Mommy's Little Girl (15 page)

Casey, wrapped toga-style in an American flag, was a bright flash of color next to Troy, whose chest was swathed in layers of plastic wrap, and some of the other attendees who simply wore large paper bags.

She met Tony Lazzaro and a girl named Jamie Realander at the party and hit it off with both of them. She and Jamie made plans to get together at Jamie's place in Ovieda in mid-June. When the time neared, though, Casey told her she'd just gotten a speeding ticket and didn't want to drive outside of Orlando. A convenient excuse—but unfortunately untrue. Casey had gotten her last ticket in 2004.

The meeting with Tony proved more fruitful. Casey was drawn to his stereotypical jaded New Yorker appearance with a natural expression reminiscent of Mickey Rourke's. Together, they played innumerable games of beer pong, a drinking game. The set-up consisted of a triangle of cups filled with beer, with contestants on the opposite end of the table. Each team attempted to throw a Ping-Pong ball into the cups. When a player succeeded, the other group had to drink the beer. The first team that emptied their cups, won.

She ran into Brandon Snow at the party, and informed him of the alleged miscarriage she'd had on Valentine's Day in 2007. It was an emotional, high-drama scene, with Casey crying loud, bitter tears. Brandon couldn't understand why she was dumping this on him now, more than a year later.

That week, Tony asked Casey to come over and hang out with him and another couple. She agreed, but then called that night to say she was staying with the nanny, as Caylee had woken up before she could leave.

Casey and Caylee spent the night at Rico's apartment on May 28 and 29. On May 31, Tony was the DJ for a pool party at Arden Villas apartment complex, where Jesse lived. Casey went up to Jesse's unit to encourage him to come down and meet Tony Lazzaro. Jesse felt as if Casey was asking for his blessing on the relationship. After five minutes, Jesse was bored. He left the complex to go birthday shopping for his brother.

Soon after he left, the weather turned nasty, bringing the party to an end. Tony and Casey went to the movies and then to the apartment of one of Tony's friends. When Casey dropped Tony off at his place late that night, he invited her inside, but she demurred, explaining that the special ring on her cell phone indicated her mother was calling. She heard that little riff many times that night and, though she hadn't answered any of them, she knew they meant she had to go home.

The next day, Casey picked up Tony and they went to
a barbecue by the pool at Pegasus Connection, an apartment complex off Alafaya and University, where one of Tony's friends lived. This time, when they returned to Sutton Place, Casey accepted Tony's invitation to come inside. They were intimate for the first time, but Casey did not spend the night.

George and Cindy's relationship was working well at this time. They enjoyed evenings out and day trips to the beach, as well as working together on landscaping, pool maintenance and other needed chores around the house. But when Cindy took vacation week in early June, she planned to devote that time to bonding with her daughter and granddaughter. A visit to George's mother in Fort Myers and relaxation on the beach were on the agenda. Cindy had Caylee the whole week, but Casey was never around.

On Thursday, June 5, Caylee's presence brightened her grandmother's birthday—helping Cindy forget that her daughter hadn't bothered to call. Lee did show up with his girlfriend Mallory to wish Cindy a happy day. Lee did not know that it would be the last time he would ever see his niece.

When Cindy's mother called to wish her a happy day, Cindy sounded depressed. Shirley suspected her mood was due to her financial problems. Since she'd made her decision not to divorce and had taken George back, her husband had jumped around to three different jobs, causing Cindy to remain the only consistent breadwinner in the house.

Casey certainly wasn't any financial help. She constantly asked her mom for money, knowing if she said she needed it for Caylee, Cindy would not refuse. At the same time, Cindy was already footing the bill for Casey's car
insurance and paying off high credit card bills created by charges her daughter had made.

Shirley tried to avoid those conversational landmines and instead asked, “Why didn't you go to Fort Myers?”

Rather than explaining that Casey had avoided her all week, Cindy claimed, “I didn't feel like going.”

At work, Cindy complained to Debbie about always having Caylee. Debbie suggested that if she was the main caregiver, she ought to get custody of Caylee. Cindy became agitated and said that she couldn't afford the legal expense of doing that.

