Casey Anthony Found In Hiding To Be Served Defamation Subpoena

Casey Anthony has been found in Florida. While the notorious woman has been in hiding for the 10 months since her trial, legal action has continued against her, and the 26-year-old will now have to return to an Orlando courtroom.

 Investigators located Anthony and staked out her new residence for several days while attempting to serve a subpoena relating to an ongoing defamation case, People magazine reported Monday night.

The case stems from the initial investigation into the whereabouts of Anthony's 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. Anthony claimed the girl was kidnapped by a babysitter named Zenaida Gonzalez, a woman she never knew, but who does exist.


 While Gonzalez had never met Anthony, was not a babysitter, and was in no way involved in the case, she claims Anthony publicly defamed her, ruining her reputation by using her name in association with the toddler's disappearance and death.

The case heads to trial the first week of January, and Anthony had thus far avoided making any appearances related to the lawsuit. "Our investigation team had her whereabouts pinned down," Gonzalez's attorney, Matt Morgan, told People. "Their backs were against the wall, so her attorneys said that they would accept service on her behalf." In October, Anthony filmed a video deposition in the case, disguised in a baseball cap, sunglasses, and what appeared to be a long, black wig.

 As the Associated Press reported at the time, Anthony used videoconferencing from an undisclosed location to deliver her testimony and answered few questions, primarily allowing her attorney to invoke the Fifth Amendment in declining to respond. Now, however, Anthony may be forced to appear in court in person to do something she refused to do while on trial for her daughter's death: take the stand.

While her attorneys admitted during the trial that the babysitter story was fabricated, Anthony has never personally had to explain why she misled police looking for her daughter with the kidnapping claim. Casey Anthony had to remain in Florida following her trial to serve a year of probation on a check fraud charge, as we have previously reported. Given the highly emotional and intensely publicized nature of her trial last year, she has been in hiding for the last 10 months for her own safety.