Mommy's Little Girl

by Diane Fanning

  When the attorney asked, “Is it fair to say your daughter’s lied to you about many things?” Cindy snapped, “It’s fair to say the sheriff’s department lied to me about many things.” Cindy declared questions about her parents and those about Casey stealing from her parents irrelevant. When she was asked about her relationship with her daughter, she balked again.

  “I understand you’re tired, but let’s go back to my question,” the attorney said.

  “I’m not answering it.”

  The attorney attempted to explain the law regarding her obligation to answer any questions that weren’t covered by privilege, but Cindy wasn’t budging. They all took a break so that she could confer with her lawyer. Cindy was not any more cooperative when they recommenced.

  She threatened to walk out or file harassment charges, and she insulted Zenaida, saying she didn’t match the description given by Casey. “She doesn’t have perfect teeth. She’s not a ten. I’m sorry, ma’am, you’re cute, but you’re not a ten.”

  Cindy testified that she believed someone else had dumped Caylee’s body in the woods near their home after hearing the jail visitation tape where Casey said she thought her daughter was nearby.

  Zenaida’s attorneys filed a motion to compel, requesting the judge to order Cindy to answer the financial questions that she insisted were irrelevant.

  When it was Dominic Casey’s turn to be questioned by Zenaida’s attorneys, he simply ignored the subpoena, an act that put his private investigator’s license in jeopardy.

  In April, The Florida Bar was investigating the behavior of José Baez once again. One complaint came from Judge Stan Strickland, the other from Dominic Casey. Both were about the same matter: Jose Baez was accused of telling Dominic not to call 9-1-1 if he found Caylee’s remains in the woods. José called the allegations ridiculous.

  The promotional announcements were on the air. Oprah would have the first interview with George and Cindy since the discovery of Caylee’s body. The show billed it as an exclusive event to air in May. Supporters of the family felt this show was the perfect venue to soften their image. If Oprah loved them, the world would, too.

  But then, George and Cindy accepted an invitation to appear on the CBS Early Show in April. Oprah responded, “Based on the Anthonys’ decision to appear on other programs, we have decided not to move forward with their interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show at this time.”

  Cindy, however, had a different story. She wrote in an email to WKMG news: “I cancelled on Oprah because of integrity.” Her reason made no sense to anyone.

  George, Cindy and lawyer Brad Conway joined Maggie Rodriquez on the Early Show set on April 22. Cindy said, “Sometimes it gets lost that we’ve lost someone very close to us and we have someone else who’s hurting and we miss her dearly, too.”

  When Maggie asked about the reinstatement of the death penalty earlier in the month, Cindy said that they could not think about that now. George added that he didn’t believe there would be a plea deal and that neither of them wanted her to do that. “Casey’s not going to admit to something she hasn’t done.”

  “How are you so sure?” Maggie asked. “How do you say with such conviction that she didn’t do this?”

  “We love our daughter,” Cindy said. “We stand behind her. We know what kind of mother she was.”

  “Is it because you love your daughter that you need to believe this, or is it because you believe unflinchingly that it is not possible that she did this?”

  “I don’t believe it’s possible for my daughter to hurt anyone,” George said. “And she definitely wouldn’t hurt her own child. I mean, my gosh, I’ve seen the love she had every single day for her. She had been with us. She wouldn’t hurt her.”

  The interview continued the next day. Maggie asked about Casey: “What kind of young lady did she grow up to be, George?”

  “Very sensitive. Very caring. The kind of daughter that any father is proud of, I mean, I’m proud of my daughter. Watching Caylee grow up, you know, it’s . . . like watching my daughter grow up again.”

  The couple talked about their granddaughter, the pain of their loss and the 911 calls in July. Maggie asked about Casey, “What questions would you have for her? What questions has she not answered for you that you need to know?”

  “I had time with Casey to ask questions,” George said.

  “Are you satisfied with the answers she gave you?”

  “You know, I’d love to know more.”

  “Like what?” Maggie prodded.

  “I want to know what happened.”

  “She claimed that the babysitter snatched her?”

  “Yes.”

  “George, shouldn’t she have reported her missing?”

  “Again, I can’t say what my daughter was thinking. We just don’t know.”

  “Do you fault her for anything?”

