In the words of Jose Beaz from his opening statement, “It’s because not of the commonality, but of the uniqueness of the family that it happened to, you will here stories about a family that is incredibly dysfunctional. You will hear about ugly things, secret things. Things, that people don’t speak about. Things, which Casey never spoke about. Come with me to 4937 Hopespring Drive where as you can see it looks like the all American home.”
George and Cindy Anthony moved to Orlando in 1989 from eastern Ohio. They came here with their children, Casey Anthony, the defendant in this case, who was three, and her older brother Lee Anthony, who at that time was about 7 years of age. They moved from eastern Ohio to the address on Hopespring Drive, and have been there ever since.
George Anthony, a former police detective in Ohio, has worked a variety of security jobs in Orange County, as well as some other types of, jobs. Cindy Anthony, a nurse, has worked continuously in the medical profession, working her way up to a manager position.
Going back in this trial to the beginning, when the Hon. Belvin Perry explained to this jury, Opening statements were not to be considered as evidence it is only an introduction to the case, however the opening statement itself should paint a clear picture for the jury regarding the facts of the case.
Was this family incredibly dysfunctional as Jose Beaz inferred, or was this a family in crisis? Fact: There has been no evidence throughout this case of any abuse, sexual or physical. No doctor’s reports or trips to the hospital, no school records from counselors, nothing that would indicate Casey was abused in any way. Fact: There has been no evidence presented to the court that would indicate alcohol or substance abuse. Not with George or Cindy Anthony, not Lee and much to my surprise not even Casey.
Fact: Testimony from Casey Anthony’s friends established Casey did not take or abuse drugs. So what are the ugly secrets that lie within the walls of Hopespring Drive? This leads me to believe there is another underlying issue or reason for Casey Anthony’s behavior as well as the behavior of her family. Speculation has no part in a trial, I see a family in crisis and not as dysfunctional as Jose Beaz would like this jury to believe and yes, my reasoning so far is based on incomplete facts or information.
As the trial continues and more testimony reveals let’s start with George Anthony. George was a former police detective in Ohio and now, worked a variety of security jobs. It’s puzzling that a former detective is now working security jobs in Florida. Did George Anthony retire as a detective after the divorce from his first wife or was he asked to leave? Did he move his new family to Florida as a fresh start, a new beginning or was there something to hide?
Again, for now this is purely speculation at this point. Since Casey was only about three at the time they moved to Florida, Casey Anthony could not have been an anti-social factor at this point. For Beaz to introduce evidence answering these questions would have gone to the heart of Beaz’s allegations of George Anthony molesting his daughter at an early age, not to mention those ugly things we would hear about but have not. I can only conclude from the facts, evidence or lack thereof the alleged molestation was as fictional as Casey Anthony’s Nanny.
Now, throughout this trial I have also paid close attention and observed Casey Anthony in court and I have noted her attitude and demeanor. I know defense attorneys groom there clients to present them in a particular light but no matter if her hair is in a pony tail or she is wearing a pink cotton button down long sleeve shirt to give her a conservative appearance. Her facial expressions and body language speaks volumes. What shows the most predominate to me is Casey’s lack of empathy or compassion for her family. No reaction when her mother took the stand and broke down doubled over as she had to re-live that 911 call. No reaction when her father took the stand and broke down. Both parents as well as grandparents grieving as they had to describe some of the most painful experiences they had to endure.
As I listened to Casey’s jailhouse call to her parents when she was angry and swearing at Cindy, telling Lee and Mallory that everyone in the family was against her and that calling them a huge waste of time. I watched Casey very closely in the court room as she displayed a lack of remorse or indifference to the grief her family was going through due to Casey’s choices. To me these were red flags. Not of abuse but of a sociopath. Her anti-social traits became clear to me through out this trial.
Red Flags, I have observed from Casey Anthony’s demeanor as well as testimony from family and friends.
- Total lack of conscience, empathy or compassion for others
- Lying, manipulative and deceptive behavior
- Lack of remorse or indifference
- Avoiding intimacy.
- Vandalism to property
- Bizarre writings or drawings.
