Remains off-limits to Anthony defense

ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The defense team for Florida resident Casey Anthony must wait to examine the remains of a child thought to be Anthony's daughter, Caylee, a judge says.

Circuit Judge Stan Strickland ruled this week Anthony's defense team, which is defending the 22-year-old mother from allegations she killed her daughter, will not have immediate access to the recently discovered remains, The Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel said Wednesday.

The decomposed remains were found last Thursday inside a bag near the home where Caylee and her mother had been living in Orlando.

While the remains have not been officially identified to be the missing child, who disappeared in June at the age of 2, there is suspicion such identification is inevitable.

Defense attorney Jose Baez has criticized Strickland's ruling on Tuesday that the defense must wait to examine the remains and the site where they were discovered, the Sentinel reported.

"You never know what is not important today may become important later on in the case," Baez said. "You want to make sure it's preserved ... That was our entire goal here."