Casey Anthony ends her silence
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Casey Anthony knows that much of the world believes she killed her 2-year-old daughter, despite her acquittal. But nearly nine years later, she insists she doesn’t know how the last hours of Caylee’s life unfolded.
“Caylee would be 12 right now. And would be a total badass,” she told The Associated Press in one of a series of exclusive interviews.
But discussing Caylee’s last moments, the 30-year-old Anthony spoke in halting, sober tones: “I’m still not even certain as I stand here today about what happened,” she said.
“Based off what was in the media” — the story of a woman who could not account for a month in which her child was missing, whose defense involved an accidental drowning for which there was no eyewitness testimony — “I understand the reasons people feel about me. I understand why people have the opinions that they do.”
This was the first time Anthony spoke to a news media outlet about her daughter’s death or her years since the trial. Her responses were at turns revealing, bizarre and often contradictory, and they ultimately raised more questions than answers about the case that has captivated the nation.
It’s been almost nine years since Caylee went missing, and six since the circus-like Orlando trial that ended in her mother’s acquittal. The trial was carried live on cable networks and was the focus of daily commentaries by HLN’s Nancy Grace, who called her “the most hated mom in America.”
The child was supposedly last seen on June 16, 2008; she was first reported missing, by Casey Anthony’s mother, on July 15. A day later, Casey Anthony was arrested on charges of child neglect. She told police that Caylee had disappeared with a baby sitter.
A utility worker working in a wooded area near the Anthony home on Dec. 11 found skeletal remains that were later determined to be Caylee’s. Experts would testify that air samples indicated that decaying human remains had been present in Casey Anthony’s trunk.
In the end, prosecutors proved Casey Anthony was a liar, but convinced the jury of little else.
