Reported by Adam Longo
ORLANDO -- Allegations that former meter reader Roy Kronk may have been involved in Caylee Anthony’s death are not only coming from Casey’s defense team, they’re also coming from Kronk’s own family.
The defense filed an enormous motion with the court late Thursday.
It includes video of interviews with Kronk's family members.
In the motion, lawyers don't say they believe Kronk killed Caylee -- only that he should have been considered a suspect. The lawyers also state in the motion that they've uncovered some incriminating aspects of Kronk's past.
Mort Smith, Defense Investigator: When you learned Roy had found Caylee's remains, what went through your mind?
Jill Kerley, Kronk’s Ex-Wife: That he had done it.
Smith: Meaning?
Kerley: He probably was the one who murdered Caylee Anthony or had something to do with it.
Kronk and Kerley divorced after four months.
“It was abusive -- mentally and physically,” Kerley said. “He beat me up in front of his dad and I had to go the hospital. He duct-taped my hands one time.”
Duct tape is at the center of the case against Casey Anthony, Caylee’s mother. Sheriff’s reports state a certain type of duct tape was found on her decomposing body. And Kronk’s use of duct tape was the subject of questioning during the lawyer’s deposition of Kronk’s ex-wife Kerley.
Kerley: He said it was 100 mph duct tape.
Smith: And how often did he duct tape you?
Kerley: On two occasions.
Crystal Sparks, another ex-wife of Kronk’s, was also interviewed.
“I think there's a lot of concern for Roy being around young girls,” Sparks said. “Roy is not heard from. Roy is not seen. Roy is just non-existent in our lives, which is great for us.”
During her interview, Sparks also spoke about alleged abuse with Kronk.
“He made threats. He made constant threats against me,” Sparks said. “It was not uncommon for him to say 'I should have killed you when I had the chance.' I heard that all the time.”
Kronk called 911 three times in August 2008, saying he saw something suspicious in the woods off Suburban Drive.
Two weeks before Thanksgiving and a month before he reported finding Caylee's remains, he called his son Brandon and told him he was going to be a hero and appear on TV, Sparks said.
“‘I know where Caylee is and I'm going to go get her,’” Sparks said, quoting her son Brandon.
Those two interviews are just two pieces of the puzzle Casey's lawyers are using to create reasonable doubt.
They allege in their motions that Roy Kronk “knew of the location of Caylee Anthony's remains and indeed may have had possession or control of them in November 2008” and they wrote that “Roy Kronk, and not Miss Anthony, is equally likely to be responsible for the death of Caylee Anthony."
“The more I think about it, the more my gut tells me he had something to do with it,” Kerley said.
After hearing about the motion, Kronk's attorney David Evans issued a statement:
"Today, the Casey Anthony defense team commenced, but did not complete, the deposition of Roy Kronk in the State v. Casey Anthony case. Shortly after adjourning the deposition, the Anthony defense team filed a Motion, Memorandum of Law, and accompanying materials suggesting that Roy Kronk, the individual who found Caylee Anthony's remains and repeatedly reported his find to law enforcement agencies, should be considered a suspect in the murder of Caylee Anthony.
Mr. Kronk is a witness, not a suspect. He voluntarily appeared today and truthfully responded to all questions asked by Anthony's attorney. He has cooperated fully with law enforcement from Day One. He has nothing to hide, and has hidden nothing.
It is the nature of criminal defense to attempt to find someone to blame for a crime other than the person charged. Mr. Kronk has understood from the beginning that the defense might attempt to cast suspicions in his direction--because that's what defense attorneys do. In their zeal to defend Casey Anthony, defense counsel has filed papers with the Court that are filled with allegations that have no basis in fact and falsely accuse Mr. Kronk of various types of bad behavior.
The State will respond to these papers in due course in the criminal proceedings. As for Mr. Kronk, he vehemently denies the allegations against him and is confident that he will be vindicated. In the meantime, as he stated early on in this case, no good deed goes unpunished."
On Friday, Casey Anthony’s defense team took to the national morning shows to make their arguments about Kronk.
“Law enforcement never looked at this witness who is a critical witness in this case and never investigated this man’s background, “Jose Baez said on NBC’s “Today” show.
There were so many red flags. It was a sea of red,” Law professor Andrea Lyon, another Casey Anthony attorney, said on the “Today” show.
Meantime, Kronk’s lawyer, David Evans, refuted the Anthony defense team claims.
“I think Roy is a convenient person to point at,” Evans said.
He brushed off the Anthony defense lawyer claims that Kronk allegedly abused his ex-wives, bound them with duct tape and that he has a “thing” for young girls.
“They asked about all that stuff and Roy firmly said, ‘No, there’s no truth to any of that stuff,’” Evans said of Kronk’s testimony during the deposition on Thursday.
Casey's defense attorneys aren't just pointing the finger at Kronk. They also said the Orange County Sheriff's Office should have more thoroughly investigated Kronk.
“They never got Kronk's cell phone records. They didn't test his DNA. We are 4 lawyers and 2 investigators and we've uncovered this. Why couldn't they?” Linda Kenny Baden, another member of the Anthony defense team, told the CBS “Early Show.”
A spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to a request for a comment regarding the Anthony defense team allegations.
Evans said Kronk was questioned extensively by the FBI and Orange County Sheriff’s Office. He said Kronk has been anticipating that he’d be painted as a scapegoat by Anthony’s defense team.
“As far as the timing of it,” he said of the motion, “I think the timing was calculated to create the most splash for the defense.”
So what's the end game for all of this coming out right now?
Under normal circumstances, legal experts say the defense team would not be able to introduce anything in Kronk's background as evidence.
This motion asks the judge’s permission to introduce it all at trial for the purposes of showing that the totality of the circumstantial evidence reveals that someone other than Casey Anthony may have killed her daughter.
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