Casey Anthony Attacked

The Most Hated Woman in America

It’s been five years since she was acquitted of murder, but Casey Anthony is still Public Enemy No. 1

She didn’t seem to have a care in the world. Downing beers and laughing with pals, Casey Anthony enjoyed a night out at Greenacres Bowl in Lake Worth, Fla., on July 8. “She was having fun,” fellow bowler Katie Pennica tells In Touch, “and acting like a normal person.” But Casey’s trip to the bowling alley was anything but normal. As soon as she walked in, “People started saying they wanted to beat her up,” says Pennica, adding that one angry patron eventually lost it and hissed, “Here she comes, the f---ing baby killer!”

A jury acquitted Casey of killing her adorable daughter, Caylee, but clearly the public has a different opinion of her guilt. An In Touch investigation into Casey’s life today reveals that nearly eight years since her 2-year-old’s duct-taped skeletal remains were discovered stuffed in a garbage bag in the swampy central Florida woods near her parents’ Orlando home, Casey (who could have received the death penalty if she had been found guilty) has settled into a cushy, privileged life. “She’s happy,” Lyle Mazin tells In Touch of his friend, who lives in an upscale neighborhood in West Palm Beach with Pat Mckenna, 67 — the lead private investigator on her defense team during her 2011 trial. There, every need is taken care of. Casey, who is trying to start a photography business, frequently goes out to eat with friends, hits the gym a few times a week and enjoys caring for her beloved pooch, Smooch. But her joy

is infuriating to those familiar with her case, and she is regularly attacked verbally by strangers when she goes out. The scenes often border on violence. “The public will never forgive Casey for what they think she did to that child,” an insider says of the petite 30-year-old. “She’ll forever be the most hated woman in America.”

Sometimes she is confronted. On July 10, two days after she was called a “baby killer,” Casey was approached by a woman while dining with friends at Royal Palm Beach’s Hilary’s Restaurant. “The woman asked Casey if she had ever read The Shack, a book about a man who kidnapped a young girl and disposed of her body,” says a fellow diner. The woman then told an unfazed Casey — who was being watched over by what appeared to be a security guard — that God forgave the man but God is better than she. Her meaning was clear: Casey can never be forgiven. “Casey just looked away and continued her meal without comment.” And people at Casey’s gym have threatened to cancel their memberships. Says a source, “They didn’t want to be at the same gym.”

The haters are all around her. While at the bowling alley, Casey, who was accompanied by a police officer, didn’t have a problem tuning out the negativity around her, multiple witnesses tell In Touch. “She was laughing and making a ton of facial expressions,” says a witness, while a second witness adds that Casey “couldn’t stop smiling.” Fellow bowlers were furious. “The people in the lane next to us just wanted to hit Casey for what they believe she did to her child. They still think she got away with it,” says Pennica. “I heard five moms saying, ‘I would love to hit that baby killer.’ People were disgusted she was there.”

She seems to be everywhere these days. She’s frequently spied hitting bars along fashionable Clematis Street in West Palm Beach and the upscale department store Nordstrom, and she’s enjoying riding around in her new car. Bill Warner, a private investigator in Sarasota, Fla., who has followed Casey’s case for years, says, “The new vehicle is registered to her and Mckenna. It appears he and others who were involved with her [case] are supporting her even to this day.”

Casey is trying to move on with her life — but that will never be possible. “There were at least 10 people at the bowling alley who wanted to go up to her and ask her how it feels to be a murderer,” says the first witness. “It’s just unbelievable that she’s able to live her life like a normal person while Caylee doesn’t get the same chance. It’s just not right.” ◼

“I’ve heard that people in kitchens spit in her food when she eats at their restaurants,” a source says of Casey (in West Palm Beach, Fla., on July 5), who was found not guilty of firstdegree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter...

Casey seemed unbothered by the fact that the entire bowling alley was talking about her, says a witness, adding, “People weren’t pleased that she was there.”