Back in the summer of 2008, I felt very sorry for Cindy Anthony. I know from writing nine other true crime books that it is dreadful to be the loved one of a victim. I also knew that it was horrible to be a family member of a perpetrator. And there was Cindy--playing both roles at one time. I ached for her.
Then came the brush incident when she intentionally gave law enforcement a hair brush used by everyone in the family instead of the one used exclusively by Caylee Anthony. I still understood her conflicting emotions but with that, she'd taken it a step too far and my empathy for her dissipated into thin air.
I had a major turn around in how I felt about her after she took the stand earlier in the trial. I saw her grief. I felt her pain. My attitude toward her softened that day. But on Wednesday, she threw away the good will I and many of you felt for her after seeing her tears in the courtroom.
She claimed the stain in the trunk of the Sunbird was there when they bought the car for Lee in 2000? You mean that the car smelled, in Cindy's own words, "like there's a dead body in there" for eight years?
She ended up searching for chloroform as a direct result of looking up chlorophyll because her dogs ate bamboo leaves? Really? Now, if my pet did that what would I type in the search bar? Bamboo.
And even though her work records showed that she was at work when the Internet searches were done in her home, the work records were wrong.
Now, Cindy Anthony has not exactly been media shy. Do you really think she would have kept quiet about these startling revelations? I doubt it. She would have told everyone who would listen that Casey did not do those google searches, she did.
As for the stain, she changed her outcry about a "dead body"to "pizza" or "garbage" as the source of the smell. Surely, if she knew of another reason for the searches and the stain, she would have revealed them years ago rather than letting her daughter Casey sit in jail all that time.
And check out the body language. Compare her time in the witness stand Wednesday with her earlier testimony. Which one looks credible to you? Which one look furtive and dishonest? I have no doubt that Cindy perjured herself on the witness stand while still denying doing a search for "how to make chloroform," "self-defense," "household weapons," and "neck breaking." But she added that when she was doing the searches, she saw a pop-up with a skateboarder riding a rail that was labelled as "a neck-breaking feat." And she remembers that skateboarder three years later? Really?
I know Casey is your daughter, Cindy. I know you don't want her to be executed. But what about Caylee? I thought you loved your innocent granddaughter. How could you abandon her for the sake of the person who took her sweet little life. It's as if you took the stand and said that Caylee's life did not matter.
How could you Cindy? How could you obstruct Justice for Caylee?
Diane, I believe this "turn around" may come back to bite her with this jury. If I were on that jury,my common sense would be kicking in right now and if I had entertained "no death penalty due to sympathy for Cindy" this clear attempt to "change" the truth would allow me to now VOTE for Death!
ReplyDelete1. My guess is , even though I think Casey is guilty, unless the prosecution can get those work records she will get acuitted.
ReplyDelete2. Even if she was convicted, there is no way she would get death. NONE. Juror #4 indicated they are very religious and anti death penalty and you need all 12 jurors for a death sentence.
This week, a federal judge rule that the death penalty in Florida is unconstitutional.
ReplyDeleteCindy's work records have already been entered into evidence by the state. They show that she was not at home when those computer searches were done.
Imagine how many people were so deeply moved just a few weeks ago while watching a broken hearted Cindy Anthony on the witness stand. Regardless of my opinion of her before then, I felt great sympathy for her pain. It seemed like the first time we'd seen honesty from anyone in the Anthony clan.
ReplyDeleteNow, throwing out a story so ridiculous, is an insult and a downright shame. Does no one in that bunch have it in them to stand up for Caylee? I pray, as we all do, there will be justice for Caylee.
@Diane Fanning: Yes, the records were entered in the by the state, but Cindy attempted to say they were wrong. What the prosecution needs to do, is obtain the network logs from where Cindy worked, and trace activity at her terminal during the time in question, which would negate the whole "The work records are wrong" claim by Cindy today. In terms of reasonable doubt, records could be wrong, but network logs showing she was actually at her teriminal working during that time would prove conclusively she was at work.
ReplyDeleteVery good point NavalFC and I would suspect that the state is preparing to attack her claim that she was not at work during rebuttal. Hope they uncover something definitive and your suggestion would be one strong way to do that.
ReplyDeletejustice for caylee marie is completely & utterly without meaning to cindy anthony...she sickens me...the whole family dynamics are dysfunctional and just plain wrong...
ReplyDeletethe lovely state prosecution team, linda d-b & jeff ashton, are the only ones who want pure justice for caylee... they are the only ones to speak through her little voice & i am glad we have them...
the trial has become wholly consuming & depleting to watch...i am getting so sick of looking at that cold soulless monster...her twitching face, her sniff ups... sick of watching her hair grow, knowing that she has life left ahead of her to read, eat, sleep, have lovers, eat chocolate... and there is still a tiny girl, pulling up the daisies, who cannot live, or breathe or have a bright future ahead... i feel like i am almost done with this trial now... enough is enough of watching defense trying to make sense of this horrific deed & trying to clear this "thing" that sits in my streaming video screen =(
Nothing matters except an unprovable statement in the immediate present. Winning in the moment is what cost her her grandchild. It may yet earn Casey the death penalty.
ReplyDeleteIt's so easy to judge when you're on the outside looking in.
