'Most hated woman in US' freed from prison

WALKING free from jail after being acquitted of murdering her toddler, a US mother now faces an uncomfortable but potentially lucrative future as America's "most hated woman".

Casey Anthony was ushered out of Orange County Jail in Florida shortly after midnight yesterday, almost two weeks after a jury cleared her of killing two-year-old Caylee.

But despite the early hour of the release, the 25-year-old was confronted with the opprobrium that has followed her since being charged of the murder in 2008

"Baby killer," shouted members of a 100-strong crowded that had gathered outside the prison as she walked to a waiting SUV to whisk her away to an undisclosed location.

"You suck," screamed others, but the threat of a physical attack that some security officials had feared never materialised.

It opens an uncertain period for the young woman who has fast become a reviled figure for an unforgiving public that refuses to accept her innocence.

Her daughter's skeletal remains were found in December 2008 in a wooded area near her home. The two-year-old was last seen alive on 16 June of that year, but her mother failed to report her missing for a month.

In the intervening period the 25-year-old was seen out partying in clubs and flat-hunting with her boyfriend. She eventually alerted the police after being confronted by her parents, but at first blamed a non-existent babysitter of kidnapping Caylee.

A police investigation led to a charge of first degree murder against the young mother. The resulting trial became compelling viewing for Americans in much the same way as the OJ Simpson case had done some 16 years earlier.

Her lawyers claimed the young girl accidently drowned in a family pool and that Anthony panicked into making it look like murder. The reason she appeared to show no sorrow over the death, it was argued, was because of a dysfunctional upbringing in which she was molested by her father - a claim George Anthony has denied.

But prosecutors said Anthony suffocated her daughter using duct tape because the young girl got in the way of her partying lifestyle.

Most of the viewing public sided with her accusers. But the jury didn't, concluding that the prosecution had failed to prove her guilt beyond reasonable doubt. They did, however, find Anthony guilty of lying to police - an offence that resulted in a four year jail sentence, the majority of which she had already served.

"A baby killer was just set free," screamed a protester at Anthony's car as it left the jail. Such is the level of anger at the decision, prison authorities had put in place contingency plans in case shots were fired.

Despite receiving death threats, Anthony was able to leave prison without any serious incident. But the hatred will make it difficult for the former murder suspect to get back to living a normal life.

And it will make it harder for her to profit from the case. Pundits have suggested that she could make a small fortune by selling the rights to the media.

One TV producer has already reportedly offered one million dollars to secure the first interview. But attempts to gain financially from Caylee's death could be too much for the US public to stomach.

Jose Baez, her legal representative, said yesterday: "It is my hope that Casey Anthony can receive the counselling and treatment she needs to move forward with the rest of her life."