July 7th, 2011
08:17 PM ET

Lightning strikes tree near Caylee Anthony memorial site

Hours after Casey Anthony learned on Thursday that she will leave jail next week, lightning apparently struck a tree next to a makeshift memorial in honor of her slain daughter,  Caylee.

No one saw lightning strike the pine tree on Suburban Drive in Orange County, Florida, where teddy bears and flowers mark the spot where 2-year-old Caylee's remains were found on December 11, 2008.

But long, diagonal strips of exposed wood scarred the tall pine tree, WESH reported, and bits of bark lay scattered across the road.

"It could be a sign from the angels that they aren't happy with what's happened," a visitor to the site told the Orlando Sentinel newspaper. "The rain, the lightning, the storm - it's the heavens indicating they aren't happy."

There are more lightning strikes in Florida per square mile than in any other state, according to weather.com.

A Pinellas County jury acquitted Anthony, 24, of murder and manslaughter charges Tuesday in the death of her daughter. The same jury convicted her of four charges of obstruction of justice for lying to police during the search for Caylee.

Judge Belvin Perry sentenced Anthony to four years in jail - one year for each of her four convictions - but with credit for nearly three years already served and good behavior, her release date was set for Wednesday, July 13, a court spokeswoman said.

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Filed under: Casey Anthony • Crime • Weather
soundoff (1,086 Responses)
  1. Smart

    May God come and do his work! May he clean the earth that people have destroyed with filth!

    July 8, 2011 at 4:53 am | Report abuse |
  2. mybaby

    Clean the earth? Apparently he just destroyed a tree.

    July 8, 2011 at 4:58 am | Report abuse |
  3. Smart

    Alot of people are afraid to speak about God and that is nuts! God is Great! For he is our heavenly father!

    July 8, 2011 at 5:00 am | Report abuse |
  4. me

    The fact that lightning is a naturally-occuring phenomenon governed by the laws of physics doesn't mean that this event couldn't have also been a message. You can call it a coincidence if you want to, and maybe it was. Still, the timing is rather interesting.

    July 8, 2011 at 5:04 am | Report abuse |
  5. byne

    @jojo- which one?

    July 8, 2011 at 5:16 am | Report abuse |
  6. Nunya

    Yes, of course God would only strike trees with lightning if an adorable white girl gets killed. :/

    Do you idiots have any idea how many children die everyday? And not even to murder...but something as mundane as not getting enough food...starvation. 10s of thousands is the answer.

    July 8, 2011 at 5:17 am | Report abuse |
    • Debi

      Right.. but Nancy disGrace doesn't care about any of that.. its not glamorous enough.. and what would she call the moms of those starving kids because they can't feed their children? "Tater Tot Moms" ?

      July 8, 2011 at 6:12 am | Report abuse |
  7. Grumpster

    sign from the angels...more like a sign of bad weather.

    July 8, 2011 at 5:23 am | Report abuse |
  8. byne

    Eh, Casey did her a favor. Growing up in that family would've been a real pain in the a**

    July 8, 2011 at 5:32 am | Report abuse |
  9. CNNer

    Nunya, the world was watching this story.

    July 8, 2011 at 5:33 am | Report abuse |
  10. Arya

    Sorry...this isn't news at all.

    July 8, 2011 at 5:34 am | Report abuse |
  11. Tim

    Wow. Cutting edge, hard hitting news. Great job CNN! You even beat National Enquirer to it.

    July 8, 2011 at 5:40 am | Report abuse |
  12. Eli

    Interesting development in this very devastating case.. I believe God is speaking quite clearly here.

    July 8, 2011 at 5:47 am | Report abuse |
  13. All Powerful God

    Hi God here, you idiots I did not strike the tree with lightning. I am an impotent God, do you think I would allow all of the terrible things that go on in the world if I could do anything about it? I am weak, a myth, a figment of imagination and can do nothing to help.

    July 8, 2011 at 5:48 am | Report abuse |
    • Doug

      Thanks for admitting what a lie you are..

      July 8, 2011 at 6:03 am | Report abuse |
  14. Dennis

    If it was a sign...why did it miss?

    July 8, 2011 at 6:01 am | Report abuse |
  15. Dillan

    Seriously CNN, you're embarrassing yourself with this crap.

    July 8, 2011 at 6:07 am | Report abuse |
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