- Preoccupied with violence
- Acting out in a sexually inappropriate manner
- Seeks immediate gratification of needs
A Sociopath can be intelligent, charming and show no outward appearance of their inner turmoil. Studies and conclusions on children who kill their families are based on observations made by the children who may perceive themselves as being neglected or abused. Key words here, may perceive themselves. Is this where the defense came up with the theory of the alleged sexual abuse not only by the father but the brother as well? The dysfunction is not with this family but with the defense’s theory.
Throughout the opening statement of Joes Beaz, with his deceptive behavior was geared to manipulate the jury through Casey Anthony’s lies. Keeping with the theme of the sexual molestation let’s look back at how this defense talked about this abuse. (Beaz) “Casey did what she’s been doing all her life or for most of it, hiding her pain. Going into that dark corner and pretending that she does not live in the situation that she is living in. She went back to that deep dark ugly place called denial to pretend as if nothing was wrong”
On one had Beaz says “There’s no broken bone, there’s no trips to the hospital, there’s no moment that will help you determine that this child was abused or anything but loved by all members of the family.” Although he was referring to Caylee Marie at the time of his statement, this also holds true to Casey Anthony. In his next breath Beaz says “this family must keep its secrets quiet.” This statement goes directly to Casey Anthony as she kept her secret about what happened to Caylee on June 16th of 2008 and continued for 31 days. Casey kept her secret quiet and this was a choice.
Beaz continues with “it all began when Casey was 8 years old. And her father came into her room and began to touch her inappropriately. And it escalated, and it escalated!” Beaz then jumps straight to the concept of the Anthony’s hiding Casey’s pregnancy and then jumps to (Beaz)” Casey has a brother. And he, too, wanted to follow in his father‘s footsteps. And on certain occasions, when he was a teenager, he attempted to also touch his sister. Although it didn‘t go as far“
Think about this statement and the words Beaz used to manipulate the jury, “wanted to follow”, “on certain occasions”, “when he was a teenager”, “attempted to touch but it didn’t go as far”. Now this tells me he is trying to manipulate the juries thinking yet, all of this is irrelevant, it is one thing to paint a picture of a logical and rational explanation to circumstances to create reasonable doubt, it’s another to completely lie and manipulate to paint that picture based on speculation.
Weighing the facts and evidence surrounding this case I continue to look at the totality of dynamics in this family and the credibility of this family as witnesses. As a “family unit” they appeared to be together but they don’t appear to be a close family. As you go thought and watch the jail house tapes, notice how Cindy again the controlling party is the one adamant with her questions to Casey for information as well as taking the notes. Her intent to find answers was very strong. Whether intentional or Freudian slip, Caylee Marie was more like a daughter than a granddaughter and Cindy’s actions though out the three year investigation established this.
Cindy appears to be a strong and very independent woman who tries to maintain balance and control in this family. Joes Beaz tried to imply the Anthony’s were hiding a secret when Casey was pregnant. Statistical facts which Cindy is well aware of as a nurse, nearly 1 million teenage girls along with un-wed young adults in the United States give birth every year.
The Anthony’s were no different than any of the other 1 million families out there. George and Cindy Anthony knew that many changes awaited there family. Though it’s certainly was not what George and Cindy Anthony expect, it happens every day. This was not dysfunction as much as it was a family in crisis.
It’s understandable that George and Cindy Anthony probably experienced a wide range of emotions, from shock and disappointment to grief and worry about the future. I’m sure George and Cindy as parents felt a sense of guilt, thinking that if only they’d done more to protect their child this wouldn’t have happened. And although George and Cindy may have been embarrassed by Casey’s pregnancy and worried about how family, friends, and neighbors would react, it’s has been established through the evidence presented in this case that George and Cindy came to grips about the pregnancy and was happy about the news of a soon-to-be grandchild. One more way to try and manipulate this jury, keeping a pregnancy under wraps is not a sign of long term sexual abuse.
Fact: What this family went through was incredible and while Casey Anthony’s prior bad acts such as the check fraud could not come in as direct evidence it still came in through a back door and the jury heard she stole money from her mother and her friend Amy. Now if the jury is really paying attention to the facts in this case it’s another red flag reflecting Casey’s anti-social traits. This is a family where an abduction had occurred while having experience pre-stressors. And what I mean about the pre-stressors in this family they were dealing with Casey’s countless lies, one after another.
