy for Casey there are no winners in this case."
"Caylee has passed on far, far too soon, and what my driving force has been for the past three years is to make sure there has been justice for Caylee and Casey," he said. "Casey did not murder Caylee, it's that simple. And today our system of justice has not dishonored her memory by a false conviction."
[Updated at 2:34 p.m.] A room is being prepared for the jury to take questions from the media about their verdict.
iReport: What's your reaction to the verdict
[Updated at 2:31 p.m.] For the first time a wide smile came across Casey Anthony's face. She began to smile and laugh as her team surrounded her and congratulated her on being found not guilty of murdering her daughter.
[Updated at 2:29 p.m.] Casey Anthony took tissues from a court bailiff and wiped her face at the back of the courtroom.
[Updated at 2:26 p.m.] Casey Anthony embraced her attorney Jose Baez and the rest of her legal team before sobbing.
Anthony wiped tears from her eyes as her team of lawyers hugged each other.
[Updated at 2:24 p.m.] Casey Anthony wiped tears from her eyes and clutched her attorneys' hands as the judge addressed the courtroom.
[Updated at 2:23 p.m.] Casey Anthony returned to the courtroom after briefly leaving with a slight smile on her face.
The judge set sentencing for Thursday at 9 a.m.
[Updated at 2:22 p.m.] Casey Anthony has left the courtroom. Her parents also quickly left the courtroom after the verdict was read.
[Updated at 2:22 p.m.] Judge Belvin Perry confirms the jury's verdict.
[Updated at 2:20 p.m.] Casey Anthony cried as she hugged her defense attorney Jose Baez before she approached a podium to be addressed by the judge.
[Updated at 2:20 p.m.] A poll of the jurors showed they all agreed on the verdict for every count.
[Updated at 2:20 p.m.] Casey Anthony has been found guilty of four counts of providing false information to law enforcement in the case of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, who was slain in 2008.
[Updated at 2:19 p.m.] Casey Anthony is sobbing in court as the verdict is being read.
[Updated at 2:17 p.m.]Â Casey Anthony has been found not guilty of first-degree murder in the 2008 death of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee. She was also found not guilty of aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter.
[Updated at 2:16 p.m.] Judge Belvin Perry is reading over the verdict form filled out by the jury.
[Updated at 2:15 p.m.] The jury has entered the courtroom.
[Updated at 2:15 p.m.] Members inside the courtroom have stood up as Judge Belvin Perry prepares to bring in the jury.
[Updated at 2:11 p.m.] George Anthony is sitting with his eyes closed and his hands clasped next to his wife Cindy inside the courtroom as they await to hear their daughter's fate.
[Updated at 2:04 p.m.] Casey Anthony, flanked by her lawyers, is sitting silently, biting her lip and taking deep breaths as she awaits the jury's verdict.
[Updated at 2:02 p.m.] Casey Anthony has just entered the courtroom and was met by two of her lawyers. She is wearing a pink ruffled shirt, her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she was biting her nails.
[Updated at 1:57 p.m.] Jose Baez, one of Casey Anthony's lawyers, has just arrived at the courthouse in Orlando, Florida, In Session reports.
[Updated at 1:52 p.m.] The jury deliberated for 10 hours, 40 minutes and 33 seconds before reaching a verdict in the Casey Anthony trial, which included 33 days of testimony and two days of closing arguments, according to CNN sister network HLN.
[Updated at 1:45 p.m.] The jury has reached a verdict in the Casey Anthony capital murder trial, according to staff at the Orange County, Florida, courthouse.
The verdict, reached by the seven-woman, five-man jury, will cap a trial that stretched to more than six weeks and featured allegations of sexual abuse, questions regarding Casey Anthony's competence and various theories on what happened to 2-year-old Caylee.
The verdict is scheduled to be read at 2:15 p.m ET.
Casey Anthony, 25, was charged with seven counts - first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child and four counts of providing false information to a law-enforcement officer in Caylee's 2008 disappearance and death.
Watch Nancy Grace Monday through Sunday starting at 8 p.m. ET on HLN. For the latest from Nancy Grace click here.
I refuse to spend my money in Florida. My vacations will be any where but there.
Justice
An entire nation ready to lynch was precluded from doing so today as this young one thought her life would end because of that hatred.
Justice was well served.
©2011 American Citizen ™. All Rights Reserved.
Well said!
Why don't her Attorneys ask to go look for the real killer???? bcuz they know Casey got away with it! Discusting
although we think that casey is guilty, her peers thought otherwise. another O.J. and we all know what came of him!!!!