When Casey finally showed up on Saturday, June 7, to pick up her child, she told Cindy that the babysitter would be keeping Caylee from June 9 through 12 because Casey had to take an out-of-town business trip for Universal Studios. Cindy asked about the change of address for Amy Huizenga that had arrived in their mail.

“Oh, she just wanted a package sent here.”

“That makes no sense, Casey. You don't change your address for that.”

Casey just shrugged. She wasn't about to explain the fantastical scenario she'd cooked up for Amy.

 

Cindy wasn't the only person that week to feel the sting of Casey's indifference. On June 6, Rico made dinner for a group of friends. Casey told both Rico and Amy that she'd be there. When she was more than an hour late, everyone sat down to their meal without her. She finally called while they were eating; she said she had to work all day. Actually, she was too busy partying at Fusian with Tony Lazzaro to give much thought to her friends.

Early the next morning, Casey posted a comment on the MySpace page of Brittany Schreiber, a friend from kindergarten through high school: “Hey girl! Quick question. Do you know any girls that can sing? My boyfriend, Tony, and his business partners are looking for an up and coming female R&B vocalist. Let me know! I appreciate it.”

That night, Casey, with Caylee still in tow, arrived at Rico's place after 11
P.M.
She spent the night and left late in the morning of the 8
^th
.

Rico saw pictures of Casey at the night club when he visited MySpace later that day.
Odd
, he thought. Casey told him that she'd never been to Fusian. He sent her a text message: “Did you go to Fusian Friday night?”

She responded. “Yeah, but my boss sent me there to spy on his daughter.”

With Caylee in the car, Casey picked up Tony at school and drove him to the mechanic to pick up his Jeep on June 9. They took separate vehicles to Subway, where Casey bought three subs before heading back to Tony's apartment.

Casey and Caylee showed up at Rico's that night after 8
P.M.
Casey claimed that she and her daughter had no place to stay. Rico invited them to spend another night at his place. He and Casey had their last sexual experience together that evening. Afterwards, they had a huge blow-up over Casey's involvement with Tony. Casey didn't own up to any sexual intimacy with Tony, but she did confess to kissing him. Rico thought that since the two of them were still involved, she shouldn't be messing around with another guy. Casey disagreed. That was the end for Rico.

The last time he saw Caylee was the morning of the 10
^th
before he went to work. He came downstairs and Casey and Caylee were on the sofa. He said, “I'm going to work.” Casey said, “Okay. I'm going to take a shower and then I'm going to leave.”

That day, Tony said that he teased her about the possibility he'd move back to New York. Casey burst into tears and choked back sobs. “You're taking this way too seriously,” he warned. “Things are going a little too fast here. Relax, you know I'm moving soon. I'm just here for school and then I'm out.”

She and Tony had another discussion that added to Casey's distress. Tony told her that if he ever decided
to have children, he wanted sons. He knew how difficult it was to raise little girls, because he had two sisters.

That evening Maria Kissh and her boyfriend Clint House planned to stop by Tony's place when Maria got off work. Clint said that in between classes, he'd met Casey's daughter. “She was really cute and talkative to all the guys.”

“Tony doesn't mind having her around?” she asked.

“No. She's the cutest thing.”

“Well that's really cool that Tony doesn't mind that Casey has a child, and that she brings the child around,” Maria said, looking forward to meeting the little charmer that evening.

When Maria and Clint arrived, Caylee answered the door. The little girl sat down with the couple and the roommates, but for a while, Casey and Tony were back in the bedroom.

Caylee struggled to put on her socks and shoes, and Maria came to her rescue. Maria didn't mind helping Caylee, but it didn't seem right that her mother wasn't there for her.

Casey and Tony joined the group, and Casey talked to Maria about the job she had at Universal and the nanny she paid $400 a week to take care of Caylee. Casey told Marie that she and Caylee lived with her parents off Narcoossee Road. Her parents were moving out the first of July and leaving the house to them.

A little later, Caylee wandered out to the balcony overlooking the lake. Maria followed her. Casey didn't seem to be paying any attention to her daughter. Caylee pointed out the birds she saw.

Maria asked, “Have you seen any alligators out there?”

