Attorneys: Mom couldn’t have killed Caylee

updated 3:51 p.m. ET Aug. 21, 2009

ORLANDO, Fla. - Attorneys for a Florida mother charged with killing her daughter claimed Friday that she could not have killed the toddler because the little girl's remains were left in the woods while she was in jail.

The attorneys' claim gave a glimpse of the defense for Casey Anthony, who is charged with killing 2-year-old Caylee. The toddler disappeared last summer, but was missing for more than a month before Casey Anthony told her family. After her arrest, she told police she had been conducting her own investigation into her daughter's whereabouts.

The defense strategy was revealed during a pretrial hearing. Casey Anthony's attorneys asked a judge to allow them to interview the head of search-and-rescue group Texas EquuSearch, Tim Miller. They claimed his testimony would show it would have been impossible for Casey Anthony to dispose of Caylee's body.

"There is substantial evidence that we've found ... that the body or remains of Caylee Anthony was placed there after Casey Anthony was locked up," said Todd Macaluso, an attorney for Casey Anthony. "It proves that somebody else placed the remains in the area."

Last summer and fall, thousands of volunteers organized by Texas EquuSearch scoured central Florida, including the woods where her body eventually was found in December. Defense attorneys also asked to review records on the thousands of volunteers who participated in the searches.

Circuit Judge Stan Strickland said he would make a ruling by next week but indicated he was willing to allow the defense attorneys to have some information on the volunteers.

Casey Anthony was in the courtroom for the pretrial hearing. She has pleaded not guilty and her trial is scheduled for next year.

Her attorneys also argued that Anthony's comments to a bail bondsmen should not be allowed at the trial. Casey Anthony's father, George, testified about how bondsmen led by Leonard Padilla were hired to post her $50,000 bond last year.

Casey wiped away tears as her father talked. After he stepped down from the witness stand, George Anthony blew his daughter a two-handed kiss.

The judge did allow defense attorneys to have cell phone records of her former boyfriend, Anthony Lazzaro, from June 1, 2008 to Dec. 18, 2008. The calls were monitored by law enforcement after Casey Anthony's arrest in July.

More on Caylee Anthony case

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