  “How can we?” Cindy asked. We don’t know what she’s been through. I don’t know what that girl has been through. I mean, George and I are living the same nightmare and I can’t judge George for certain things that he’s done. I understand certain things. I understand his suicide attempt. A lot of people don’t know I was there, too. I wrote suicide notes back in the end of July and August.”

  “You did?”

  “Yes, I did. Because I couldn’t bear not having Caylee around and not knowing. You know, you get to a point when you miss someone so much that you think life’s not worth living.”

  “And what kept you from going through [with] it?” Maggie asked.

  “Casey came home—the first time, Casey came home—the very first night—being able to see her and hug her.”

  When Maggie asked about jail visitation, Cindy complained about the sunshine laws and the awkwardness of the visits. “What do you say to people who say the evidence is hard to refute?” Maggie asked.

  “Well, I guess I could answer in one way,” George said. “Has any other case ever gotten all this kind of exposure?”

  Brad Conway interjected. “Can I answer that?”

  “Sure,” Maggie said.

  “The evidence is for trial. There’s no evidence out there right now. What’s out there is discovery. There’s reports. There’s photos. But that’s not evidence.”

  “What do you say to people who conclude that your daughter is guilty?”

  “She’s presumed innocent,” Cindy said. “You know, the facts have not all come out.”

  “But people have said some things about her character that she was a liar and that was well documented. Why should people believe her now when her life is at stake?”

  “Well, her life is at stake.”

  “Do you feel that although you couldn’t save Caylee, you will at least try to save Casey?”

  “I don’t know what we can do. All we can do is stand behind our daughter. And that’s all we can do.”

  “Unflinching support?”

  “Unflinching support,” Cindy said. “I believe in her.”

  “You know,” George said, “there’s some people that say, Well, we should be done with it . . . We can’t. That’s our daughter, you know.”

  “No matter what she may or may not have done.”

  “No matter what, that’s still our daughter. No matter what.”

  In stark contrast to the position of Cindy and George, the conclusion of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office’s Investigative Report read:

  After several months of investigation, detectives could find no one who has ever met, spoken with or seen any Zenaida Gonzalez who had cared for Caylee Anthony. There has been no factual evidence to suggest that anyone besides Casey Anthony was the last one to be with Caylee when she was last seen alive.

  Almost everyone who knows Casey Anthony admits she was prone to lying. Based on statements and eyewitness accounts, it appears that Caylee was last seen alive on June 16, 2008. Evidence obtained from the white 1998 Pontiac Sunfire along with evidence found with the body suggests that Caylee died between Jun
e 16 and June 27 2008. Evidence also suggests that Caylee Anthony was in the trunk of the white 1998 Pontiac for a period of time but removed prior to June 27 2008. Evidence on the body suggests that the child’s death was not accidental but an intentional act.

  As of this writing, there is nothing to suggest that anyone but Casey Anthony is responsible for the death and disposal of Caylee Anthony.

  The trial of Casey Anthony for the murder of her daughter is currently expected to begin in June, 2010. José Baez has requested a change of venue, preferably in the Miami–Dade area. The prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

  AFTERWORD

  Why?

  The death of little Caylee Marie would seem senseless no matter how she died. An innocent child deserves the opportunity to stretch a long shadow into the future. If a toddler dies from illness, we direct our anger at God. When it’s by accident, we look for someone to blame. But when a precious one is lost through murder, the natural response is outrage and horror.

  Still, we want to know why, because until we do, we cannot do anything to prevent it from happening again to another child. We have to believe there is a way to prevent such a death, or we slide into an endless pit of despair. Our only hope is knowledge, awareness of the red flags that portend disaster and an ability to recognize the warnings in real time.

  In initial interviews, many of Casey’s friends were convinced that Caylee’s death had to have been an accident—something bad happened without any evil intention, causing Casey to panic and dispose of the body. Even Cindy and George contemplated that scenario when they talked to each other about the pool ladder.

  Casey’s Uncle Rick started there, but quickly reached a different conclusion: “She looks at people like they’re objects. They have a shelf life—when she’s through with them, they’re gone. Caylee was an object, a possession . . . I know in my mind and heart that Casey planned it. Caylee was getting old enough that she could tell on [Casey], and that was complicated by the tremendous jealousy Casey felt towards Cindy.”

