The duct tape near Caylee Anthony's skull—and the drowning theory that never fit

The duct tape was found near the skull.

It was found in a wooded area near the Anthony family home, where the remains of two-year-old Caylee Marie Anthony were discovered on December 11, 2008.

The prosecution argued the tape was used to suffocate her.

That is one story.

The defense told another: that Caylee accidentally drowned in the family pool, and that her grandfather, George Anthony, disposed of the body.

Two stories, one object, one body.

The medical examiner testified that the cause of death was homicide by undetermined means.

Not drowning.

Not suffocation.

Not established by the record.

What the record does establish is narrower: a child went missing, and her grandmother, Cindy Anthony, reported her missing on July 15, 2008.

Cindy made that call after Casey had allegedly not seen her daughter for 31 days.

Thirty-one days.

The duct tape's exact role was never established.

The drowning was argued in court, but it was an argument, not a finding.

Which story does the evidence actually support?

The tape is physical.

The drowning is a theory.

The cause of death is undetermined.

That is what the medical examiner said, and that is what the record holds.

The rest is what people claimed, what people argued, what people wanted to believe.

31 DAYS AND A GRANDFATHER'S SEARCH

On July 15, 2008, in Orlando, Florida, Casey Anthony reported her two-year-old daughter missing.

She said she had last seen the child weeks earlier.

It was the child's grandmother, Cindy Anthony, who made the missing-person report.

Casey had allegedly not seen her daughter for 31 days.

Thirty-one days.

Detective Yuri Melich interviewed Casey, who gave shifting accounts.

She claimed the child was with a babysitter named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez.

Investigators could not verify that person existed.

The child's grandfather, George Anthony, initially led searchers to the wooded area where remains were later found.

He led them to the very spot.

On December 11, 2008, a utility worker discovered skeletal remains in that wooded area near the Anthony family home.

The remains were identified as Caylee.

What happened during those 31 days is not in the record.

Why George led searchers there is not established.

The grandfather's role remains a question the record does not answer.

The gap between the last sighting and the report was slow, and it was agonizing.

It was a month of missing time.

It was a month of unanswered calls.

It was a month that ended with a grandfather pointing the way to a wooded area.

The remains were found in December.