ORLANDO, Fla. - Casey Anthony can continue her undercover life for now after a judge ruled yesterday she does not have to immediately return to Florida to start serving her probation for check fraud.
A hearing on her probation was set for tomorrow, Judge Belvin Perry said. Anthony won’t have to show up for that, either.
A different judge had ordered Anthony to report to Florida today for the hearing, but he later recused himself and turned the case over to Perry, who presided over Anthony’s murder trial.
Anthony has been out of the public eye since she was acquitted last month in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. The jury’s decision angered many people, and threats were made on Anthony’s life. She vanished after leaving jail July 17.
Anthony’s attorneys said local authorities would have to provide security if she was forced to return. To back up that claim, they included a flier in their arguments that showed a doctored photo of Anthony with a bullet mark on her forehead. Underneath the photo reads in part: “With a forehead that big, the headshot will be easier.’’
Anthony was convicted of lying to detectives but was released because of time served.
Judge Stan Strickland sentenced Anthony in January 2010 to probation after she pleaded guilty to using checks stolen from a friend. The state Department of Corrections had interpreted the sentence to mean that Anthony could serve the probation while she was in jail awaiting trial. On Monday, Strickland signed a “corrected’’ version of Anthony’s probation order to make clear she was supposed to start the one-year term after her release.
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