Littlest Angels is a blog made to remember children who have passed away. To see a list of the children click 'Our Children' and click on the name of the child you want to read about.
Cassandra Lynn Williamson was six years old when she passed away. Her nick-name was Casey, and many people called her that. She liked riding her bicycle with other children in her neighborhood. Casey was last seen alive wearing her only her nightgown. She was barefoot. She was getting a piggyback ride from a man. He was taking her down the street. It is believed that Cassandra went with this man willingly. The police charged Johnny Johnson with Cassandra's murder. Johnny Johnson was a twenty-four year old homeless man who was from the area. He was charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed criminal action and attempted forcible rape in the killing. The preliminary findings from an autopsy showed that Casey died from
blows to the head. Johnny Johnson had spent the previous night in Casey's home with her family. He told investigators that the abduction was planned, and that Casey trusted him. Shortly after she went missing, Casey's body was found in the ruins of a glass factory less than a mile from her home. A neighbor who had helped search for Cassandra had a six year old son who played with her. The little boy asked "Can I still play with Casey even though she's in Heaven?"
Samantha Bree Runnion was born on July 26, 1996. People described Samantha as beautiful, bright, and joyful. Samantha loved to read, write stories, play her guitar, paint, draw, sing, and dance. Samantha especially loved playing games with her family and friends. Samantha was looking forward to growing up. At five years old, she had already planned to become a mommy and a teacher.
On July 15, 2002, five year old Samantha was outside her home playing with her friend, Sarah. Sarah was the same age as Samantha. A man approached the girls in a car and asked them "Have you seen my chihuahua?" Samantha was a very nice and kind little girl, and she loved animals. She spoke with the man briefly, telling him that she didn't see his dog. Before anything else could happen, the man had pulled Samantha into his car and started driving off.
Samantha fought to get free, and managed to scream out to her friend Sarah, "Help me! Tell my grandmother!" Sarah ran and told her mother about what had just happened to Samantha. The search began quickly. Sarah as only five years old, but she was able to give a very good description of the man who she saw kidnap her friend. She was also able to give details about his car.
On July 16, 2002, the day after Samantha was kidnapped, a distraught man called 911 reporting that he had found a body. He said the body was that of a little girl, and that she was nude. He found the body along rural Highway 74. Authorities soon confirmed that the body belonged to Samantha. An autopsy reported that Samantha had been sexually assaulted, suffered physical trauma, and was strangled. The murderer spent several hours with Samantha before he killed her.
Orange County Sheriff Michael Carona delivered a strong message to the
killer: "Don't sleep. Don't eat. Because we're coming after you. We will
take every resource that's available to us to bring you to justice."
Caller’s tips lead the FBI to Alejandro Avila, 27, a production line
supervisor from nearby Lake Elsinore. Avila reportedly denied any
involvement in the murder, telling the police that he was 30 miles away
on the day of the abduction. Phone and credit card records did not
support his alibi.
Avila had previously been to the apartment complex where Samantha lived
during 1998 and 1999. His ex-girlfriend’s daughter lived in the same
complex as the Runnion family. His relationship with the woman ended in
1999 and in 2000. In 2001, Avila was charged with molestation of her
nine-year-old daughter and another young girl, but was acquitted on all
charges.Avila was arrested and charged with the murder, kidnapping, and two
counts of forcible lewd acts on Samantha Runnion.
Caylee Marie Anthony was born on August 9, 2005. Her mother was Casey Anthony, and it is unknown who her father was. Caylee's grandparents were George and Cindy Anthony. When Casey became pregnant with Caylee, she wanted to give Caylee up for adoption. One of Casey's highschool friends even said that she wanted to adopt Caylee. However, Casey's mother, Cindy Anthony 'wouldn't let' her give her future daughter up for adoption. Casey and Caylee lived with George and Cindy Anthony. Caylee was very loved by her grandparents. At one point, Cindy Anthony called Casey an 'unfit mother' and wanted to try and get custody of Caylee, but she never did.
In March of 2008 someone used the Anthony computer to search 'neck breaking' on Google. They also searched 'how to make chloroform', 'household weapons, 'shovel', and 'death'. Someone in the home was also looking at websites made for missing children. Casey got into a fight with her mother (Casey allegedly stole money from her grandmother). After this fight, Casey moved out of her parents' home and lived with some of her friends.
One June 15, 2008, Cindy Anthony took Caylee to a nursing home to visit her great grandfather. Later on that day, Cindy took Caylee back to their house to swim in her swimming pool. After the two are done swimming, Cindy made sure she took the ladder out of the pool and away from it so Caylee couldn't get in it and drown. This was the last time anyone except for Casey would see Caylee alive. The next day, Casey called her parents multiple times, but her parents didn't answer the phone. A day after this, Cindy noticed that the ladder was back in their pool and the gate to the pool was open.
