Could Caylee Have Suffocated In the Car Like Everyone First Assumed?

WESH.Com- One chemical found in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car is the kind emitted when someone is possibly deprived of oxygen, the report said.

"Whoever did this put the duct tape over the child's mouth. I wouldn't be surprised if the child actually died from suffocation, but what's more important I think is when you bring in the chemical analysis of the trunk into play, when you actually read the analysis from the trunk, it says there's higher levels of a certain compound that is present when a person is dying from suffocation -- which is a lack of oxygen. All in all, I think that's why the state is seeking the death penalty is because Caylee Anthony, no matter how she died, whether it was from the duct tape of from being in the trunk, suffered. For a few minutes, she knew she was dying. She knew she was in pain. She suffered tremendously," defense attorney Richard Hornsby said.

..."Meanwhile, the state has filed a motion requesting a picture of Casey Anthony's tattoo that reads "La Bella Vita." They will travel to the Orange County Jail to visit Anthony and photograph the tattoo. "

----------------------------------------------------------------
And on Websleuths, they're debunking the whole chloroform claim now, since no drugs were found on toxicology results:

"I agree. The chloroform is the possible red herring in all of this. I think it's entirely possible that Casey googled chloroform because she saw the post on RM's MySpace(?) and was curious about it. Found out through her searches that it can be used as a sex "aid" and then googled how to make it - thinking if it was easy then she could maybe have a new fun thing to do.The chloroform in the trunk may just be a result of concentrated human decomp and a mixture of cleaning supplies that combine to make chloroform used on a carpet that already had chloroform in it as part of it's natural materials. There's just no proof Casey ever made it, or used it on herself or Caylee. I have a hard time seeing Casey being able to make chloroform without making a huge mess or gassing herself in the process."

Man Who Strangled, Stuffed Woman In Trunk Convicted Of Murder

KENT, Wash. -- A 25-year-old man who strangled a woman in the parking lot of the nursing home he worked at and then stuffed her body into the trunk of her car was convicted of murder Wednesday.

The body of 75-year-old Jane Britt was found on March 19, 2008 in the trunk of her car parked at Garden Terrace Care Facility in Federal Way, where Joseph Njonge worked as a certified nursing assistant.

Britt was believed to have been visiting her husband at the facility the day before her body was discovered. He died two weeks before the trial began.

The jury deliberated the case for more than a day and a half at the Regional Justice Center in Kent.

Prosecutor Carla Carlstrom said the jury couldn't agree on first-degree murder, so Njonge was convicted of murder in the second-degree.

"This case was difficult because unfortunately only Mrs. Britt knows exactly what happened that night, along with the defendant, so since the jury couldn't know exactly why he killed her I think that certainly factored to a difficulty of convicting him of murder in the first degree," Carlstrom said.

King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg said that Britt fought hard against her assailant "over a prolonged period of time" and was strangled by Njonge, who used a ligature and came at her from behind.

It was DNA from skin cells found under the victim's fingernails that led to the Njonge's capture, Satterberg said. Britt's husband's credit card was also found in Njonge's pocket.

The Britt family said through the prosecutor that they are “satisfied” with the verdict.

Njonge will be sentenced next month and could be sentenced from 10 to 20 years in prison.

Man Who Strangled, Stuffed Woman In Trunk Convicted Of Murder

KENT, Wash. -- A 25-year-old man who strangled a woman in the parking lot of the nursing home he worked at and then stuffed her body into the trunk of her car was convicted of murder Wednesday.

The body of 75-year-old Jane Britt was found on March 19, 2008 in the trunk of her car parked at Garden Terrace Care Facility in Federal Way, where Joseph Njonge worked as a certified nursing assistant.

Britt was believed to have been visiting her husband at the facility the day before her body was discovered. He died two weeks before the trial began.

2 Children Found Dead In Car Trunk

SPRINGDALE, Ark. -- Two children are dead after police said they were found in the trunk of a car at an apartment complex.

The victims were found at about 5 p.m. and declared dead at the scene.

The children were described as a 5-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl.

Their mother told investigators she last saw them at about 3:50 p.m. Monday.

Police got the call about 35 minutes later.

