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.
It's ok. She will face final justice on the sweet beautiful day she dies and has to come face to face with the child she murdered before being cast into the fire.
Gotta Love it! Only in America can you kill your kiddos and get away with it! Stellar justice system! Stellar! (SARCASM...SARCASM...SARCASM...)
OJ did it.
Beyond a reasonable doubt... What is "reasonable" anymore? My only summation regarding this verdict is that our society is dumbing-down resulting in uneducated people sitting in jury pools. Lawyers (or should I say bottom-feeders) slant, skew and blur the facts in these cases to the point that jurors can't rely on there own common sense to make an informed decision. I have no idea how these attorneys sleep at night or even look at themselves in the mirror each morning.
I have to say good for the jury they seen the truth now find the real killer
they did...they let her go.
WHAT A DUMB _ SS
She should have aborted 5 years ago. This is what happens when unwanted children are brought forcibly into the world by the idiot anti-abortion freakshow!
What? that's about the most idiotic reasoning I have ever heard. How about she just plainly said no or at least used some sort of protection is she didn't want her party life to end.
Oh thats a solution, kill the child for the actions of another.... Hello adoption!!
...contemplating what would have happened if your mother have made the same choice with you?
Then I guess I would not have to read your insentive post.
Abor tion is wrong.
What an idiotic statement. So you are saying that the way to avoid the murder is just to murder her sooner??? And what evidence do you have that she wanted to have an abortion but someone forced her not to?? And even if that WAS the case, that justifies a brutal murder?? It is scary that twisted sick perverted people like you live among us. You need help.
Attention blogger; If you are displeased with the verdict handed down in the Casey Anthony trial, begin by letting news media know that you will not watch or support any talk show, to speak about her victory, As long as there is no victory for Caylee neither she nor her defense team "Jose Baez" deserve to be on national TV. While some shows need to boost their ratings this would give them cause not have them on as guests, the mere thought of Casey being in the public eye as a free person makes me sick. Her child Caylee will never know these freedoms that she and her attorneys find it necessary to brag about. Their was no justice for Caylee, again it was all about Casey. So who really cared about Caylee? Remember she is dead and she died in an abnormal manner.
No justice for Caylee Marie Anthony....her murderer has been found not guilty.
if the tapes out of place
you don't have a case
By definition she is NOT guilty – or maybe you somehow know more about the case and have a better reasoning process than the jury which voted unanimously?
I cannot understand how 12 people could believe, based on the facts, that she is not guilty. Her attorney is quoted as saying he saved a life. It's a shame his client did not let her daughter live.
this is the greatest injustice ever. there is a baby gone too soon so her loving mommy can have the party life she wanted. i personally think she should be done just like Caylee was done(with duct tape Chloroform and the whole works) i hope those twelve people who found her innocent are able to sleep at night and God forbid that their child or grandgrandchild ever have to experience what poor little Caylee had to suffer
Only in America Can you be found guilty of Lying and found innocent of telling the truth about the murder of your daughter
The verdict of NOT GUILTY doesn't mean she didn't do it. It means the prosecution failed to present their case. It's called beyond a reasonable doubt. Baez poked holes all over.
I'm completely disgusted by Nancy Grace of convicting a person outside of our legal system. It's an assault to our jury system. I'm also totally disgusted by the action of Casey Anthony. I believe the prosecutor should have sought for manslaughter or 2nd degree murder, so that the evidence could have been more supportive of such cases, so that little girl could have some justice.
Nancy Grace and prosecutors are too zealous and greedy that they do not look into the evidence more objectively and they think our jurors are stupid, which are not, in most of cases.
I agree with Susan... Hey Dexter, let's make a trip from Miami and take care of business.... She's laughing in court again because she's disgusting... and guilty. Judgment day will come.....
this isnt so much a response to you jennifer as it is a comment about the case......THIS IS TOTAL INJUSTICE, she got away with murder and she split her whole family apart. HOW AWFUL IS THAT? She'll get her day!!
OH Yea. Casey can come live with me now. She is sooooo Hooooot!!!!!!!!!!
Just make sure you don't get her pregnant. Then another child will die
OMG cnn is under a DDoS attack!! Oh, nevermind it's just the CaseyAnthonyNotGuilty page
This is sick. The woman should never be able to have kids again. Then there is not chance she will kill them too. Someone should feed her to a Great White Shark.
It makes me sick to my stomach that she got away with murder, caylee or any child would deserve better than that. I dont care if the mother a lesser charge,just to see justice served. Instead, stupidity won out and it shows how flawed our justice system is. People can get away with just about anything these days. Did the jury really believe the crap the defense sold them? Yeah, I guess they did. Shame on them.
I cannot believe how IGNORANT Americans are. The verdict of not guilty doesn't mean that she didn't do it. If you want to be mad...be mad at the prosecution and investigators. They are the ones who screwed this up.
I hope her parents slam the door in her face. I hope her bf Tony does too.
That's what I'm hoping. It's obvious to me that they knew she killed Caylee. I think the jury did NOT use their common sense which the judge told them to do. Apparently, the 4-6 witnesses who smelled the decomposition was not enough. Apparently the duct tape was not enough. No one else had a motive. Casey did. I really hope her parents consider her dead to them after all she's done to ruin their lives.