  Just as Casey’s lies made it clear to many that she was involved in her daughter’s death, her months of silence made it apparent to many that what happened wasn’t an accident. If Caylee had drowned in the pool, or overdosed from medication intended just to make her sleep, or died from any other mishap, surely Casey would have stepped forward and accepted responsibility, throwing herself on the mercy of the court. But she did not. She clung to her initial story and toyed with the hearts of her family members.

  Were her tears during videotaped conversations with her parents born from self-pity, were they manufactured for the purpose of manipulation, or were they the product of genuine regret? Did she come to regret her actions after the fact when she realized that the one person who believed everything she said without question, who looked up to her with adoration and loved her without passing judgment, was now gone?

  If Casey did indeed suffer from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, as some have suggested, the death of Caylee wouldn’t fit. A young child feeds into a narcissist’s need for adulation.

  Psychoanalyst Bethany Marshall suggested Casey’s actions were the product of a Borderline Personality Disorder, saying, “Casey is a bully. She uses words like weapons. She uses them as objects to control other people . . . There’s a ragefulness, impulsivity, lack of empathy toward other people, including her own child, a disregard and violation of the rights of others.” But one of the hallmarks of this disorder is self-injury, of which there appears to be no evidence.

  Psychologist and author Dr. Juliann Mitchell wrote that

  Casey is a sociopathic, superficial sensationalist . . . She fits the description of someone with an antisocial personality disorder . . . Everything she does is designed to protect herself by outwitting and outsmarting the legal authorities . . . Others are always expendable . . . Sociopaths are incapable of remaining in love, or even selflessly loving anyone.

  That diagnosis seems to track with the last few years of Casey’s life, but does not seem compatible with her friends’ earlier memories.

  Some have turned to Dr. Otto Kernberg’s theory of malignant narcissism as the diagnosis that answers the mystery of Casey Anthony’s actions in the wake of her daughter’s disappearance. He saw that condition as being the mid-point on the spectrum between Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Anti-social Personality Disorder—a place where there are feelings of entitlement, superiority, invincibility and immunity to the laws of others. A disorder that often leads to the destruction of the source of frustration.

  There is a lot of overlap in the symptoms of different personality disorders. But no matter where you might place Casey on that continuum, you would have an individual whose self-absorption and insensitivity to others is a destructive force, which damages anything that stands in its way.

  It is easy to point to her parents and blame them for creating this monster, but is it fair? Just as model citizens dedicated to helping others can be the product of dreadful parents, perfect parents sometimes nurture hellions. It is impossible to say how much of the blame for Casey’s actions derives from the way she was enabled by her parents.

  As a close observer of these events and of the Anthony family, I don’t know how I’d react if I were in George and Cindy’s shoes. I hope that I would be able to embrace reason. But who knows? That acceptance would come with a huge burden of guilt—one that very easily could lead to the suicidal ideation George experienced in January. There is nothing in life that can prepare you for being the family of a victim of such an awful crime, no less its possible perpetrator.

  Perhaps the Anthony family could have dealt with their unenviable position better if they had not been trapped in the piercing headlights of national attention, if they had not been constantly besieged by news sources wanting sound bites and headlines, and attention-seekers wanting to be part of the story. Maybe with time for quiet reflection, they could have come to terms with the situation without the hostility and frustration that erupted in the months after Caylee’s disappearance.

  Could they have acted sooner to prevent this tragedy from happening? You could argue that that was possible. They could have encouraged their daughter to give up her child for adoption. They could have fought for custody of their granddaughter when it seemed that Casey had begun to abandon responsibility. Looking back, it is easy to see other possibilities; but how could they know where their lives were headed?

  After the fact, they, like the rest of us, were caught up in a carnival of bright lights, loud voices and the public’s ceaseless appetite for entertainment. This story had it all: a young, attractive perpetrator, a resort city locale and an endless supply of interesting side attractions.

  Often lost in the sensationalism was the victim, Caylee Marie Anthony—the one little girl who mattered the most.

  What of other little children? Is there anything we can do to save future lives? Our only hope is vigilance and empathy. We need to be compassionate and non-judgmental toward women facing an unwanted pregnancy. We need to recognize the warning signs of a parent whose irresponsibility extends to their child. As a society we need to be ever-vigilant about the well-being of our most helpless. With luck and determination, we can protect the little ones who cannot protect themselves—not every time, not in every place. But to save a single child from Caylee Marie’s fate is an accomplishment worthy of any sacrifice.