Casey Anthony - guilty, or not?

[AtLast]

I don't think her defense attorney represented her well overall. From the start, I have felt he was in it to make a name. A very arrogant person- which I think hurts in a jury believing she is not guilty. He did not pull together many of his opening argument "theories" well at all. And due to Casey's continued lying and bizarre stories and behavior, I don't think the jury will buy any of his assertions, mainly based on not liking him.

The feuding between her attorney and the lead prosecutor was shameful in terms of how it could influence a jury. Almost felt like mal-practice at time- for both of them. If she is convicted, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if she won a new trial on appeal because of some of the actions between attorneys during this trial. The judge seemed pretty disgusted with the lack of professionalism that went on at times. I don’t blame him- this is a capital murder case. And I do believe that all defendants deserve fair representation.

It is a circumstantial case but she is a very disturbed young woman and the whole Anthony family seems very dysfunctional. However, I do think she is responsible for her daughter's death. If it was accidental, my bet would be through Casey's negligence. If anyone was not ready to have a child, she wasn't- nor did she have good parenting herself. This family just strikes me as a mess in general.

It could have been an accidental death, but not as her lawyer proposed with her father as part of a cover-up. I think that if this were true, it would have come out in the investigation. I do not believe she was sexually abused by him or her brother and that is saying a lot because I spent a great many years working in child sexual abuse. Actually, I was angered by the defense's use of "planting" this as a way to demonstrate reasonable doubt.- this isn’t something to use as he did- far too many people are sexually abused. But, I can see that this child's death could have been accidental (unrelated to the pool drowning story and abuse allegations. and that Casey's dysfunctional and personality disorders prevented her from doing the rational thing- calling the authorities and explaining exactly what happened.

My guess is that she is convicted, but maybe not on first degree murder. The whole damn thing is just tragic.

[JustJo]

Originally Posted by AtLastHome

It could have been an accidental death, but not as her lawyer proposed with her father as part of a cover-up. I think that if this were true, it would have come out in the investigation.

I agree. I can't see a retired police officer doing anything to cover up a truly accidental death. That doesn't make any kind of sense.

Even if Casey was negligent and it resulted in a truly accidental death, her father (as a retired cop) would know that people aren't generally held responsible for that...and I believe he would have reported it.

Yes, I think the whole family is an amazingly sad dysfunctional unit...with Casey a pathological liar, and her family enabling it for years...and, apparently, doing some lying of their own as well.

The critical piece for me, if I was sitting on that jury, is her actions in the 31 days when her child was "missing." For me, that spells guilt. Maybe I'm close-minded or whatever....but I once lost track of my son when he was 2-1/2, in the Borders bookstore at the mall (he liked to play hide and seek and I didn't realize he was "playing" with me at that moment)...and I was a screaming banshee of a wreck within about 2 minutes flat.

More importantly, when my son finally popped up and said "boo mommy" and laughed....and I started breathing normally again...I apologized to everyone I had alarmed in the immediate area of the store. And every single one of them reacted with something along the lines of "oh no, I would be freaked out too, you're fine."

Everyone understands a mom whose child is missing and who is freaked out, screaming for help, calling the cops, losing her mind.

How does a parent not report a missing 2 or 3 year old for over a month?

And how does that parent go party, dance, drink and get a tattoo that reads "Bella Vita" while they believe their toddler is missing?

I know that the defense tried to paint that as her dysfunctional form of grief....but I just don't buy it.

[cinderella]

I am in total agreement with what you've said here. Very well thought out and sensible. You should've been a lawyer!

The part you posted about what Casey was doing while her child was supposedly missing, is key. I've never had children, but judging from the way my mom was with us 3 kids, and how she protected us with the ferocity of a lioness with her cubs...I can well understand how a mother feels if her child is missing - even for a second! So yeah, Casey's behavior during those 31 days is just not right - how could any mother do that??!! It is very telling of her guilt!

Originally Posted by JustJo

I agree. I can't see a retired police officer doing anything to cover up a truly accidental death. That doesn't make any kind of sense.

Even if Casey was negligent and it resulted in a truly accidental death, her father (as a retired cop) would know that people aren't generally held responsible for that...and I believe he would have reported it.

Yes, I think the whole family is an amazingly sad dysfunctional unit...with Casey a pathological liar, and her family enabling it for years...and, apparently, doing some lying of their own as well.

The critical piece for me, if I was sitting on that jury, is her actions in the 31 days when her child was "missing." For me, that spells guilt. Maybe I'm close-minded or whatever....but I once lost track of my son when he was 2-1/2, in the Borders bookstore at the mall (he liked to play hide and seek and I didn't realize he was "playing" with me at that moment)...and I was a screaming banshee of a wreck within about 2 minutes flat.

More importantly, when my son finally popped up and said "boo mommy" and laughed....and I started breathing normally again...I apologized to everyone I had alarmed in the immediate area of the store. And every single one of them reacted with something along the lines of "oh no, I would be freaked out too, you're fine."

Everyone understands a mom whose child is missing and who is freaked out, screaming for help, calling the cops, losing her mind.

How does a parent not report a missing 2 or 3 year old for over a month?

And how does that parent go party, dance, drink and get a tattoo that reads "Bella Vita" while they believe their toddler is missing?

I know that the defense tried to paint that as her dysfunctional form of grief....but I just don't buy it.

[Medusa]

I havne't been watching the case but I have caught a few random clips here and there.

Can someone tell me what the discussion or line of questioning was about how Caylee's body got to the woods? Did the prosecution claim that Casey put it there? What did the defense claim?

