What happened to Caylee Anthony?

The trial is over, a success for the defense, an the media fed outrage has started. Of course it won't last long but the mob mentality is interesting to observe. Yes, there are certainly more questions than answers, the main one being if not guilty what happened to Caylee.

The prosecution and the police have much to answer. The Anthony family appears to be a degraded one, this is especially true if the child's death was accidental. The simplest solution would have been to call 911 and report it. The situation was allowed to spiral out of control (maybe) and subject the father and brother of Casey Anthony to the most disgusting accusations. Accusations which the defense never offered any evidence nor is it expected to do so. The body or remains thereof were identified within reason. How did they get to the place of discovery? Why was an accidental death distorted by a cover up? Why the charade about searching for the child in hopes of finding her alive?

Without doubt the truth will emerge over the years, perhaps quite soon as Casey cannot be retried for the crime if there was one. There are a few lessons to be learned or relearned. Usually a family murder is committed by a family member. Police investigators are often not capable of a real investigation, particularly if the case becomes complicated. The compulsion by authorities to clear a case put someone, anyone on death row is a force not to be under estimated.

Trial should not be televised or transmitted over the radio. There is too much temptation for the actors to become just that. The emotional bias of broadcast events detracts from a real examination of evidence. There was little enough of that on offer. The public is generally incapable of resisting media manipulation; this much is obvious from the anger about the acquittal. It is also why political life in the US in agonizing.

When the next "Trial of the Century" rolls around, turn off the television.