Casey Anthony Reaches Settlement With Search Group

Casey Anthony has reached a settlement with the search group that spent close to $100,000 searching for Caylee Anthony.

Casey, who was accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter in 2008, was acquitted of murder charges in 2011. Casey was, however, found guilty of lying to investigators about Caylee’s disappearance.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that Casey told investigators that Caylee had been kidnapped. This prompted a nationwide search that was headed by the group Texas EquuSearch.

Texas EquuSearch lawyer Marc Wites said: “Texas EquuSearch’s mission and purpose is to help families and individuals to find their missing loved ones… That’s the reason they helped the Anthony family in the first place. While they were searching for Caylee, they got calls from other families for help and had to turn them away.”

The group spent close to $100,000 searching for the missing girl despite the fact that Casey Anthony knew that Caylee wasn’t missing. During the opening of her trial, Casey’s lawyers said that Caylee drowned in the family’s backyard pool.

Reuters reports that Casey Anthony and Texas EquuSearch reached a settlement today that will name the search group as a $75,000 creditor in Anthony’s bankruptcy case.

Wites said that the group decided to settle because it wanted to redirect its resources toward helping other families in need.

Wites said: “While many have debated whether Casey Anthony will ever financially profit from Caylee’s death, one thing is certain; the time and money that [EquuSearch] must spend to pursue these claims are being taken from other families that really need their help.”

Casey Anthony filed for bankruptcy in January. Anthony claims that she owes more than $800,000 to various creditors and only has about $1000 in assets. Anthony may end up selling the rights to her life story in order to payback her creditors.

Casey Anthony may has settled her case with the search group, but the infamous mother still faces defamation suits from at least two additional parties. The meter reader who discovered Caylee Anthony’s body and Zenaida Gonzalez, a woman who matched the description of Caylee’s imaginary kidnapper, have both filed lawsuits against Casey Anthony.

Anthony is hoping that those cases will be dismissed by a judge next month.