Did I read somewhere that the defense claimed that the Dad put it in the woods?

I didnt watch closing arguments but I would have heavily stressed that Casey partied for 31 solid days as her child's body lay decaying in the woods. I probably would have juxtaposed photos of Casey in the "Hot Body" contest with photos of Caylee's corpse.

[NJFemmie]

That is the mystery. It's claimed that the body was stashed in the trunk of Casey's car before it was placed in the woods.

The prosecution has maintained Casey put her daughter Caylee's body in the trunk of her Pontiac Sunfire before hiding it in the woods.


Anthony's attorneys have said Casey's father George Anthony helped her dispose of the girl's body. Then later, a meter reader moved the body into the woods.

[Medusa]

Originally Posted by NJFemmie

That is the mystery. It's claimed that the body was stashed in the trunk of Casey's car before it was placed in the woods.

The prosecution has maintained Casey put her daughter Caylee's body in the trunk of her Pontiac Sunfire before hiding it in the woods.


Anthony's attorneys have said Casey's father George Anthony helped her dispose of the girl's body. Then later, a meter reader moved the body into the woods.

Oh interesting! They are claiming that a meter reader moved the body? Did the prosecution ever shred that or offer motive as to why somoene would move a body?

To me, it's important to know how her body got to the woods and who put it there. And wasn't that wooded area pretty close to the Anthony home?

[NJFemmie]

Originally Posted by Medusa

Oh interesting! They are claiming that a meter reader moved the body? Did the prosecution ever shred that or offer motive as to why somoene would move a body?

To me, it's important to know how her body got to the woods and who put it there. And wasn't that wooded area pretty close to the Anthony home?

Prosecution did try and debunk any theories that defense tried to impose. But what I don't get is, why did Kronk's (?) wait four (?) months to FINALLY get someone to uncover the body ... especially when he knew it was a body four months beforehand....?? And yes, the body was found about 1/4 mile away from the Anthony home - very near the roadside in fact. It wasn't like it was buried deep in the woods.

Ashton acknowledged that the state chose not to call Roy Kronk, the man who found the remains, as a witness, and he suggested that was because Kronk’s story cannot be trusted. “Roy likes to spin a good yarn,” he said. What Kronk claimed happened on December 11, 2008, including the skull rolling out of the bag when he picked it up, was impossible, he claimed.
He also said that he did not believe Kronk just happened upon the location for a second time four months after he called police about it in August. Instead, he suggested that Kronk revealed the location when he did to impress his son, who he had recently reconnected with and who testified that Kronk told him he knew where the remains were in November 2008.
Even if parts of Kronk’s story cannot be believed, Ashton said, that does not make him the morally bankrupt individual the defense portrayed him as. It did not make him someone “who would take a little girl’s skull home and play with it.”

[iamkeri1]

When her Dad died when she was 15, my daughter rarely showed her grief. I was with her whenever she was not in school, and she was very stoic about it. "People do not need to know how I feel, There is nothing they can do about it. I cry when I am alone in my room at night. People will use it against me. You can't trust people. If they know I am weak they will use it against me." were things she said to me.

Casey Anthony is not a very likeable person. We don't like the way she focuses on herself rather than her daughter. This means 1) she is disfunctional OR 2) she is grieving away from the cameras. All evidence against her is circumstantial. I don't have an opinion as to whether or not she is guilty. I do not believe that the state has made their case. I believe that if she is convicted, it will be more because she is disliked than because of proof of guilt.

Smooches,
Keri

[NJFemmie]

Murderers have been convicted on circumstantial evidence before. Scott Peterson was one of them.

What makes Casey so "unlikeable" (IMO) is her excessive lying. The story keeps changing. Come to find out Zanny isn't even a real person. Now, instead of the supposed kidnapping, Caylee drowned. George did it, because George allegedly molested her. But George was the only person Casey wanted to see face to face while in prison (it's on tape).

She parties for the month after her daughter goes missing. She gets that tattoo.

Does this make a likeable person? Not so much. But, it is at her own doing. She CAN step up and tell the truth.

[Medusa]

NJ - You touched on something that has been orbiting for me in this case.

I don't have kids and don't even really like them so I often don't have warm fuzzies around things involving children than other people might. I do, however, get really pissed off/sad when I think about a small child being dead and her body laying out in the woods decaying and alone. If I were on that jury, I would ask myself if, as a Mother, I could go on about my life knowing that my child's body was decaying somewhere and that animals were possibly destroying her remains.
I personally couldn't do that and would feel incredible judgment about a Mother who could.

I think there is a level of mental illness going on with Casey and, in a way, I feel like she operates like a small child would on a lot of levels. The lying, attention-seeking, etc. all speak to someone who just wants to be loved, just wants to avoid responsibility. I wouldn't say I feel sorry for her at all but I do feel compassion for her.

[NJFemmie]

I don't have children either - as I get older, I find myself tolerating them less myself (but at the same time, I do like children, just not always "other" people's children) ... BUT, as you, if I were a mother, and my child was missing - I would have FITS about it. There is no way I could even step out in public let alone party, get a tat, yadda yadda. She was emotionless from the start - even when she was arrested for murder. If I KNEW I didn't do this, and I was arrested for murder, I would be screaming hell on earth so that even satan himself would cover his ears.

Obviously yes, she does has mental issues. I mentioned before that she's more than likely suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder - she has exhibited (if not) all of the signs. What do you do with people like this? I mean, really?

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