Casey Anthony Sought immediate gratification of her needs stealing money from her family from bank accounts running up credit cards and checks from her friend Amy. During this trial it came out that Casey even stole money from her grandfather’s nursing home money. Casey’s grandmother wanted Casey to be held accountable but once again Cindy enabled this behavior and paid the money back doing nothing to hold Casey accountable for her actions.
Had this jury from Pinellas County, taken the time to listen to the jailhouse tapes as I did there was more evidence they would have heard. As I said before it’s clear to me this panel of 12 took the easy way out and then left town, expecting Orange County to pick up the pieces and move on.
Over and over I have heard from the Foreman to juror #3 and the one alternate who spoke out say that George did not help there case he wasn’t a credible witness. If they were looking at the facts than why did they not see this man, this father, grandfather and husband in Crisis? I have to quote Marcia Clark again, “George Anthony was a man undergoing an incredible conflict: he wanted to defend his daughter, yet, being a police officer, he surely knew the evidence against her was compelling. And on top of all that, his daughter’s defense strategy set him up as an incestuous child molester. Given all those circumstances, it’s not hard to see how he veered from one side to the other, his loyalties and love for his daughter and his granddaughter in conflict and sorely tested. The jury could have reasoned it that way too.”
And while they didn’t reason it this way, Juror #3 said she didn’t believe he molested his daughter but he did something. “Something” is not a FACT in this case and if you want to fault George for having an alleged affair with Krystal Halloway, even that can be rationalized. Time does not heal wounds when the family remains in a state of limbo and left with uncertainty. As far as marriages go I believe the disappearance of Caylee took its toll on George and Cindy’s marriage. As it came out during the trial, at one time George had moved out of the home.
When abductions occur in a family usually one member blames the other and they drift apart. Now add the incredibly sever stress that comes from a child abduction to the past stress, you end up with this family in chaos and total distress. I believe from the first moment that George realized or found out that Caylee Marie was missing George’s instincts kicked in from his past experiences as a detective and he went into investigation mode within his own family. I also believe this put a larger wedge between George and Cindy as they grew further apart but in the public they needed to show they were still united.
This takes me to the testimony of George having an affair with Krystal Holloway (aka River Cruze) I did not find Krystal’s testimony completely credible I do believe however that there was an emotional connection there. As Krystal testified she pursued George and she did this during a time where George was vulnerable. I believe that George trusted in their friendship and I believe he confided in Krystal, his overall thoughts and feeling of what might have happened.
Did George say to Krystal this was an accident that snowballed out of control? I believe Krystal was looking for her 3 minutes of fame by inserting herself into this case and into the lives of the Anthony family. Krystal’s past discrepancies, lying to the police shows her credibility or should I say lack of. I believe she was lonely looking for some excitement in her life and it didn’t matter if it was positive or healthy excitement or just plain drama. Krystal needed something that would give her meaning to the emptiness that she was feeling at this time in her life.
“IF” George said anything at all to Krystal during an emotionally intimate moment I believe George not being able to conceived that his own daughter could have killed Caylee Marie may have said something to the to the effect that it had to be an accident that just snowballed out of control for Casey and she didn’t know what to do.
To me as I listened to the testimony of George Anthony I believe there was an emotional connection between George and Krystal, however whether George and Krystal had an romantic relationship or not, in my mind doesn’t matter because George is not on trial “if” and “had to be” does not mean George knew what happened to Caylee Marie nor does it show he knew what part if any, his daughter Casey had in Caylee’s death.
As I said before, the Anthony family may have enabled Casey though out her life and maybe they should have held her accountable for other things but at this time in there life I found this family to be in crisis and if the jury would have taken the time to go through the evidence and listen to the tapes instead of as Juror #3 said “we started going though things” maybe they would have seen the picture that was right in front of them.
Jose Beaz talked about the investigation and as I go through my notes from the trial and my notes from Juror #3’s interview, Jennifer Ford said in reference to the chloroform “I can walk from here to there and make it happen,(meaning, the accidental drowning) but the chloroform, I’m all over the place I have no idea, I’m in a maze I don’t know where I’m at.”
