Mommy's Little Girl (10 page)

Lee got an even better job working with computers for a business that offered parking lot services for big events, including one of the largest of all, the Super Bowl. Not only did Lee earn good money for a young man without a college education, he also got an enviable perk—trips to the Super Bowl.

 

In the spring of 2004, Casey neared her graduation from high school—or at least, that's what everyone thought. About a week before the ceremony, Cindy asked, “Where is your cap and gown?”

Casey shrugged and said, “They haven't given it to me yet.”

Three days before graduation, George and Cindy learned for the first time that Casey had a problem at school. Her counselor called and asked them to come in for a meeting. The Anthonys knew it was serious when they entered the counselor's office and saw that the principal was there, too. Casey was not going to graduate with her class. When Cindy asked why not, she was told, “We offered Casey many options to get the required credits, but she didn't take advantage of any of them.”

George demanded to see Casey's school records. The administrators refused; Casey was 18 years old—their hands were tied.

George and Casey's relationship had deteriorated badly in the previous two years. They didn't want to add that
volatility to the confrontation with Casey, so Cindy handled it on her own. Casey insisted it was not her fault. “I took an on-line computer class and they didn't give me credit for it,” she said. “I'm just one half-credit short,” she whined.

Cindy believed her, but Casey was not telling the truth. There were no on-line class options, and Casey needed more than a half-credit—she was a few short of the minimum. Her classmates said that she'd just stopped going to class in her senior year.

Although Cindy had invited her parents to the graduation, she didn't bother to call them and let them in on the new developments. George, Cindy and Casey went to the ceremony and met Shirley and Alex there. Shirley was puzzled when she saw her granddaughter. “Where are your cap and gown?” she asked.

Casey burst into tears, repeating her pitiful half-credit story. She told them she was sorry, but she wouldn't be walking across the stage with her class.

Back at the Anthony home, Cindy forbade her parents from telling any of her brothers that Casey did not graduate. Shirley and Alex promised they would not—and they kept their word. None of the siblings knew until more than four years later, when they were questioned by law enforcement.

Cindy and George hadn't given up on their daughter, despite the graduation debacle. They offered to provide the money for any educational expense Casey needed to get her high school diploma, but Casey never pursued it. Knowing of her desire to have a career in photography, they found a number of scholarship opportunities for her, but Casey did nothing about them, either.

Instead, Casey got a job with Kodak, a company with a Universal Studios theme park contract. She snapped photos of people enjoying rides there and peddled those shots to the customers when they disembarked.

Her manager, Mike Kozak, thought highly of her and her performance at work. She went into the manager trainee program where Mike “taught her the ropes.” He said that she had a pleasant personality and got along with the crew. She did have limitations because of her youth, immaturity and experience: Mike had to explain to her more than once that she couldn't manage people during the day and then go out and party with them at night.

To Kiomarie's surprise, she and Casey were reunited. Kiomarie was employed by Universal Studios in attractions and entertainment, and their work brought them together on Halloween Horror Nights at the park in October 2004.

Something about her high school friend had changed—and not for the better, in Kiomarie's opinion. Casey seemed a bit off, as if the pieces of her life's puzzle no
longer fit together. Kiomarie suggested that she needed to get professional help.

Old friend Melina Calabrese also got a job at Universal after high school. But no red flags about Casey popped up in her mind. After Melina left her job, she and Casey maintained a casual connection through telephone calls and text messages.

 

Soon after New Year's Day in 2005, Casey met 19-year-old Jesse Grund at Universal. Jesse worked in loss prevention. Casey and Jesse began dating by the end of the month. He appreciated her sarcastic sense of humor and her energy. She was a lot of fun to be around, but, to his dismay, Casey got serious right away.

Two weeks into the relationship, Casey said, “I'm in love with you.” That level of commitment, that soon, was intimidating to the young man. Even though Jesse felt the stirrings of love in his heart for Casey, he stopped dating her.