These jurors must all be deaf, dumb and blind. Casey got her way again and no justice for Caylee. So sad.
you have GOT to be kidding me?!?!?! Obviously the jurors in this case are a bunch of idiots!!!! i am interested in how many of them would allow casey anthony to baby sit for them????? I would truly like to hear their answers to that question!!!!! I hope they are haunted by their decision every night for the rest of their lives as well as the defense team! Since when did perjury become acceptable in a court of law????? and, furthermore, telling the truth is considered "throwing your child under the bus"????? this whole thing was a joke and i hope and pray that caylee anthony's precious little face will haunt them forever!
i agree... Why don't her Attorneys ask to go look for the real killer???? bcuz they know Casey got away with it!
I am white and I sadly too agree that if she were black the trial would not have lasted as long as it did. With that being said, I hope Casey Anthony's life is a tortous one. This girl lied and lied and didn't do anything that we know of while her daughter was missing. She and her lawyers should be ashamed of themselves. What comes around goes around. I believe Casey Anthony and her lawyers will live the rest of their life in hell. As time goes on they will have sleepless nights questioning what they've done and how they could have let this thing get off for murder. It makes me sick to see how happy everyone is. Again, I have children and I would have been sleeping at the police station. I would have been arrested for not leaving them alone not because I let my child go missing for x number of days while not doing anything about it. It makes me sick to see her smile, for what? CAYLEE, this beautiful little girl IS DEAD and her mother is smiling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I honestly don't think they have any kind of conscience. Not Casey or her lawyers. A small innocent baby was killed by her mother. A mother she trusted and thes A holes helped her to go free. I hope her ovaries get fried somehow so can't have anymore children. God rest you Caylee.
the reason we are a free is because we have a judicial system. Not because we have idiots that watch TV and let paid news lawyers (and I use that loosely) tell them how to think!!! Maybe more of you should try law school.
As I'm sure the degree on your wall attests to!!!
Um, I did. And you?
people like you are the reason that murder continues to rise in this country. yes, go to law school and learn how to corrupt the legal system and bypass the law by finding loop holes in our judicial system. give murderers a "get out of jail free" card.
We put Michael Vick in jail for animal abuse but we do not even have enough concern for the well-being of a child to at least find Casey guilty of child abuse for failure to report her daughetr missing, not knowing her where-abouts.
Ridiculous!
God does know who killed Caylee. When they go before the judgement throne, they will have to answer. Caylee is in a better place. God plucked a beautiful flower to bloom forever in His garden
PLEASE PLEASE EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES SHE IS GUILTY, AGREE NOW TO BOYCOTT ANY BOOKS, MOVIES, ETC. THAT THIS WOMAN MAY PROFIT FROM. YOU CAN BE SURE THIS IWILL BE THE FIRST THING ON HER MIND - PROFITING FROM THE MURDER OF HER OWN CHILD. LET'S ALL AGREE NOW TO IGNORE ANYTHING COMING FROM HER IN THE FUTURE!!!!! IT'S BAD ENOUGH THAT SHE WILL BE WALKING FREE, BUT LET'S NOT ALLOW HER TO GAIN WEALTH FROM HER CRIME OR BECOME A "CELEBRITY"!! ANYONE AGREE???
AGREE
I agree with you 100%. I will not buy any magazines, books or any thing connected to this child killer. I will watch no movies and will not support any way this horrible person can make any money off Caylee Marie Anthony. What a miscarriage of justice and I hope she is shunned the rest of her life.
YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!!!
-1L Student
HOW MANY KILLERS ARE CONVICTED BECAUSE SOMEONE SAW THEM DO IT? AT SOME POINT LIKE ASHTON SAID COMMON SENSE HAS TO PREVAIL YOU HAVE TO ASK WHO WAS WITH THAT CHILD AND WHO'S RESPONSIBILITY WAS SHE? TO NOT EVEN FIND HER GUILTY OF CHILD ABUSE SHOWS A COMPLETE LACK OF REALITY ON THE JURORS PART.
How is the defendant's not reporting her 2-year-old child missing for 31 days NOT child neglect/abuse? I do not understand this part of the verdict.
OMG! Now there is a road map out there for any mother who decides that she'd be better off without her kid/kids and wants to get away with murder. Don't report your child missing, lie, lie, and lie some more and walk away free as a bird. What a scary thought – If she got away with it you can bet someone else will try it too. No justice for Caylee and this poor excuse of an ex-mother can go out and have more childred- GOD help any future children born to this evil women. Men if you see her comming you had better run like the wind!!!! My heart goes out to Casey's family that have been dragged through the mud- May they some how find peace although I highly doubt it.
Caylee Marie Anthony-may you rest in peace and forever fly with the angels-
It appears that, if you want to murder someone, just tell everyone the person is on holiday and skirt around the issue for a while – a minimum of 31 days should do it. Lie, lie, lie and lie some more. Oh, and it is helpful if the person completely depends upon you for their safety and well-being.........she should write a book.....maybe she can partner with the jury and work the talk show circuit. They should be good, close friends by now.
How many years can you get for lying to authorities; she should get the max. Poor Caylee; I guess we will see more children dumped in swamps. Animals are treated better than children. At least they wrapped their pets up and buried them.