Lowe to play prosecutor in Anthony TV film

LOS ANGELES, May 4 (UPI) -- Rob Lowe is to play Jeff Ashton, the Florida prosecutor who tried to prove Casey Anthony killed her toddler daughter, in a TV movie, Lifetime announced.

Anthony was acquitted last July of murdering Caylee, 2, in 2008. The child's skeleton was found in a wooded area near Anthony's home several months after Anthony reported she had been kidnapped, a claim she later recanted.

The cause of Caylee's death was not determined due to the condition of her remains. No one else has been arrested in the case.

Ashton wrote the book "Imperfect Justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony" after the trial ended.

"We're thrilled to have Rob returning to our network, after his amazing star turn as [accused wife killer] Drew Peterson. He's one of those rare stars who can do it all -- comedy, drama, heroes and villains," Rob Sharenow, executive vice president of programming at Lifetime Networks, told The Hollywood Reporter. "There are very few actors in the history of our business who have been able to have such success on such a broad range."

Lowe was a popular film star of the 1980s who later became a small-screen leading man in the TV shows "The West Wing," "Brothers & Sisters" and "Parks and Recreation," as well as the miniseries "The Stand."