ReplyDeleteCindy Anthony already lost her granddaughter and nothing can bring her back. Her daughter will spend the rest of her life in jail and she is trying to prevent another death of a loved one. I am NOT saying that it's right but I am saying that I can understand her pain and desperation. It's all very sad.
I'm right there with you. I'm disgusted. As a mother, even when my children do wrong, I will support them. I will NOT lie or cover up for them. Cindy Anthony is showing us WHY Casey is as messed up as she is (murder or not). Cindy's covering Casey's rear is probably an established pattern. And everyone assumed it was the dad with the problem. I am out of respect. You'd hope the mother would say: I hope Caylee drowned on accident, how can we prove this? Instead, she just wants to initiate a reasonable doubt to her daughter murdering her granddaughter. If Casey could be charged just with lying and leading police on a wild goose chase, she could be in jail forever. I have no more sympathy for this family. Caylee is the one who is getting short-changed by everyone in every way. UGH! I can't even think straight, my thoughts are running rampant...
ReplyDeleteThis is a great observation, and just wanted to say you are a great journalist and writer, and what underscores what you do is your unadulterated candor and honesty. I also admired your keen insight and exegesis of 1 Timothy 6:10 (The "love" of money is the root of all evil...)on the "Rich Kids" ep of the ID Channel crime doc, "Behind Mansion Walls". Keep up the great work and GOD Bless you.
ReplyDeleteThere is a level of empathy for Cindy's situation that is inevitable if you simply look objectively at the position she is in. Nonetheless, there are ways she could support her daughter without committing perjury in open court. That spoke volumes about Cindy's character.
ReplyDeleteThank you, BMC.
First, although a court has ruled the Florida statute unconstitutional, a later court may reverse the ruling and uphold the death penalty. Thus, the death sentence can still be given out & may be enforced in this case.
ReplyDeleteSecond, the death penalty can be given by a jury OR by the judge in Florida, & the judge may OVERRIDE a jury's recommendation for life. Florida is one of only 3 states that allows for this.
So a unanimous jury decision isn't technically needed for a death sentence. If any judge were open to giving the death penalty, it would be THIS judge in THIS case.
I practiced criminal defense for almost 4 years. I'm totally convinced Casey is guilty of first degree murder under Florida's laws. Either with premeditated murder, which was quite sufficiently proved for me w/the computer searches, OR if Caylee's death occurred during a separate crime, (e.g.,leaving your child in a car's trunk while you party or have sex somewhere, drugging/overdosing your daughter, or duct taping her means of breathing, are all criminal behaviors of their own), it's still murder in the first degree, premeditated or felony murder.
Under Florida's laws, Casey's guilty of 1st dgree murder either way.
But I don't think she'll get the death penalty imposed (by the jury) b/c of what her parents/brother will argue. They'll all sob and plead, sincerely, that a death penalty will finish them off as a family, and it will move the jury to spare Casey.
Diane, you are right; Cindy could've & should've waited 'til sentencing to speak for her daughter's life. Instead, she contributed to the mountain of lies about Casey/Caylee's death.
Hasn't that family enabled the lying long enough? Shame on attorney Baez for pepetrating a fraud on the court, which we lawyers are NOT supposed to do.
I'd say "Shame on Casey" for murdering Caylee & then for throwing her family under the bus, but I think she's literally shameless, so why bother?
More later...I'm sickened that our system allows people like Jose Baez to slander so recklessly, and for someone like Casey to steal, lie and kill, without an ounce of remorse.
(Listen to her collect calls from jail to her mother, to get a load of true sociopathy. It's about 6 minutes long).
But I'm also encouraged. Finally, we see a competent prosecution that was thorough and clear. Were they always exciting and entertaining? No. But this is not television. It's real life and real death.
BTW, please let others know that circumstantial evidence for most lawyers, has always been more highly regarded than direct evidence. I have seen "direct evidence" such as eye witness testimony and line up identifications, simply be wrong. Or biased.
But gunpowder residue, fingerprints & DNA are all examples of circumstantial evidence. It's strong evidence. And there's plenty in this case for a conviction. Add to all that, Casey's own behavior, and you really have an open and shut case.
For people on the jury who still have their common sense & are NOT looking for "any" doubt, she'll be found guilty of at least 2nd degree murder. I'd say more than 2nd, but there were serious death penalty reservations on the part of several jurors & they may resist a finding of first degree murder, for fear of where it could lead them on sentencing.
So we'll see what the closing arguments bring out. If there's an acquittal, I'll be forced to admit our system is broken.
There are some people who cannot use deductive reasoning, and for them, no conviction is possible without a confession AND video tape.
I think that's an abdication of their responsibility.
Spitfire, I have a book coming out in Jaunary, HER DEADLY WEB, where, in the first trial,a juror would not convict Raynella Dossett Leath because there was no confession and no witnesses. During jury selection, he was asked if he could convict on circumstantial evidence and he said he could. In the end, though, he hung the jury. Fortunately, the second trial resulted in a conviction.
ReplyDeleteCindy is as big a liar as Casey is, IMHO. This entire family is dysfunctional and it's no wonder Casey ended up being a lying sociopath/psychopath because that is how she was raised.
ReplyDeletePD