Medical Examiner in Casey Anthony Trial Defends Her Findings (VIDEO)
Six months since Florida mom Casey Anthony was acquitted for the murder of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, the medical examiner for the case is speaking out.
Dr. Jan Garavaglia, better known as Dr. G to fans of her TLC show "Dr. G: Medical Examiner," spoke on Thursday to the TODAY show about her findings and the jury ignoring her decision of young Caylee’s death being a homicide.
"My job is not to determine who did it," Garavaglia said during a Thursday morning interview on TODAY. "My job is to determine what happened. So I feel very strongly that we could say this was a homicide - death by the hands of another. My job is not to point the finger at one person or another."
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Skeletal remains of Caylee, along with duct tape, hair, and a few other worn down objects were discovered in the woods five months after the child was reported missing. With these findings, Garavaglia concluded in a public statement "the cause of death will be listed as homicide by undetermined means."
Garavaglia's determination is what allowed prosecutors to move forward with Anthony’s murder charge. Anthony was later found not guilty after the jury did not find the evidence substantial enough to convict her.
"Well, obviously we always have to look at the last person who was seen with the child - the person who is legally, morally, ethically responsible for the child," said Garavaglia on TODAY, in reference to Casey Anthony. "What stories do they give? What happened? We never did get anything from (Casey) on what happened. Yet we found (Caylee) with duct tape, discarded in the woods. That tells a lot."
NBC News correspondent Kerry Sanders blames the jury’s verdict on the "CSI-factor,” which is "an expectation among jurors today that a medical examiner will present high-tech, flashy, convincing forensic evidence."
Dr. G insists there was nothing more forensic science could have done in the Casey Anthony trial.
"These were very dry bones," she explained on TODAY. "Information that's coming out makes it seem like we could do this test or that test or that we could expect DNA. You wouldn't expect that. These are bones that don't have anything left on them."
"We'll never know what happened until the perpetrator states what happened," Garavaglia added.
In an upcoming TLC special, "Dr. G: Inside the Caylee Anthony Case," which airs Sunday night, the medical examiner will further explain the reasons why the jury dismissed some of her findings.
"First of all, I'm not making a penny off of it," Dr. G told TODAY, in reference to her upcoming special. "I never wanted to. Anything I make from that show, because it's part of my regular series, will go to children's charities. I really just did it to get away from the hype and be able to explain why you could say that the duct tape was there in less than just little sound bites."