But Casey didn't step out of his life. She helped Jesse's brother get a job at Kodak and kept coming by the Grund house to see Jesse. In June 2005, Jesse's father, the Reverend Richard Grund, an ordained Pentecostal Holiness Church minister, now a practicing non-denominationalist, caught sight of Casey for the first time. When Richard noticed her in his home, he asked Jesse, “Who is that girl?”

“That's Casey, the girl I dated for a while earlier this year.”

“Well, son, she's pregnant.”

“Oh, no. No. She's only got female problems. I asked her about that,” Jess explained. “That's what she's told everybody, including her family.”

Richard shook his head. “No, I know a woman who's pregnant, and she's pregnant.”

Jesse blew off his father's observation and maintained his friendship with Casey. But about a month later, when he was sitting in a training seminar, he received a phone call from Casey. “I need to talk to you,” she said.

“I can't talk right now, send me a text message.”

Soon the words came over the screen: “I'm pregnant and you're the father. That's it.”

With dread and embarrassment, Jesse called his dad. He knew his father would not approve of his premarital sexual relationship, but he had to let him know. “I'm going to take responsibility for my actions,” he promised.

Then, he met with Casey. After going over the facts with her, Jesse realized that there was a major flaw in the timeline. He patiently explained how the math didn't add up, but dropped his protestations in the face of Casey's insistence. He adopted another tactic: “Look, both of us are too young to be parents. Let's put this baby up for adoption to somebody who wants a baby, but can't have one.”

“That's not an option. That's not going to happen.”

Between that time and the day of Caylee's birth on August 9, Jesse's doubts about his responsibility for Caylee grew stronger. His family urged him not to have his name placed on the birth certificate unless he took a DNA test first.

 

Richard Grund was not the only person to take note of Casey's pregnancy that June. When she stopped by Gentiva Health, where her mother had been employed as the supervisor of visiting nurses since 2001, Casey was wearing a long black coat that covered her mid-section—but not quite enough. She rushed past the front desk without stopping to chat with Charles Crittenden as she usually did. To Charles, she looked as if she was pregnant—but that was odd, because Cindy had never mentioned that she was expecting a grandchild. He shared his suspicions with a co-worker, who went into the back to check out Casey. She, too, thought Casey was pregnant. Cindy, it seemed, didn't have a clue, even though it was there for all to see.

Other observers were Casey's brother Lee and Cindy's youngest brother Rick. Both Rick and his brother Daniel had remained in Ohio working for Packard Electric, making wiring for General Motors cars. The company had
become Delphi when it spun off from GM in 1999. Both brothers retired—Daniel moved to Florida and Rick to coastal South Carolina.

Rick planned his second marriage for June 4, 2005, the day of his 51
^st
birthday. Rick and his fiancée Robin wanted a small, quiet ceremony on the beach, with just their parents and children and a few close friends in attendance. Rick didn't plan on inviting any of his siblings.

His mother, though, wanted her daughter to come with her husband. Rick relented and extended an invitation to Cindy and George. The Anthony couple drove up to South Carolina with Alex and Shirley. Unbeknownst to Rick, Casey had planned to fly up for the wedding. When Lee dropped her off at the airport in Orlando, he said, “Listen, if you are pregnant, or something's going on, tell me. Be honest with me.”

“No, Lee,” she said. “I'm just bloated.”

When Lee later learned the truth, he felt betrayed by his little sister.

The other travelers met Casey at the airport in South Carolina before driving to Rick's house. When Rick answered the door the day before his wedding, he welcomed Cindy and George, but was surprised when he saw his niece standing behind them. “Oh, Casey, I didn't know you were coming.”

He took a closer look at the 19-year-old. She was wearing a tight-fitting, stretchy, powder blue top that left her lower stomach exposed and protruding. Her belly button poked out about a half-inch. After inviting their guests inside and getting them comfortable, Robin whispered, “You told me you thought Casey was too skinny when you saw her last year.”

“She was,” Rick said. “I think she's pregnant.”

