Who Really Killed Caylee Anthony?

Casey Anthony, the accused murderer of her own daughter, may have a valid defense after all. Someone else killed little Caylee Anthony.

Roy Kronk, a utility worker who provided the tip that led to the recovery of Caylee Anthony's remains, became an overnight media sensation and hailed as the "hero" of the case in mid-December 2008. However, it remains to be seen whether Mr. Kronk now becomes the main focus into the disappearance and subsequent death of the little girl.

Although he may be nothing more than a Good Samaritan who had a keen eye, the circumstantial evidence is such that he makes as good a suspect in the death of Caylee Anthony as the mother of the child. At least, Casey Anthony's defense team thinks so with a motion they filed with the Orange County Florida on November 18, 2009.

Other investigations into the past of Mr. Kronk have uncovered several disturbing events regarding Kronk's penchant for violence. Especially unsettling are the interviews with two ex-wives - who both claim Roy Kronk had been violent with them (including binding the hands of at least one with duct tape) during their respective marriages. Another young woman, who was 11 years old when she lived in the same household as Kronk, claims Kronk made sexual statements to her about videotaping her having sex with animals. Other statements allege improper conduct with a young 3-year-old niece. Duct tape may be a favorite choice of restraint material since it was also found in his vehicle after a complaint of kidnapping an ex-girlfriend.

Regardless, had an investigation been initiated, as it should have been when Roy Kronk first became a material witness, the story could be different today. After all, just remember that Ted Bundy was a law student and a volunteer for a suicide crisis hotline - while killing young women. John Wayne Gacy was a successful and well like construction company owner who also entertained children as "Pogo the Clown" - yet, at least 27 bodies were recovered from his house out of the thirty or more young men he later confessed to having murdered. The nice guy next door is not always "nice".

Other questions have been brought forward regarding inconsistencies in his statements to the police and about when he actually contacted them with information concerning a suspicious bag located near his route as a meter reader. A deposition given by a son from a previous marriage details how Roy Kronk, after a silence of over 10 years, suddenly calls his son to let him know that he found "the skull of a little girl" - a month before Kronk actually called the police to give them any information at all. What exactly was Roy Kronk doing on the personal day he took from work on December 10, 2008 - the day before he called the police?

It should be noted that at this time, there is no physical or forensic evidence that ties Casey Anthony directly to the death of her daughter, Caylee. The case against her is based on circumstantial evidence alone. The same can also be said regarding any circumstantial evidence against Roy Kronk. The burden is on the State of Florida to prove murder "beyond a reasonable doubt". The defense only has to prove "reasonable doubt" by using the same circumstantial evidence to prove another person could have committed this crime. That said, "what if" questions do come into play.

What if Casey was at home with Caylee but so impaired that she cannot remember what happened to her daughter? What if the meter reader, while on his route, saw an opportunity to take a little girl? What if the police had not myopically focused on one suspect and had investigated a tipster with a suspicious background involving violence and even kidnapping? What if Roy Kronk is the one who actually abducted Caylee Anthony and he alone is responsible for the child's death?

What if someone else really is the murderer of little Caylee Anthony?

Sources:
Motion: Memorandum of Law in Support of Defendant's Motion in Limine to Introduce Prior Bad Acts and Other Circumstantial Evidence Pertaining to Roy M. Kronk, November 18, 2009
Could New Evidence Help Caylee's Mother?, November 20, 2009
Roy Kronk's ex-wives blast the man who found Caylee's remains, November 20, 2009