Mommy's Little Girl (28 page)

Casey demonstrated once again that her worst enemy was not her mother, or the elusive Zanny, or the Orange County detectives—it was Casey herself.

It was George's turn with the FBI the next day, and the tone of the interview was in sharp contrast to Cindy's. George apologized for the previous day: “I'm sorry my wife came off tough.”

Although he questioned the course of the investigation, he seemed satisfied with the assurances of the agent, voicing only one complaint about Orange County investigators: He said he'd had to hear about his daughter's arrest on the evening news. George explained that when detectives had taken Casey away on July 16, Melich said, “ ‘Mr. Anthony, if stuff changes and she's not coming back, I will call you. I will give you a heads-up.' But no one ever called.”

The agent brought up what appeared to be a sharp difference between Casey before the age of 20 and Casey since. George agreed with him, but could not explain it—could not point to any traumatic event that might have impacted his daughter's mental outlook. And although he said, “She always seemed to be a good mother,” he did not insist upon his daughter's innocence.

George mentioned that Baez had invited him and his wife to his house to get away. He said that he didn't feel comfortable going to José's house, because the attorney's first instinct is for Casey at the expense of all else, even Caylee. George said, “I didn't appreciate that. It seems like everything we'd given him, he's not followed up with our daughter.”

In response, the agent said, “He's trying to twist it in his way to help him out down the road. There are certain things he doesn't want to know. It puts a tremendous ethical burden on him.”

“I understand that, but . . .” George began.

“Believe me, I'm not defending defense attorneys,” the agent chuckled.

George laughed, then turned serious. “It all boils down to: My daughter knows something and she won't say anything. And she's been coached—that's a bad thing to say. She's being told, ‘These are your rights,' ‘This is what you can't do.' ” George thought Baez should let her know “the best thing is to recover her daughter, and some of the charges would go away.” He added, “There are little threads of truth in all the lies she's telling, and we just can't get it together.”

Despite his doubts about his daughter's honesty, he expressed a father's genuine concern. He worried about Casey being in prison and being mistreated by other inmates because a child was involved in the crime.

He repeated the Blanchard Park story that Cindy had related the day before; but, unlike his wife, he delivered it without any conviction in its veracity. He said he'd doubted the existence of Zanny and Jeff's son Zack for quite some time. He said that when he'd asked Caylee, “Did you have a good time with Zanny today?” Caylee had shown no reaction. Similarly, she looked blank when he'd asked, “How's Zack?”

Bringing up Casey's one-time fiancé, George said, “I believe Jesse is very jealous of the relationships Casey has had since their relationship was called off. I've seen him be very angry at different times. I've seen him be angry, not just at me, but especially my wife a couple of different times.”

One of the surprises in the interview concerned the family's financial situation. He said he didn't gamble, but had actually lost the money in an email scam. He said that
he “saw it as a quick fix. I lied to my wife and told her that it was on-line gambling.”

George's day was not yet done. He and Cindy both sat down with Corporals Yuri Melich and Eric Edwards of the Orange County Sheriff's Office to answer their questions. Cindy insisted that although Casey and Caylee had spent the night with Zanny on occasion, the two had never stayed overnight with any of Casey's boyfriends. She also said that she never called her daughter demanding that Casey bring Caylee home.

When asked about the biological father of Caylee, Cindy explained it was Eric, one of Casey's old friends from high school. Caylee was conceived, she said, from a single sexual encounter. Eric had been killed, but Casey had stayed in contact with the widow, the mother of Caylee's half-brother.

The detectives also spoke to Jesse Grund that day, asking his possible explanations of what had happened. Jesse said, “There are two different types of what-if scenarios that have gone through my head in regards to what could have happened to Caylee, because I'll say this for the record . . . I don't believe Casey would have ever hurt Caylee on purpose, and there's no way that I personally could ever foresee her doing that. I believe that there are times where Casey would leave Caylee unattended to do things. Get on the computer, talk on the phone. And at that point . . .”

Edwards interrupted, “And where would she be unattended?”

“Caylee would usually hang out in the living room while Casey was in the computer room, or sometimes Casey would go outside to use the telephone and leave Caylee in the living room. She also went outside and played with Caylee a lot, and then she'd also be playing with the dogs. She let Caylee play in her playpen while she'd go do something. So, there were plenty of times where I could have foreseen, because we both know, with
children, something quick can happen. I mean, Caylee was somebody who liked picking up rocks and putting them in her mouth or, you know, dog food was another thing . . . And Caylee, at any point, could have picked one of those things up, asphyxiated and died . . .”

“So you're talking the time frames that Casey would leave her alone from time to time are lengthy?”

“I mean, yeah . . .”

“How about the pool?” Edwards asked.

“I don't know enough about Caylee and the pool . . . I knew that Caylee loved the pool, but I never actually saw Caylee in the pool. Now, I was under the understanding that they actually had to move the ladder, because Caylee kept trying to get into the pool, and things of that nature. I believe, at any point in time, something possibly could have accidentally happened to Caylee. And if something accidentally happened to Caylee, I literally believe that Casey would have an emotional breakdown—a mental breakdown—to the point where I almost believe that she would take Caylee and put her somewhere and then tell herself a new story, a new reality of what happened to her.”

“Because she's been living in a false reality for years?”

“Correct,” Jesse said with a nod. “So I don't think it's that far out of the spectrum. I think if something happened to Caylee, her one toe that she's had in reality for the last couple of years—her one foot—would be gone, and she would be completely in her own separate world. And I think that's because Casey directly has some issues that, mentally, she's never gotten taken care of. I do believe something accidentally happened to Caylee, which I believe is a what-if scenario that could have happened. Choke on a piece of dog food, eat a rock, slip coming out of the pool together, just fall off of something that she's climbed too high. Caylee was a rambunctious little kid. She liked to climb. She liked to run around. She liked to do things. You know, what three-year-old doesn't?”