On June 18, 2012, Casey borrowed a shovel from a neighbor, she also backed her car up to the garage. Cindy and George Anthony asked to speak with their granddaughter, but Casey wouldn't let them. She told them that Caylee was with a nanny named Zenaida Gonzalez, often called 'Zanny the Nanny' by the public. Cindy and George had never heard of this nanny.
Casey moved out of her parents' house again and got a tattoo that said 'Bella Vita' which means 'Good Life' in Italian. She had a great time partying with her friends and getting drunk. This all happened while Caylee was no where to be seen. About a month after Casey moved out, George and Cindy Anthony got a call that said her car was abandoned at a check cashing store. When Cindy went to pick up the car, she opened is trunk and smelled a horrible smell. Later, she called 9-1-1 and stated "I found my daughter's car today and it smells like there's been a dead body in the damn car!"
Cindy found out that Casey was living with her boyfriend. She found Casey and asked her about the smell of the car. Casey told her that two squirrels had crawled into the car and died, which was why it smelled so bad. When Cindy asked Casey where Caylee was, Casey said that Caylee was sleeping at the nanny's house and she didn't want to go get her while she was asleep. Cindy called 9-1-1 twice that day. One time she called to report that Casey had stolen money from her friend, and the second time, it was for stealing the car. Later that night, Casey said that 'Zanny the Nanny' had kidnapped Caylee and that she had been missing for a whole month. Cindy Anthony had to call 9-1-1 a third time that day, this time, to report two year old Caylee missing.
When cops came to the scene, they were immediately suspicious about the fact that Casey had waited so long to report Caylee missing. Casey told them that she was trying to find Caylee by herself. The police then searched for the nanny who allegedly kidnapped Caylee. Casey gave them three addresses that Zeneida lived at. One of the addresses led them to a place that had been vacant for five months. Another address turned out to be a Senior Center. Casey then told them she'd take them to Zeneida's mother's house. When she got near where she said the house was, she told them that she forgot where the house was located. Casey told the police that she had told two of her co-workers about Caylee's kidnapping. She said that the co-workers had both moved out of the state soon afterward. She also told them that she lost her cellphone that their phone numbers were stored in. She gave police the names of these people, but it turned out that one of them was fired in 2002 and the other never worked there at all.
Police suggested that maybe Caylee would be at Casey's workplace. They take her there, and Casey confesses that she was fired two years ago. Casey was arrested for child neglect and lying to investigators. She was bailed out for $500,000 by a bounty hunter. After this, Casey is re-arrested for economic fraud charges because she stole her friend's checks. She is bailed out again by an anonymous person. A massive search begins for Caylee. Meanwhile, tests were done on the trunk of the car and it is found that there is evidence of human decomposition in the trunk. Strands of hair that belonged to Caylee were found in the trunk. They had death bands, which means they came from a dead body. The trunk was also tested positive for chloroform and a stain that is in the shape of a child laying in the fetal position was in the trunk of the car. At this point, Casey is indicated for murder.
In August of 2008, a man named Roy Kronk discovered mysterious bags in a wooded area. He calls in a tip line, but no one investigated it. On December 11, 2008, a Roy Kronk, meter reader went into the woods to relieve himself. He returned to the place where he saw the bags earlier that year. He saw a laundry bag with trash bags inside of it. Out of curiosity, he kicked the bag. He heard rattling inside, and then a tiny skeleton skull rolled out. There was duct tape wrapped all the way around the skull and a heart shaped sticker was placed over the mouth. Bones were found all over the area because animals had found the remains first. There was also a Gatorade bottle filled with chloroform found near the bag, along with it, there was a syringe. Also inside the bag was a knife, a roll of duct tape, a Pooh Bear blanket, and some children's clothing. The skeleton was confirmed to be the remains of Caylee Marie Anthony.
Soon after Caylee's body was discovered, George Anthony sent text messages to his family members telling them that he didn't want to live anymore without Caylee and that he was going to take his life so he could be with her. He was found in a hotel with medication and a suicide note. He was taken to the hospital. Despite all of the evidence. Casey Anthony was found 'not-guilty' for murdering two year old Caylee. It was said that Caylee drowned in the family's swimming pool, and George Anthony was even accused of sexually abusing Casey. Many people believe that Casey killed Caylee and then made up lie after lie to cover it up.
Caylee's case was very public. Her family didn't want someone to dig up her grave, so they had her remains cremated. It is said that Cindy Anthony wears some of Caylee's ashes in a necklace. The public was outraged when they heard that Casey also had a necklace with some of Caylee's remains. They were angry because the majority of the people who heard of this case believed that Casey killed Caylee.
Caylee Anthony memorial near where her remains were discovered.
Caylee reading a book while visiting with her grandfather at the nursing home. This was on June 15, 2008. This was the last day Caylee's grandparents would see her alive.
