The lawyer for the grandparents of a missing Florida toddler quit the job Thursday, saying only the little girl's imprisoned mother knows the truth about what happened.
Mark NeJame indicated in a statement that he was off the case because of disagreements with George and Cindy Anthony. Their daughter Casey Anthony is jailed on first-degree murder charges in the presumed death of her daughter, 3-year-old Caylee.
NeJame said there was little more he could do to help them in the search for the child.
Casey Anthony is awaiting a January trial on first-degree murder, manslaughter and other charges. Caylee disappeared in June, but her family didn't report her missing for about a month and her body has not been found.
Anthony said she left her daughter with a baby sitter, who has also never been located. Police believe she made the story up.
Caylee's grandparents continue to insist that their granddaughter is still alive and promise to reveal sightings of the tot later this week, a family spokeswoman said.
NeJame indicated he wished to follow all leads.
The Anthonys issued a statement saying they respect NeJame's decision.
Earlier this week, the witness list in Casey Anthony's murder trial was released, and a hearing on a gag order request in the case was postponed.
Among those the prosecution plans to call to the stand are Casey Anthony's parents, George and Cindy Anthony; Tony Lazzaro, her boyfriend at the time of her daughter's disappearance; her brother, Lee Anthony; and, in a twist, her lead attorney Jose Baez, according to MyFOXOrlando.com.
In all, there are 83 witnesses on the list.
Meanwhile, the prosecutor's gag order request hearing was rescheduled for Nov. 25.
An Orange County Circuit judge will also hear requests that day from the defense to reveal evidence, and from the Orlando Sentinel, which opposes the gag order in the first-degree murder case against 22-year-old Casey Anthony.
Casey Anthony has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter and four counts of lying to investigators about the disappearance of her daughter.
Earlier this week, Anthony's attorney announced that she is countersuing a woman who filed a defamation lawsuit against her for naming her as the child's kidnapper.
The counter lawsuit was filed against Orlando resident Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez, after Gonzalez sued her days earlier for saying she was the baby sitter Anthony left Caylee with when she vanished, according to MyFOXOrlando.com.
Anthony is seeking damages of more than $15,000, along with attorney fees and court costs, MyFOXOrlando.com said.
Meanwhile, Caylee's grandparents said Monday that they will issue a statement this week through their new family representative about their belief that the little girl is still alive, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
"Hopefully, by the end of the week the public will understand why we've been searching for Caylee Marie," Michelle Bart, who took over as Anthony family spokeswoman, told the Sentinel. "We truly believe that Caylee Marie is alive."
Forensic tests released last month confirmed that hair found in the trunk of Anthony's Pontiac Sunfire came from a decomposing body. DNA evidence suggests a corpse had been in the car's trunk.
Notice how everyone with any common sense is running away from this circus as fast as possible. It is getting harder and harder for them to live the lie of Caylee is still alive and that there are all these sightings. And I bet that it will soon come out that the Anthonys have sold their story somewhere along the way. That may be another reason their team is running like roaches from the light.
And they aren't getting any positive free press. The only person getting in mileage out of poor Caylee's disappearance is Leonard Padilla. That gag order can't come soon enough.
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