Casey Marie Anthony, the name alone is something that you may or may not know well. Odds are that if you haven’t been following the case you know someone who has and can tell you a few things. It has been all over cable news stations for almost three years. Casey Anthony is on trial in Florida for murder of her then two year old daughter Caylee Marie Anthony. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence against her and her behavior did not do her any favors.
Caylee Marie Anthony was a bright and beautiful two year old girl who lived with her mother and maternal grandparents her whole life. She had dark curly brown hair, and a smile that just makes you love her. Through video, and hearing people talk of the little girl it is easy to see why she was the pride and joy of her grandparents, Cindy and George Anthony. They made a nursery for her in their home, they bought her a playhouse, and she was a member of their family from the moment they found out about her. Dora the Explorer was her favorite cartoon, and as Tony Lazzaro later testified of her love of the show, and how it taught her to count to 40 in Spanish, a great feat for a girl so small. Caylee loved to swim and spend time with her grandmother. You will also hear that Caylee was a friendly girl who had a special relationship with her mother.
When it is said that little Caylee went missing we hadn’t even heard her name, and we wouldn’t for the next 31 days. No one reported her missing, no one was looking for her, her mother did not have her, and there were no Amber Alerts issued. It took that full thirty one days before Casey Anthony admitted to her mother Cindy that she had not seen her child and didn’t know of her whereabouts. Once she was reported missing it was going to take a lot of hard work not only by investigators, but also the public, and her grandparents to find her. Eventually a meter reader found her remains only one quarter of a mile from her home in a heavily wooded area.
The last time anyone seems to recall seeing Caylee was when she and her mother Casey left her grandparents’ house. George Anthony was the last one to report seeing her. Cindy hadn’t seen her since Sunday, Father’s Day June 15th, 2008. Casey’s defense is that Caylee drowned in the family swimming pool in the Anthony backyard. They say that George found Caylee’s body in the swimming pool and yelled for Casey to come and see what happened telling her something to the effect of “look what you let happen your mother will never forgive you for this.” They say he had her lifeless dripping body in his hands when he yelled at Casey. They also claim that George helped to discard of the body. This is said to have happened the day after Father’s Day, on June 16, 2008.
On June 18th or 19th Casey borrowed a shovel from a neighbor, and it was returned just a few short hours later. No one in the Anthony household has yet to say if they had seen Caylee during the time of the sixteenth to the nineteenth. By this time Caylee had been deceased two to three day’s (by calculations of the defense).
George admittedly called the police to report that his shed had been broken into after he found that the lock had been cut. Upon opening the shed he found that he had missing gas cans. Apparently that had been known to have happened in their neighborhood during the same time frame. On June 24th George said that Casey had come home and he told her about the shed issue. Casey had admitted to having the gas cans in which he asked for them back, and after she had retrieved them for him she cussed him out.
No one from the Grandparents house had much contact with Casey between June 24th and July second or third. That was when she decided to go get a tattoo in which said “Bella Vita” or “my beautiful life.” between July 2nd and when Casey’s mother had confronted her about Caylee not much is known other than going to Fusion which is apparently something of a cocktail lounge in Orlando, and cooking and cleaning for her boyfriend, Tony Lazzaro. Their other roommates have stated that she told none of them about Caylee being missing and did not ask anyone for help looking for her.
The Grandmother Cindy Anthony called 911 the first time on July 15, 2008 to report her daughters car missing. The second time she called 911 was to report that she had found her daughters car and “it smelled like there had been a dead body in the damn car.” The other thing she was reporting was that her daughter finally admitted that she had she had not had Caylee for 31 days. When she was interviewed by police she said she had left Caylee with the nanny Zenaida Fernandez- Gonzales. The police searched for a Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzales and found someone they thought was her but she didn’t know Casey or Caylee other than news reports. The only thing that she seemed to have done was to apply to rent the apartment that Casey told police she left her daughter at. The only thing Cindy had to say was that anytime she asked her daughter about Caylee she was told she was with the nanny.
Among the other things that Casey told police was that she worked at Universal Studios. This proved to be a false lead as when they took Casey to Universal Studios, into the building and to where she claimed her office was located she confessed to lying to the police. She in fact did not work there and had not in some time. They then were told that she had made people aware of Caylee’s disappearance, no one seems to remember being told of this.
While relieving himself, a meter reader found a body in the heavily wooded area not even a mile away from the Anthony home. December 11, 2008 the first and most important part of the ordeal came to an end when the nation heard the news. So much had already been discussed about the case by then, everyone seemed to expect that Casey Anthony would be indicted for charges of murdering her daughter.
I believe it was 2009 before she knew she was facing capital murder charges and faced the death penalty.