As soon as he could, he pulled his sister and brother-in-law off to the side. “Cindy, George, what's up with Casey? You got something to tell me? What's going on here?”

The couple looked at him with puzzled expressions. “What?” they both asked.

“She's expecting?”

They looked at him like he was crazy. Rick turned to Robin, who shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes.

“Cindy, she looks like she's pregnant. Come on.”

“Oh, no. She's not,” Cindy said. “She's just putting on weight.”

“Cindy, I've seen a lot of pregnant girls. I'm not an expert, but, man, she looks pregnant,” Rick said.

“Rick, my daughter has female problems. She has a tumor on her ovaries,” she hissed.

Rick didn't believe her, but he said, “That tumor is as big as a baby. You'd better get her to a doctor right now, 'cause she's going to die,” and then he just walked away.

All day, though, the other guests kept asking, “Who's the pregnant girl?”

Rick believed his mom might know what was happening, so he said, “Mom, I think Casey's pregnant.”

“That's what Dad and I thought. Cindy swears she's not pregnant,” Shirley said.

“Mom, she's a nurse, for crying out loud. She can't see it?”

Shirley shrugged and shook her head. Rick went back to his sister. “Cindy, come on. You're kidding me, right? Now tell me: Is Casey pregnant?”

“Casey told me that she'd have to have sex first in order to have a baby, and she did not have sex with anyone,” Cindy said.

Rick knew Casey was either lying or dying, and he suspected she was not being honest with her parents. He dropped the subject and focused his mind on his wedding vows the next day.

Only Cindy and Casey showed up for the ceremony. When Rick asked about George, Cindy blamed the new puppy they'd brought along with them on the trip. “He barks whenever we leave him in the room, and we've gotten complaints. George is staying with him, but he'll be over later.”

Rick said, “I told you bringing that puppy was a bad
idea.” He wondered if there was another reason for George's absence. He had noticed tension between his sister and her husband. Maybe that was the real cause of his absence.

George did eventually show up at the house, with puppy in tow, and enjoyed the barbecue in the backyard with the rest of the celebrants.

 

After they arrived home from the wedding, Cindy confronted Casey about the pregnancy and finally, Casey admitted it. They went together to tell George. Cindy first made him sit down on the sofa. Then, she said, “George, you're going to be a grandfather.”

George cried at the bittersweet news. He recovered and asked a series of questions: “How far along are you? How are you? Who is the father?”

To the last question, Casey answered, “I think it's Jesse.” She didn't offer a last name.

Her parents wanted to meet him. Casey said she'd make that happen, but never followed through on her promise. Her parents accompanied her to all her doctors' visits and were excited about being present at the birth.

Cindy told her daughter, “When I was carrying you, I played classical music to my belly every day.” Casey wanted to do the same for her unborn child. Cindy helped her find the same selections that she had played to Casey in the womb.

Casey's middle school friend, Kiomarie, learned the news of Casey's pregnancy in July. Kiomarie asked, “What are you gonna do about it?”

“I really want to give it up for adoption,” Casey said.

To Kiomarie, this was good news. She'd recently learned from her doctor that she could never have children of her own. Casey was a cute girl and bound to make a cute baby, and Kiomarie was married and in a position where she could afford a child. “If you are going to give your baby up for adoption, I would strongly consider adopting the baby from you.”

“That's a good idea,” Casey said. “I really don't want to have a baby right now.”

A couple of days later, a disappointed Casey called Kiomarie. “I talked to my mom, and she told me no. I need to keep the baby, and I'm not putting it up for adoption.”

 

Casey walked into Mike Kozak's office at Kodak and said, “Well, you know, I'm pregnant.”

“You gotta bring in a doctor's note,” Mike told her.

When she did, Mike treated her as he did all his expecting employees: He moved her into the Kodak office so that she wouldn't spend all day standing on her feet. Casey did light duty work there, filing, application processing and other miscellaneous clerical chores.