Fact: John Bradley, a computer forensic expert testified that between March 4 and March 21, 2008, computers revealed multiple searches for the word chloroform. Cindy Anthony was called by the defense and testified she was the one who did the searches, however she said she did a search for chlorophyll and was directed to chloroform. Fact: The reason for the search Cindy Anthony explains is her small dogs showed signs of being lethargic; Cindy claims she was researching the possibility of reaction from eating the bamboo plants in the back yard of the Anthony home.
This raised my eyebrows, just another red flag. I wonder, as a nursing student why didn’t Jennifer Ford possibly see this as well, why was she all over the place with the chloroform? Fact: Through testimony it came out that a syringe in a Gatorade bottle was also found at the crime scene and was entered as direct evidence with traces of chloroform.
The searches were done in March of 2008, from the Anthony computer which Casey Anthony had access to. Was Casey testing her chloroform recipe on the dogs first? As a sociopath, this shows Casey’s total lack of conscience or remorse to what would happen to the animals. This would also explain the searches done for household weapons.
When looking at the dynamics of the Anthony family, Casey Anthony is a part of this dynamic as she is a part of this family. Let’s take this just one step further. Fact: Defense called Cindy, George and then Lee Anthony to testify as to the pets they have lost and have buried. Cindy Anthony established from Ohio, when they had a pet that need to be put down the veterinarian asked for Cindy to bring a towel or blanket the animal was use to.
When the animal was euthanized the animal was wrapped in this blanket, wrapped in plastic which was secured by tape and then released back to the Anthony’s for burial. In Ohio the Anthony children were young, however in Florida when the Anthony’s had an animal that was euthanized; again the animal was wrapped in a blanket or towel, wrapped in plastic then secured with tape before burial. Both Lee and Casey were old enough to understand and comprehend as well as take part in this family ritual of the pets.
Fact: Family pet euthanized, wrapped in a favorite blanket, wrapped in plastic, sealed with tape.
Fact: Caylee Marie dead, wrapped in her Winnie the Pooh blanket, wrapped in two plastic garbage bags, wrapped in an industrial laundry bag before she was disposed of.
It would only take a small amount of Chloroform to euthanize Caylee Marie, since chloroform was present in the syringe found at the crime scene and chloroform was also detected in the trunk of Casey Anthony’s car, it would have been very simple to fill the syringe with the chloroform and just inject it into the trunk without touching Caylee at all. In a confined area, the trunk of a car with the trunk shut the fumes could have over powered Caylee Marie.
Another red flag was the number of pets the Anthony’s had from the time Casey Anthony was a freshman in high school or the age of 14 and the age of 22. Testimony established they the Anthony’s lost 5 pets in 8 years, 2 of them being Cocker Spaniels who passed just 6 months apart for one another. RED FLAG PEOPLE! The average life expectancy of a Cocker Spaniel is 12 to 15 years.
Remember, Fact: June 16th of 2008 Caylee Marie was last seen with her mother by George Anthony. June 16th of 2008 Casey Anthony had exclusive possession of the Pontiac Sunfire until June 30th of 2008 when it was towed by Johnson’s towing. June 16th of 2008 Casey Anthony was at her boy friend’s apartment that night and gone from the Anthony home for 31 days. When Casey Anthony arrived at Tony Lazzaro’s apartment on June 16th of 2008 Tony testified Caylee Marie was not with Casey.
From all perspectives this was a family in crisis. This was a family torn apart from the loss of Caylee Marie and their love was tested, sorely tested as they fell on multiple swords trying to help Casey. To me the picture is very clear, the facts were established. Throw out the “fantasy forensics” and throw away the “junk science or science fiction” as Beaz calls it. With no evidence to substantiate the defense, go with the theory of an accidental drowning you still come up with the
Fact: Casey Anthony was an adult. Casey Anthony was the mother and the responsible party for her daughter Caylee Marie. And as she held her dead child in her arms, by law Casey Anthony had a responsibility to Caylee Marie to call 911 to get help no matter what the outcome. The death of Caylee Marie Anthony was caused by the culpable negligence of Casey Anthony.
