Casey Anthony Files For Bankruptcy

Casey Anthony has filed for bankruptcy in a Florida court, claiming to have debts mounting to $792,000 (£501,000).

Court records show that Ms Anthony, who was acquitted in 2011 of killing her two-year-old daughter Caylee, sought chapter seven bankruptcy protection in Tampa on Friday.

According to court records, most of Ms Anthony's debts are related to her trial over Caylee's 2008 death.

They include costs for her criminal defence lawyer during the trial, taxes and court fees. One claim covers a debt for scuba diving.

Ms Anthony, who claims to have about $1,100 (£696) in assets, is listed as unemployed, with no recent income.

Chapter seven bankruptcy protection is used to wipe most existing debts and to gain a fresh financial start.

However, a person who is in debt may still be held responsible for some obligations, such as taxes and student loans.

The filing also shows Ms Anthony is a defendant in several civil suits, including a defamation case brought by Florida resident Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez.

Ms Fernandez-Gonzalez has claimed Ms Anthony damaged her reputation by telling detectives that a babysitter by the same name kidnapped Caylee.

The bankruptcy filing came on the same day that a Florida court dropped two of the four convictions Ms Anthony faced for lying to detectives during the investigation into her missing daughter.

Anthony was found not guilty in 2011 by a jury of first-degree murder over Caylee's death.

The little girl's skeletal remains were later found in woods near the Anthony family home.

At trial, Ms Anthony's defence lawyers claimed Caylee drowned in the family's backyard pool.

But Ms Anthony was convicted of four charges of lying to investigators looking into the disappearance of her daughter.

She was sentenced to four years' jail, but was released days after the trial after gaining credit for time already served.

Ms Anthony's whereabouts since have been kept secret for her protection.

Despite her acquittal, Ms Anthony has been scorned by the public, and a celebrity poll at the time of the verdict ranked her as the most hated American.