Fla. mom, accused of killing 2-year-old daughter, gets time served for check fraud

Casey Anthony gets time served for check fraud

ORLANDO, Fla. — Casey Anthony, the Florida mother charged with killing her toddler daughter, was found guilty of check fraud Monday and sentenced to time served in jail.

Anthony, 23, was accused of going on a spending spree during the summer of 2008 — around the time her daughter disappeared — after she found the checks while borrowing a former friend’s car. Anthony started to cry as she apologized for using the checks.

“I just want everyone to know I’m sorry for what I did,” Anthony told the judge. “I take complete and full responsibility for my actions.”

Anthony remains jailed on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. She has pleaded not guilty to that charge and claims a baby sitter kidnapped Caylee, whose body was found near the Anthonys’ home in Orlando after a months-long search.

Caylee was missing for more than a month before authorities were told about her disappearance in July 2008. Thousands of volunteers scoured central Florida in search of any clues to her whereabouts, but she wasn’t found until December.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in Caylee’s slaying.

Anthony’s murder trial was scheduled to begin this summer but prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick said Monday that seemed unlikely.

The judge also ruled that Anthony’s attorneys can interview the ex-wife of the meter reader who found Caylee’s body. Casey Anthony’s attorneys said Roy Kronk’s ex-wife could offer testimony that supports the contention that Kronk should be a suspect.

Detectives have said repeatedly that Kronk is not a suspect and that the evidence points to Anthony.

Casey Anthony faced 13 counts of check fraud. Circuit Judge Stan Strickland found her guilty on six counts and withheld judgment on seven counts. He then sentenced her to time served, as well as probation if she is ever released.

Prosecutors had asked for five years in prison for the check fraud charges.