What Did Casey Anthony Do?
Casey Anthony was accused of murdering her 2-year-old daughter Caylee in Orlando, Florida, in 2008. The young child was reported missing by her grandmother Cindy in a frantic call to the police, with her saying she hadn’t seen Caylee in 31 days.
Casey Anthony had given a number of different stories of what happened to Caylee, none of which made any sense to her family or the police. The weirdest story involved a nanny apparently called Zanny, whom Casey claimed kidnapped her daughter. Casey was charged in October 2008 with Caylee’s murder, despite a body still not being found. Casey pled not guilty, and the date was set for a trial.
In an unfortunate twist in the case, Caylee’s remains were found in December 2008 in a wooded area near the Anthonys’ family home. The death was listed as a homicide by undetermined means.
What happened during the trial?
Despite relying heavily on circumstantial evidence, the state set out to seek the death penalty for Casey. The prosecution story was that Casey felt her daughter was getting in the way of the life she wanted to lead; in an attempt to release herself from the responsibilities of parenting, she murdered her daughter. They claimed she administered chloroform and applied duct tape to her nose and mouth.
This is where the defense stepped in, led by Jose Baez, who called out the prosecution for their lack of evidence. The defense team claimed that Caylee accidentally drowned in the family’s swimming pool and that Casey’s father, George, disposed of the body.
On July 5th, 2011, a jury of her peers found Casey Anthony not guilty of first-degree murder, child abuse and manslaughter. However, they did find her guilty of giving the police false information, but she was released on July 17th with a credit for time served.
Where is Casey Anthony now?
After the verdict that cleared her of the murder of Caylee, Casey Anthony left her hometown to start a new life in an unknown location. The law caught up with her once again, and she was ordered to return to Florida to serve probation for an unrelated fraud conviction. Casey maintains her innocence to this day, and now works as a legal assistant for Patrick McKenna, the private investigator on her defense team during her trial.
A documentary series titled Casey Anthony: Where the Truth Lies was released in November 2022, and it featured Casey talking about her new life. She revealed shocking accusations of sexual abuse by her father and potential new revelations about the case. It’s available on Peacock and well worth a watch if you want to know more about this case.
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