A12

By MARK WANGRIN
The Associated Press

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ORLANDO, Fla. - Prosecutors in Florida say the mother of a missing three-year-old girl has been accused in an indictment of killing her daughter.

The child's body hasn't been found despite an exhaustive four-month search.

State Attorney Lawson Lamar said a grand jury returned charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter and four counts of lying to investigators against Casey Anthony in the death of her daughter, Caylee.

The 22-year-old mother is being held without bond.

Her lawyer said she is innocent and is "going through a nightmare."

A few hours before the sealed indictment was issued, Anthony stood silently, sometimes crying, as her lawyer spoke to reporters.

"I sincerely believe that when we have finally spoken, everyone, and I mean everyone, will sit back and say, 'Now, I understand. That explains it.'"said the lawyer, Jose Baez.

Casey Anthony's father, George, testified Tuesday behind closed doors to the 19-member grand jury along with a detective, a cadaver dog handler and an FBI agent.

The child's grandmother first called authorities in July to say that she hadn't seen Caylee for a month and that her daughter's car smelled like death.

Casey Anthony told authorities that she had left her daughter with a babysitter in June, and that the two were gone when she returned from work. She says she spent the next month trying to find her daughter and didn't call authorities because she was scared.

Investigators immediately started poking holes in her story. The apartment where Casey Anthony said she had left her daughter had been vacant for months, they said. They said she also lied when she told them she had been working at an area theme park as a photographer.

Investigators also accused her of stealing cheques from a friend and cashing them.

She was charged with felony child neglect and making false statements along with forgery and theft. She was released on $500,000 bail and confined to her parents' home.