Caylee shook her head making her ponytail fly through the air.

Clint stuck his head out and told Maria it was time to leave. She knew she couldn't just leave Caylee in such a dangerous spot, but was amazed that Casey was oblivious
and trusted the care of her little girl to strangers. Maria made sure Caylee was safely inside before she left.

On Wednesday, June 11, despite Casey's anxiety over her relationship with Tony—or maybe because of it—she changed her social networking pages to include Tony Lazzaro as her boyfriend. Then, she sent Christopher a text message: “Hey! What's up? Where have you been? Have you checked Facebook or MySpace? I've been dating somebody.”

Tony, Casey and Caylee went to the Mall of the Millennia in Casey's car that day. Casey and Caylee went shopping while Tony promoted his hip hop showcase on Friday at Fusian. When he finished handing out all his fliers, they met up, and Tony treated them to a late lunch/early dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.

Casey dropped Tony off at his apartment and drove off with Caylee. Tony never saw the young girl again.

 

On Friday, June 13, Casey was supposed to drive Amy to Jacksonville to pick up a car to replace the one she'd totaled earlier that month. Amy texted Casey shortly after 6
A.M.
to make sure her friend was awake.

Casey responded immediately, writing that she was on her way to the hospital with her dad. She added that she would let Amy know what was up as soon as possible. While Amy waited, she looked into alternative ways of getting to Jacksonville.

Amy's phone signaled that a text message had arrived. She read that Casey's dad had had a mini-stroke. She typed back, “Honey, don't worry about it. Take care of your family. I'll get myself up there. Don't worry about it.”

Amy, driving up in a rental car, got a call from Casey while she was on the road. Amy said that Casey perpetuated the story of her father's health crisis and chatted about her increased use of marijuana since she'd started spending more time with Tony. Then Casey invited Amy to join her at Fusian Ultra Lounge in the Waterford Lakes
area that night. Amy declined—the music wasn't to her taste, and it wasn't the kind of place where she thought she'd have any fun.

In the month of June, Casey was seen often at Fusian. That night, she met Tony at his place and rode with him to the hip hop party. She sent a mass text message out to all her male friends to promote Tony's showcase: “You guys should definitely come. $5 cover, super hot shot girls, a hot body contest.” It was the first time Casey had slept until morning in Tony's bed.

Throughout that week, tempers flared between Casey and her mother. Neighbor Jean Couty was mowing her lawn when Cindy stepped out of her home with Casey on her heels. Casey screamed at her mom. Cindy responded, but never raised her voice. She got into her car and drove away.

Jean was outside washing her car when she witnessed another unpleasant event. Casey burst out of the house screaming again. “Just shut up, Mom! I don't want to hear it anymore!” Cindy said nothing, she just hung her head down as Casey heaped on the abuse. Casey turned away and headed out for a jog around the neighborhood.

 

On Father's Day, June 15, Cindy took Caylee to visit her great-grandfather at the nursing home. Caylee ran up to Alex and jumped into his arms. While Cindy and her father talked, Caylee played. Nursing home employee Karen Angel approached the little girl and said, “Hey, cutie. Tell me your name.” Caylee blushed from shyness.

“Can I have a hug?”

Caylee reached up to Karen, who picked her up in her arms. Caylee laid her head on the woman's shoulder, content. When Karen set her back down, Caylee said, “Bye.” To Karen she appeared to be a very happy little girl.

After their visit, Cindy and Caylee went up the street to visit Cindy's mother. Shirley made chili and cornbread for dinner. Thinking Caylee might not like it, she fixed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for her great-granddaughter.

Caylee tasted the chili and liked it, but ate very little and barely touched her PB & J. An over-indulgence in popcorn at the nursing home had left her without much of an appetite. She spent much of her time during her visit playing with her great-grandmother's cat. Shirley could watch that child forever. Caylee's sunny disposition brought a lot of joy to her life. She could never remember seeing the little girl upset about anything.

 

Casey's early childhood friend, Ryan Pasley, was in town that weekend and Casey was supposed to meet him at his aunt's house on Sunday for a family cookout. Ryan was in contact with her all day by phone and text. He kept expecting her to arrive at any moment, but she never made it.