It was the one of the biggest crimes of the century. In fact, it may turn out to be the crime of the century as time goes by, much like the infamous O.J. Simpson murder trial in the 1990's. A young woman's 2 year old little girl disappears. For 31 days, the mother doesn't report the little girl missing. Instead, she goes out clubbing and partying every night. She practically moves in with her new boyfriend. She steals some checks from her best friend and drains her account. Probably most suspicious of all is the new tattoo the mother gets: Bella Vita meaning Beautiful Life. Her daughter is missing and she proclaims in the flesh that her life is beautiful.

On July 15, 2008, Cindy Anthony of Orlando, Florida made a 911 call wanting to report her daughter for stealing her car. Within minutes, Mrs. Anthony made another 911 call reporting that her 2 year old granddaughter is missing and has been missing for a month. This was the beginning of one of the most bizarre, tragic and heartbreaking crimes ever committed.

June 16, 2008 is the last time that little Cayley Marie Anthony was seen alive by anyone. It wasn't until December 2008 that her little skeletonized body was discovered by a meter reader just down from the Anthony's house. She had been wrapped in a trash bag with duct tape fastened around her skull where her mouth would have been.

The investigation would later be hampered by the mountain of lies told by Casey Anthony, little Cayley's mother. Evidence points to Cayley having been given chloroform along with her body having been transported in the trunk of the car Casey was driving at the time. There was more than enough evidence to say that Casey harmed her child. She was jailed twice at the beginning of the investigation before being held until her trial in 2011.

The trial was prosecuted by Jeff Ashton, Linda Drane Burdick and Frank George. They had a solid case and presented it in a straightforward manner. This prosecution team didn't count on Casey's attorney, Jose Baez. A master at spinning tales, this attorney with questionable methods and ethics apparently dazzled the jury with the story of why Casey lies and how someone else was responsible for Cayley's death.

It came down to the dueling attorneys, and a jury that seemed to be more concerned with their personal perks and comfort than anything else. In the end, a little girl's life was conveniently forgotten and the woman who was most likely responsible for her death walked free. As sad and horrendous as this case is, the truth will probably never be known about what really happened to Cayley. Only one person knows that truth and she's not talking.

Former prosecuting attorney Jeff Ashton has teamed up with writer Lisa Pulitzer to share a behind the scenes view of how everything played out in IMPERFECT JUSTICE: PROSECUTING CASEY ANTHONY. This is a great book for those people that kept up with the case. It did help clear up some things that needed more explanation. IMPERFECT JUSTICE was less a book of excitement and more a book about procedures and how things work, but if you were riveted with most of the rest of the world during Casey Anthony's trial, this is a must read.