Casey Anthony Trial: Jury Selection to Begin

Location a secret for trial of mom accused of killing her toddler daughter.

ByABC News
May 8, 2011, 4:08 PM

May 8, 2011— -- Jury selection in the Casey Anthony trial is scheduled to begin Monday, but court officials are not saying where the case of the Florida woman accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter will be held.

ABC affiliate WFTS-TV in Orlando, Fla., reported today that three sources in the Pinellas County Court system said the trial will likely take place at the Pinellas County Courthouse.

Pinellas County Clerk of the Court Ken Burke declined to comment, telling WFTS-TV only: "We have been directed to refer all inquiries to the Orange County Courts."

He told the television station he believes Orange County Circuit Court Chief Judge Belvin Perry Jr. contacted all the major courts in Florida to ask them to refer all inquiries to the Orlando Court.

Anthony, 25, is accused of killing her daughter, Caylee Anthony, who was 2 when she disappeared in June 2008. Anthony has pleaded not guilty.

Caylee's disappearance wasn't reported until July 2008, when Anthony told police she had not seen Caylee in nearly a month, since dropping her off with a babysitter.

Anthony was arrested and charged with murder in October 2008.

Her daughter's skeletal remains were found in December less than a mile from the home she and her mother shared with the toddler's grandparents. The little girl's death was ruled a homicide of undetermined means.

The "guilt phase" of Anthony's trial is scheduled to begin May 16, and if Anthony is found guilty, the penalty phase would immediately follow.

Lawyers for Casey Anthony are trying to convince a judge that the mom suspected of killing her daughter Caylee was not properly read her rights and that key statements by Anthony should be thrown out of her upcoming trial.

Among the remarks that could be at risk are Anthony's statement to Florida police that her missing daughter was with a babysitter named Zenaida Gonzales. Police eventually determined that Anthony did not know a babysitter named Zenaida Gonzales.

Losing key testimony of this kind could make it difficult for prosecutors to get the conviction of first-degree murder -- and the death penalty -- that they are seeking.

Anthony's defense is also trying to rule out jailhouse videos and statements she made while in jail where she talked to her family and visitors in the days while Caylee was still listed as missing, but before her body was found.

State prosecutors have said that they will seek the death penalty for Anthony if she is convicted.

ABC News' Emily Friedman contributed to this report.