Was Caylee Anthony killed by her mum?
As the ninth anniversary of her disappearance approaches, a new documentary asks…
With her light brown hair, sparkling eyes and cheeky smile, it’s hard to believe anyone would want to harm twoyear-old Caylee Marie Anthony. But that was exactly what police suspected when she vanished from her home in Orlando, Florida, in the summer of 2008.
As news of the toddler’s disappearance spread, around 4,200 people volunteered to look for the missing child, and the police embarked on a desperate investigation in the hope of finding her alive.
But as time wore on, it seemed less and less likely and, tragically, after six months, her remains were found.
As the missing person’s inquiry turned into a full-blown murder hunt, suspicion quickly fell on Caylee’s mum, Casey Anthony. She had failed to report her daughter missing, and her apparent lack of concern struck the police as odd.
The public was quick to agree, and Casey was branded ‘the most hated mother in America’. A sensational trial ensued but, despite the evidence, she was found not guilty of Caylee’s death.
So the question remains: What exactly did happen to the toddler?
It was 8.44pm on 15 July 2008 when Cindy Anthony called the police saying her two-year-old granddaughter, Caylee, had been missing for a terrifying 31 days.
Cindy and her husband, George, an expolice officer, explained they’d only just been made aware of the little girl’s disappearance. Not only had they not seen
their granddaughter since 16 June that year, but her mother Casey, then 22, hadn’t, either.
When questioned by police, Casey told officers that she’d dropped Caylee off with her babysitter that June morning before heading to her eventplanning job at Universal Studios. When she’d gone to collect Caylee, she claimed the babysitter had refused to hand her daughter over.
Casey explained she hadn’t called the police as she was frightened the babysitter would harm Caylee.
Cindy and George said they hadn’t known Caylee was missing, believing that their granddaughter was with Casey and her boyfriend at the time.
But the case quickly took a darker turn when officers visited Casey’s workplace and discovered that she hadn’t been employed there for over two years.
Officers also discovered the apartment Casey said the babysitter lived in had been vacant for more than three months and had never been occupied by the so-called childminder. There was no CCTV evidence of Casey ever having set foot in the apartment complex, either.
A mother’s lies
What was Casey trying to hide? Through further police interviews, officers remember her remaining evasive and non-committal.
‘She really seemed kind of aloof to the entire thing,’ former sergeant John Allen said later. ‘It’s been my experience that, most of the time, when a child is missing, the parents are frantic.’ Casey was later arrested on charges of child neglect.
As the investigation continued, police discovered that Cindy had in fact made three 911 [emergency services] calls that July. After reporting Caylee missing, she’d phoned again. ‘I found my daughter’s car today,’ she said. ‘And it smells like there’s been a dead body in the damn car.’
Casey’s 1998 Pontiac Sunfire was confiscated, and officers agreed it smelled of decomposing flesh. Human hairs were found in the boot, along with suspicious stains.
A new three-part TV documentary, Casey Anthony: An American Murder Mystery, shows interviews with police officers and unsettling exchanges in jail between Casey and her parents.
While she was being held in custody, officers eventually tracked down the babysitter Casey had spoken of. She knew nothing of Caylee or the Anthony family, and was ruled out of the investigation. It seemed Casey’s lies were finally catching up with her.
In October 2008, Casey was indicted on first-degree murder charges and, just under two months later, Caylee’s remains were found in a wooded area near the Anthonys’ home.
‘It was horrible,’ Cindy says in the documentary. ‘I felt like someone had punched me in the gut and taken every breath out of my body.’
Devastatingly, there was so little left of Caylee that a postmortem couldn’t conclude how she’d died. The only thing that could be said for certain was that she’d had duct tape over her mouth at some point during her ordeal.
The nation reeled in horror at the toddler’s fate. And, three years later, when Casey’s trial began, the media was allowed into the Orlando courtroom, and members of the public queued to watch.
During the trial, Casey’s defence attorney made shocking claims on her behalf. Jose Baez argued that Casey was controlled by her father, George, and on the day Caylee disappeared, the two had been alone at the family home.
Baez maintained that Caylee had tragically drowned in the swimming pool in their garden, and that it was George who disposed of his granddaughter’s body. He also claimed George had sexually abused Casey and, used to keeping his secrets and being fearful of the repercussions, she had kept Caylee’s death quiet.
George took to the stand to deny everything, and no charges were ever brought. The court also heard how Casey had never wanted to be a mum, and had thought about putting her baby up for adoption before Cindy intervened.
Could Casey really have killed her child? After 33 days in court, in July 2011, a jury decided that the evidence was circumstantial, and no, she couldn’t have. They did, however, decide that she had lied to the police, and she was sentenced to four years in prison. Due to time already served, Casey was released just 10 days after sentencing.
The public was appalled at the verdict, and it was quickly likened to OJ Simpson’s trial. Shockingly, a later report published by Florida’s child welfare agency said that she was responsible for Caylee’s death as she was ‘neglectful’.
The judge who presided over her case later said he thought Casey might have accidentally killed her daughter. While Casey now has a volatile relationship with her mother, she and George no longer speak.
In a recent interview, Casey, now 31, said she ‘sleeps pretty good at night’ and that she still doesn’t know what happened to Caylee. And maybe, after so long, we never will, either.
Casey Anthony: An American Murder Mystery premieres on Saturday 29 April, Quest Red, 11pm
‘It smells like there’s been a dead body in the car’