Judge: For now, Anthony doesn’t have to return to Fla.

Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla.

Casey Anthony can continue her undercover life for now, after a judge ruled Wednesday she does not have to return immediately to Florida to start serving her probation for check fraud.

A hearing on her probation was set for Friday, Judge Belvin Perry said. Anthony won’t have to show up for that either.

A different judge ordered Anthony to report to Florida today for her probation, but the judge later recused himself and turned the case over to Perry, who presided over Anthony’s murder trial.

Anthony has been out of the public eye since she was acquitted last month in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. The jury’s decision angered many people online and elsewhere, and threats were made on Anthony’s life. She vanished after leaving jail July 17.

Anthony’s attorneys said local authorities would have to provide security if she was forced to return. To back up that claim, they included a flyer in their arguments that showed a doctored photo of Anthony with a bullet mark on her forehead. Underneath the photo reads in part: “With a forehead that big, the headshot will be easier.”

Anthony was convicted of lying to detectives but released because of time served.