TAMPA, Fla. – A bankruptcy hearing ended Wednesday in Tampa with no decision for Casey Anthony, who was acquitted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.
Lawyers representing Zenaida Gonzalez, who claims Anthony framed her as a kidnapping babysitter and is suing Anthony for defamation, spoke at the hearing, along with attorneys for Roy Kronk, the Orange County meter reader who found Caylee Anthony's body and who the defense team portrayed as a potential suspect.
Anthony believes that by filing for bankruptcy protection, the two defamation lawsuits from Kronk and Gonzalez should not exist.
"We want this case resolved. We want a fresh start," said Anthony's bankruptcy attorney Andrew Chmelir. "She wants to move on with her life. We want to do so in the most expeditious manner possible."
The hearings for the defamation lawsuits have been put on hold.
Lawyers for Kronk and Gonzalez argued on Wednesday that they should have the opportunity to take Anthony to court and possibly win a judgment against her before the bankruptcy judge discharges her debts. They wanted the judge to postpone Anthony's bankruptcy discharge until 21 days after their civil defamation trials in state court.
"I think the state court, specifically the state court judge, has an understanding of the defamation issues," said Gonzalez's attorney Justin Luna.
If the judge allows the civil trials to proceed first, Anthony's lawyers will likely ask to have it moved to federal court.
The judge will have to decide to resolve in the defamation suits in state court or federal court at the next hearing, which is set for May 30 at 3 p.m. The judge could also decide to handle the defamation cases himself in bankruptcy court.
Anthony wasn't in court on Wednesday.
The hearing comes a day after the trustee overseeing Anthony's bankruptcy withdrew a motion asking that she be allowed to sell the rights to her story. Anthony filed for bankruptcy in January, claiming just $1,000 in assets and $792,000 in liabilities.
Meanwhile, a Texas search and rescue organization that was involved in the search for Caylee says Casey Anthony owes it more than $100,000 in expenses.
Attorneys for Texas Equusearch Mounted Search and Recovery say in federal bankruptcy court documents that Anthony knew her daughter was already dead when the search began in 2008.
Equusearch says Anthony should not be discharged from the $100,000 debt.