Court watchers around the world waited with baited breath on May 24, 2011, to hear the opening statements in what will surely be the trial of this century. For three long years anyone with a pulse and the slightest interest in high-profile court cases has been watching the antics of the Anthony family in Florida and, in particular, defendant Casey Anthony. We have seen the party pictures, heard the jail tapes and watched with breaking hearts the videos of 2-year-old Caylee Marie Anthony singing “You Are My Sunshine.” Her innocence and cuteness are what has captured the hearts of Americans, but let’s not discount the freakish and inappropriate behavior of her mother, Casey Marie Anthony.
What could drive a woman to murder this adorable baby and then go on shopping sprees as if she hasn’t a care in the world? How could a mother whose child has gone missing be out in nightclubs entering Hot Body contests and feeling up other women? Funny you should ask. Anthony’s attorney, Jose Baez promised us all that he could explain away all of this craziness and would do so “in the first minute” of his opening statement. He didn’t disappoint. Shock? Yes. Sicken? Yes. Infuriate? Yes. But disappoint? No. With all the grandeur of a carnival barker, Baez told us a whopper of a tale. A tale, no doubt, told to him by his client, the queen of make believe.
What could drive a woman to murder this adorable baby and then go on shopping sprees as if she hasn’t a care in the world? How could a mother whose child has gone missing be out in nightclubs entering Hot Body contests and feeling up other women? Funny you should ask. Anthony’s attorney, Jose Baez promised us all that he could explain away all of this craziness and would do so “in the first minute” of his opening statement. He didn’t disappoint. Shock? Yes. Sicken? Yes. Infuriate? Yes. But disappoint? No. With all the grandeur of a carnival barker, Baez told us a whopper of a tale. A tale, no doubt, told to him by his client, the queen of make believe.
The Well of Lies
I wish I owned a well as deep as Casey Anthony’s inexhaustible well of lies. I would never pay for another drop of water as long as I lived. Just when you thought you’d heard it all, here comes the mother of all lies. George Anthony is responsible for all of this. As Baez laid out his defense in a booming voice, he painted a fantastical picture, wherein everybody and anybody was responsible but his client. Let me recount this for you. Caylee drowned in the swimming pool on George’s watch. We know this, because according to Baez, George found the body. Then, being the trained law enforcement officer he was he didn’t give mouth to mouth or attempt CPR or call 911. No, he decided to engage in a cover-up with his daughter and dispose of the body. Why, you might ask. I’ll get to that later.
After this alleged cover-up, his daughter goes on a 31-day spree wherein she shops for bras and beers with checks she steals from her friend Amy. She rents videos with her boyfriend and then spends the entire next day in bed with him. The videos, by the way, are stories that include a body in a trunk and a missing child. She parties like a rock star, entering “hot body”contests and playing “shot girl.” This behavior goes on for 31 days until her mother has to literally drag her out of her boyfriend’s apartment and demand an explanation of the whereabouts of her daughter Caylee. At this time, Cindy Anthony reports her granddaughter missing. I’m puzzled why everyone keeps asking, “Why did Casey wait 31 days before she reported her daughter missing?” The answer, folks, is that she never reported her daughter missing. Her mother Cindy did that. How could any mother behave like that? Well, according to Jose Baez, that’s George’s fault too. You see, according to Baez, George sexually abused Casey when she was growing up. Well, that’s Baez’s spin on things, which he shared with the jury at the top of his lungs in vulgar and graphic detail.
Now, if you’re having a hard time believing that, then hold on to your hats. Not only was the death an accident that George covered up for reasons unknown and unexplained to the jury, but Casey’s behavior is George’s fault because he sexually abused her. And as if that isn’t enough, are you ready for this? Lee Anthony also abused her. And as if that too wasn’t enough, Roy Kronk, the "morally bankrupt" meter reader somehow, according to the defense, got a hold of Caylee’s remains and toted them around for four months. Why? You might ask. It’s just another unfounded accusation that Baez did not expound on to the jury.