The complex is located at 347 Sage Street, which is near the intersection of East Emma Avenue and Old Missouri Road

Missing New Jersey Boys Found Dead in Trunk of Car

My dad told me he remembers this unfold on the television live, and saw the father collapse when seeing the bodies, so sad..

[June 25, 2005] CAMDEN, N.J. -- The father of a missing 6-year-old boy found his son's body and those of his two young friends in the trunk of a car Friday, two days after the children disappeared from a nearby yard where they were playing.

A neighbor, Carmen Cilla, said she saw David Agosto open the trunk of the car and collapse to his knees screaming. It was not immediately clear how the three boys got into the vehicle or whether foul play was involved.

Yolanda DeNeely Aguilard, an aide to Mayor Gwendolyn Faison, confirmed the bodies had been found. She had no immediate information on how they died.

The boys -- Jesstin "Manny" Pagan, 5; Daniel Agosto, 6; and Anibal "Juni" Cruz, 11 -- had vanished from the yard next to Anibal's home on Wednesday evening. The car where they were found was parked in a driveway next to the yard. It was not immediately clear if the car had been searched previously.

The boys had been the subject of a massive search since their disappearance. About 150 police, firefighters and other officials searched Friday using boats, helicopters, all-terrain vehicles and tracking dogs.

Neighbors in this desperately poor, crime-ridden city of about 80,000 people across the Delaware River from Philadelphia also passed out fliers to motorists with the boys' photos and descriptions.

At dusk, hundreds of people milled about in the neighborhood, many in tears, as news helicopters hovered overhead.

"If it was one of my kids, I'd be devastated, like into a million pieces," said neighbor Maria Rolon, 28.

Anibal and Daniel both lived in Camden's largely Puerto Rican Cramer Hill neighborhood. Jesstin lived several miles away in Mount Ephraim. He and his mother had been visiting Anibal's home at the time of their disappearance.

Relatives said Anibal often played with younger children -- in part because they were more like him than kids his age. He suffered from neurological problems and had just finished the fifth grade at a school for special-needs students.

"He may be 11 years old, but his mind is more like a 4- or 3- year-old," said his grandmother, Carmen Cruz.

Daniel disappeared a day before his last day of kindergarten. He had never gone off the block alone before, said his mother, Iraida Roman. She described him as a regular kid who liked to "ride bikes, play in the dirt -- simple kid stuff."

Jesstin also attended a special-needs school, said a family friend, Cornell Worlds Jr. The boy idolized the Los Angeles Lakers and star player Kobe Bryant, Worlds said.

He was "a good-spirited type of kid," Worlds said.

- Updated:

Heavy showers may have muffled any noises from the well-insulated trunk, which was parked far enough from the house to make it difficult to hear any voices coming from it.

Also, a prosecutor says the hydraulic plunger that keeps the trunk from closing wasn't working, so the lid was able to close and lock as soon as the boys stopped propping it up.

Authorities said the boys -- Jesstin Pagan, 5; Daniel Agosto, 6; and Anibal Cruz, 11 -- died from accidental suffocation.

Foul play is not suspected.

Neighbors said the Toyota had been parked behind the Cruz home for at least three months. City Police Chief Edwin Figueroa said the vehicle had been searched before, but it's not clear whether the trunk had been checked.

The families of the three children appeared on camera and made a tearful plea to the public Friday afternoon for help finding their missing boys. There was a $9,000 reward and the public was invited to contribute.

Burned Body Discovered In Car Trunk

This is like some Goodfellas type stuff:

SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- A burned body was discovered in the trunk of a car Sunday afternoon, according to Benton County Sheriff's deputies.

The car with the body were discovered by a resident, at the end their a driveway along Old Highway 68 and Robinson Road by a resident.

According to authorities another resident heard gunshots and saw the fire early Saturday morning.

"Neighbors across the street here, they heard something about 3:30 or 4:00 in the morning, a loud pop, they thought it was gunshots," Capt. Rick Sydoriak with the Benton County Sheriff's Office said.

Sydoriak said the residents didn't call police because they thought their neighbors were burning brush.

Benton County authorities said they are working to locate the owner of the burned car, which they believe is a 4-door Dodge Interpid.

The body will be sent to the State Crime Lab for further invesitigation.