Jury selection began on May 9, 2011, the day after Mother’s Day. The judge, attorneys, and potential jurors alike spent eleven arduous days questioning potential jurors. They were trying to find a jury of 12 who felt they could be partial. There were also 6 alternates chosen to sit and listen to the testimony and if needed would eventually render a decision. If my count is correct they released 60 at one time because they may have been discussing the case, and two people held in contempt of court. One got jail time; the other has to pay restitution to the court. At the end of it all they spoke to approximately two hundred potential jurors. Jury selection finally wrapped up on May 20th at which time they were sworn in and sent to Orlando for the trial which is scheduled to last 8 weeks. The jury is sequestered for the duration of the trial and was ordered to work on Saturday’s they will not be working on Memorial Day. Court will resume Tuesday morning, May 31st. If you look at the calendar that means this jury will be on the county’s clock not only through Father’s day weekend but also through the Fourth of July weekend. Their families can visit with permission but they are not allowed to use the internet, watch any news reports of specials related to the case or talk amongst themselves about the case.
Court resumed Tuesday May 24th with opening arguments from both sides. The prosecution told that they will be proving that she is absolutely guilty of all the charges on the charging document. They say there is scientific evidence that shows that Caylee’s body had been in Casey’s car. There are also all of Casey’s lies to police and friends, cell phone records, and a bunch of other evidence that will be hard to explain away. The defense on the other hand has some little tricks up their sleeves too, but so does every good defense. They are alleging that George Anthony and Lee Anthony (Casey’s brother) both sexually abused her and therefore taught her to lie. They also say that Caylee drowned in the family swimming pool just inside the Anthony backyard. They allege that George Anthony found Caylee and that he helped to rid of the body to avoid Cindy Anthony finding out what happened to her. They even tell of the F.B.I. testing Lee Anthony to see if he was Caylee’s father. It is still unknown who Caylee Anthony’s father is to this point.
At the end of the fourth day of testimony we have already heard so much detail. Heartbreaking testimony about Caylee and what a wonderful child she was, about time spent with family and friends alike. We all heard how sweet, smart and affectionate she was. Everyone heard about how a day spent with her Great Grandfather would be the last time her grandmother would see her, and that day would be Father’s day June 15, 2008. The next day would be the last time that George Anthony would see his granddaughter. He spent a little time with her in the morning before Casey and Caylee left for the day at around one in the afternoon and Cindy had to work early and left at around seven.
Other witness’ talked of how Casey acted during the time of her daughters supposed disappearance; they all testified that she acted as though nothing was wrong. Casey drank, danced, and participated in hot body competitions. No one remembers ever being told that Caylee was missing or that Casey needed help looking for her daughter. Whenever asked about Caylee they were told she was with the nanny “Zanny”. Of all the witness’ the ones we heard the most from is George Anthony. We heard him testify about finding Casey’s car at the tow yard and being irritated that it had taken them so long to notify him about it being there. Cindy didn’t make that great of an impression upon the tow company manager. George had to put gas in the car before he could drive it; even then he had to roll both front windows down due to the smell emanating from the trunk. George got emotional when asked what he thought when he opened the trunk and he replied something to the effect of “I had hoped they were not inside.” He remembered seeing maggots and garbage in the trunk along with other items. He noticed a stain on the tire cover but was unable to discern what it was exactly.
The other hardest testimony to hear was from Cindy who testified that together they all watched the videos made at the nursing home where her father resided because of his failing health. She said they all had a good time viewing the video and looking at the pictures. At many points during her testimony it was clear she was truly still emotional, as she told of still sleeping with Caylee’s favorite teddy bear at times. Perhaps some of the most damning testimony was about being told repeatedly that Caylee was with Zanny. It got to the point that she was being rebuffed so much that she got a MySpace account to talk with Casey.
We know what comes next but we will have to be patient and wait for Tuesday. That will be when we hear from Cindy what Casey told her that prompted the first initial 911 call about Caylee’s disappearance. And without a doubt when Cindy found out about the horrendous odor emanating from Casey’s car will be of most interest. Who knows how much more testimony from other witness’ we will be hearing due to the extreme nature of getting everything right in this so important phase. Whatever we find out in the coming days and weeks will keep us drawn if not to the coverage itself, or by news or other means. We all want to find out what happened.
We know what comes next but we will have to be patient and wait for Tuesday. That will be when we hear from Cindy what Casey told her that prompted the first initial 911 call about Caylee’s disappearance. And without a doubt when Cindy found out about the horrendous odor emanating from Casey’s car will be gripping. Who knows how much more testimony from other witness’ we will be hearing due to the extreme nature of getting everything right in this so important phase. Whatever we find out in the coming days and weeks will keep us drawn if not to the coverage itself, or by news or other means. We all want to find out what happened.