After this alleged cover-up, his daughter goes on a 31-day spree wherein she shops for bras and beers with checks she steals from her friend Amy. She rents videos with her boyfriend and then spends the entire next day in bed with him. The videos, by the way, are stories that include a body in a trunk and a missing child. She parties like a rock star, entering “hot body”contests and playing “shot girl.” This behavior goes on for 31 days until her mother has to literally drag her out of her boyfriend’s apartment and demand an explanation of the whereabouts of her daughter Caylee. At this time, Cindy Anthony reports her granddaughter missing. I’m puzzled why everyone keeps asking, “Why did Casey wait 31 days before she reported her daughter missing?” The answer, folks, is that she never reported her daughter missing. Her mother Cindy did that. How could any mother behave like that? Well, according to Jose Baez, that’s George’s fault too. You see, according to Baez, George sexually abused Casey when she was growing up. Well, that’s Baez’s spin on things, which he shared with the jury at the top of his lungs in vulgar and graphic detail.
Now, if you’re having a hard time believing that, then hold on to your hats. Not only was the death an accident that George covered up for reasons unknown and unexplained to the jury, but Casey’s behavior is George’s fault because he sexually abused her. And as if that isn’t enough, are you ready for this? Lee Anthony also abused her. And as if that too wasn’t enough, Roy Kronk, the "morally bankrupt" meter reader somehow, according to the defense, got a hold of Caylee’s remains and toted them around for four months. Why? You might ask. It’s just another unfounded accusation that Baez did not expound on to the jury.
All of this taken together makes Casey sound like the victim. Which is exactly what Baez was hoping for. Well, I have a few questions of my own for attorney Baez. First, if your client was innocent, why in heaven’s name would you let her rot in jail for three long years? Next, in the interest of representing your client, why would you not disclose this information in a timely fashion so the police could recover the body and prove by way of an autopsy that your client was telling the truth? Why would your client leave her little girl alone with a man she now claims sexually molested her? Why would your client laugh and scoff at the idea that Caylee drowned in a pool when her mother Cindy tells her, in a recorded jail conversation, that some media outlets were reporting that? Why would you not rush a psychiatrist in to examine your client and invite the State to do the same? If she is telling the truth, it will be borne out by the professionals. Aha, herein lies the rub--that little two letter word—if. Perhaps the answer to all of these questions can be found in the defendant’s own words: “I am such a good liar!”
Sexual Abuse Survivors
Unfortunately, due to the nature of my work, I have met many sexual abuse survivors. While it is true that many of them lie to cover up the abuse, they do not lie about everything in their lives. They don’t invent people that don’t exist. They don’t get up every morning and get dressed to go to non-existent jobs. They don’t tell their parents they are in one city when in fact, they are right around the corner. They don’t steal their friends’ checkbooks and break into their parents’ sheds to steal gas. They don’t “cuddle” and “have girl days” with the parent who knowingly allowed the abuse to go on and blamed them when told about it. They don’t abandon their vehicles with the odor of human decomposition in the trunk. They don’t party like rock stars when their children go missing or are killed. They are wounded and hurt and broken. But they do not turn into pathological liars. There are true victims, hundreds of thousands of them and they have suffered horrible indignities. When someone claims to have been a victim just to save their own skin, it is another indignity heaped upon the true victims.
While we are still in the beginning stages of this trial I doubt the defense will be able to produce any evidence or witnesses to back up these atrocious claims they have made. They certainly didn’t make mention of any in their opening statement. Of course, they don’t have to tell us everything right up front. It is, after all, a road map. They don’t have to describe in detail all of the sights we will see as we journey down that road. But, if all they put up is Casey Anthony to substantiate these allegations, they are in trouble. As one witness testified this week, Casey lied to some friends over the telephone and then after completing the call, she threw the phone down and bragged, “I am such a good liar!” This is not a skill she developed to hide her pain. This is a skill she developed to manipulate people, and she’s proud of it. This alleged abuse may turn out to be as non-existent as her nanny and her job. If that is the case then the road map Jose Baez gave us in his opening statement will prove to be nothing more than a stroll down Liars Lane.