“Now Casey actually kind of lives under Mom's thumb. It seems like Mom's very judgmental of her as far as parental
capabilities. You think Casey would be more than afraid to say, ‘Mom, now look what happened—look what I've done'?” Edwards asked.

“I believe there is the distinct possibility that Casey wouldn't tell Mom if something like this happened. I don't think there's any way. I don't even think that she would have told anyone except herself . . . The only way I think somebody would have known is if she reached out to somebody to help her. But I don't. Casey's been an independent, self-sufficient person, who thrives off the attention of others . . . but she likes to do things on her own.”

“Do you think she would have the strength, the inner strength, at that point in time, to take the child and put the child somewhere without help? . . . Because it seems like she has to fall on men or boyfriends to have that crutch for confidence. Faced with that situation, would she have to call upon one of these guys?”

“I believe she would reach out to somebody for help,” Jesse affirmed.

“Who would that be?” Edwards asked.

“It would not be me . . . The only person that it would have been with would be her current boyfriend, which would be Tony Lazzaro. That's the only person I could think of that she would have personally reached out to. Because again, they weren't together for very long, and she was already falling in love with him in her mind . . . She wouldn't reach out to me in regards to anything Caylee-related, especially if Caylee got hurt or anything, because she knew what my reaction would be. She also knows I tend to be an honest and righteous individual. I'm going to come right out and tell the correct people if something happened.”

On August 1, George and Cindy left their home at 9
A.M.
in response to a request to come to the Orange County Sheriff's Office. As soon as they left, crime-scene techs pulled up to the house. And just moments after that, detectives parked in the driveway and a dismayed-looking George stepped out of their vehicle.

He opened the garage door and led the investigators through his home. They left the house, entering the backyard. George unlocked the shed and the techs took possession of a one-gallon red plastic gas can and a black plastic oil pan. They went back inside the house and out into the garage, where George showed them the 2 1/4-gallon red metal gas can. They seized it as evidence, too.

That evening, George, Cindy and Lee were at Speed Park Motorsports in Daytona Beach for a benefit and a candlelight vigil for three missing children—Trenton Ducket, Zachary Bernhardt and Caylee Anthony. Family members of all three were present, as well as Kid Finders Network, with their mobile billboard featuring pictures of missing children. The event started at 4
P.M.
and activities included music by a DJ and children's fingerprinting.

When Cindy returned to Orlando, she read an email from her mother:

Dear Cindy, We are sick over this. We are so worried about Caylee. And we are very worried about you.

I've seen so many interviews. Now, they discuss you after you leave. The only one who has remained kind to you is Mike on M and J
[the Mike and Juliette Morning Show
out of Tampa
]
. Then today, you blew it. For every one's sake—yours, Caylee's, and yes, even Casey's—stay off TV or act like the person you really are, a nice person who has worked for thirty years, making the home and raising a nice family. You are taking the spotlight off Caylee. We know you love Casey, but what about the future?

Be mad at me if you want. It hurts to see Dad plastered on most newscasts in his fragile condition. I still believe Casey's better off in jail, there are a lot of nutcases out there who would like to see her harmed. Think about it. If she gets out on bond, you all really might be in danger.

Cindy wrote back:

I will have no life without Caylee. I will do everything I can to bring her home. I could care less about Mike and Juliette as long as Caylee's picture gets out there. That is what I want. I am sorry for what this is doing to you and Dad, but I cannot stop doing what I can to get Caylee back.

As for the bond, George and Lee and I agree for a lot of other reasons that Casey is better where she is and Caylee is also safer. Casey may have lied but I know she is not responsible for any harm to Caylee. I will fight for both of my girls. Finding Caylee will bring Casey home. Please know that I think of you and Dad every day. I just cannot discuss what I know at this time. I love you and cannot be mad at you.

In response, Shirley wrote:

I have a question, you seem to have gotten some of Casey's things from Tony . . . did you ever get any of Caylee's clothes back? I can't believe the “nanny” had all of Caylee's clothes. If you have the answers, fine. If not, ask Casey where they are.

. . . Personally, I think Casey took Caylee to hurt you—not that she meant to harm her. She could have left her with you and then go on with her lifestyle that she wanted, till she got it out of her system. She knew she and Caylee would always have a good home with you . . . I saw George crying last night and it hit me hard. I had another bad night. You are all grieving and we are grieving for all of you.

George visited Casey in jail on August 3. He reminded his daughter that it was just six days until Caylee's birthday and he wanted to throw her a big party. He vowed that once Caylee was home, all of the family would volunteer to help find other missing children. Once again, George beat up on himself: “This is destroying your mother. She feels so bad. Maybe we've been all too domineering. Maybe we didn't let you be the best mom—you are the best mom.”

“It's nobody's fault. It's nobody's fault,” Casey protested.

“Well, I could have opened up more to you. I could have done stuff. But I can't go back. There's times you wanted to talk to me. I wish I woulda listened. But all that's going to change—I'll listen more. I have one question to ask you and I know it's going to be a tough one.”

“Yeah?”

“Would you speak to someone about Caylee?”

“I already answered that. I mean, I'll try to the best of my ability,” Casey sniffled and rubbed her reddened nose. “Things would be so much easier if I wasn't still here—if I was home. I want you to understand that. I mean, I feel that more each day. I want to be home. I want to be there when Caylee comes home. I want to be there with our family when she comes home. I don't want to have to wait three days, four days, after that happens, to see her.”