A Decade After Her Acquittal, Casey Anthony Is Coming Forward With Her Message For The World

The last time the public heard from Casey was in an exclusive interview with the Associated Press in 2017. Back then, Casey said, “I’m still not even certain as I stand here today about what happened.” And she added, “Based off what was in the media, I understand the reasons people feel [the way they do] about me. I understand why people have the opinions that they do.” And for many people, Casey was “the most hated mom in America.”

Casey did say that she lamented the death of her daughter, Caylee. “Caylee would be 12 right now,” she said. “I’d like to think she’d be listening to classic rock, playing sports.” But her biggest claim was that people had the wrong idea about her. “My sentence was doled out long before there was a verdict,” Casey said.

“Sentence first, verdict afterward,” Casey told the Associated Press. “People found me guilty long before I had my day in court.” She even compared herself to Alice from Alice in Wonderland — with the public cast as the Red Queen. “The queen is proclaiming: ‘No, no, sentence first, verdict afterward,’” Casey said. “I sense and feel to this day that is a direct parallel to what I lived.”

At the end of Casey’s 2011 trial, the jury found her not guilty of first-degree murder but guilty of lying to law enforcement. Casey admitted to the Associated Press that she had lied — but was resolute that telling the truth all the way through wouldn’t have made any difference to her case. “Cops lie to people every day,” she said. “I’m just one of the unfortunate idiots who admitted they lied.”

“Even if I would’ve told them everything that I told to the psychologist, I hate to say this but I firmly believe I would have been in the same place,” she claimed. “Because cops believe other cops. Cops tend to victimize the victims. I understand now... I see why I was treated the way I was even had I been completely truthful.”

“Everyone has their theories,” Casey said. “As I stand here today I can’t tell you one way or another. The last time I saw my daughter I believed she was alive and was going to be okay, and that’s what was told to me.” During the trial, though, Casey’s defense team alleged that Casey’s father, George, had covered up Caylee’s death after she had drowned. George strenuously denied this.

It wouldn’t be until 2022 that Casey would speak about her trial again. This time — for the first time ever — she would appear on camera. The trailer for the Casey Anthony: Where the Truth Lies series featured someone saying, "Casey has never told her side of the story: did she murder her daughter?" And on November 30, 2022, people tuned in to find out.

Casey was arrested on July 16, 2008, on charges of child neglect. The day before, on July 15, Casey's mother had phoned the police. “Caylee’s missing,” Cindy Anthony, Casey's mom, said during her 911 call. “It smells like there’s been a dead body in the damn car.” Caylee was two years old — and reportedly nobody had seen her in 31 days.

In the six months after Casey's arrest, volunteers and police officials would perform a nationwide search for the missing Caylee. Any number of leads were followed and dismissed. It wasn't until December 11, 2008, that a body was found — in a wooded area not far from the Anthony home. Casey was charged with first-degree murder and awaited a trial that eventually took place in 2011. And that's when a series of conflicting stories emerged.

The prosecution sought the death penalty for Casey. They alleged that Casey had killed her daughter because she no longer wanted to deal with the demands of motherhood. The prosecutors said Casey used chloroform and duct tape to perform the act — and set out to prove their case. Casey pleaded not guilty to the charges.

One of the most contentious parts of the trial involved Caylee's cause of death. The official cause of death noted by the coroner was "death by undetermined means." Yet at the trial, Orange and Osceola County chief medical examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia said it was murder. Casey's defense team pushed back against Garavaglia's claims — and they had their own theory about the cause of death.

Casey’s defense team alleged that, on June 16, 2008, Caylee drowned by accident in the Anthony family swimming pool. They also said that George Anthony — Casey's father — got rid of the body and covered up the crime. In his closing argument, defense lawyer Jose Baez called the state's evidence a "fantasy of forensics." But the prosecutors had their own say.

"Casey Anthony decided on June 16 that something had to be sacrificed, that the conflict between the life that she wanted and the life that was thrust upon her was simply irreconcilable and something had to give," prosecutor Jeff Ashton told the jury in his closing argument. "She took her child, she took her life, and she put her in the trunk and forgot about her."

"She is guilty of murder in the first degree, and that murder was premeditated," Ashton said. The prosecutors also turned their attention to Casey's decision to lie to law enforcement after Cindy reported Caylee's disappearance. "The only way Casey's lies work is if Caylee isn't talking," the prosecutor said. But the defense presented another reason why Casey would lie.

Defense lawyer Baez argued that Casey lied about the whereabouts of her daughter at the time of her death because she had created an imaginary world. "If a person lives in that kind of world, these facts make more sense," Baez said. In the end, though, the jury took just 11 hours of deliberation to deliver their final verdict.

The jury found Casey guilty of four counts of "providing false information to law enforcement." This included saying that she worked at Universal Studios, that she'd left Caylee with a babysitter, that she'd told two co-workers about Caylee's disappearance, and that she'd spoken to Caylee on the phone on July 15, 2008. For these crimes, Casey was sentenced to four years in prison and $4,000 in fines.

The sentencing took place on July 7, 2011, and Casey was released from prison on July 17, 2011. She had already been in prison for 1,043 days by this time and was given the rest of her sentence off for good behavior. This meant that Casey was found not guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter of a child, and aggravated child abuse. Not everybody was pleased with this verdict, though.

"I just don't feel justice is served," one woman told the Orlando Sentinel after hearing the verdict. "The laws need to be changed if people can get away with murder." Another man wrote on Facebook, according to ABC News, "She can kill her child and get away with it... but I can't get married to my partner and adopt a child." In fact, as the trial had been televised, social media sites were soon filled with public outrage.

Even celebrities got online to offer their opinions. Sharon Osbourne wrote, "Casey Anthony not guilty?? It's a disgrace. She'll probably get her own reality show now." Kim Kardashian tweeted, "WHAT!!!!???!!!! CASEY ANTHONY FOUND NOT GUILTY!!!! I am speechless!!!" But for the defense team, it was a case of a job well done — and justice served.

"Casey did not murder Caylee; it's just that simple," defense lawyer Baez said outside the courtroom. "While we are happy for Casey, there are no winners in this case." Casey's parents and brother released this statement: "While the family may never know what has happened to Caylee Marie Anthony, they now have closure for this chapter of their life. They will now begin the long process of rebuilding their lives."

Another of Casey's defense attorneys, Cheney Mason, also spoke outside the courtroom. "I hope that this is a lesson to those of you that have indulged in media assassination the last three years," Mason said. "I'm disgusted by some of the lawyers… getting on television and talking about cases they don't know a damn thing about… Now you've learned your lesson." The prosecutors passed their own verdict as well.

State Attorney Lawson Lamar spoke at a news conference after the trial. "It's always been about seeking justice for Caylee and speaking on her behalf," he said. But he added that he was "disappointed with the verdict today and surprised because we know the facts." He said, "Despite what your personal view as to guilt or innocence may be, the criminal justice system has worked. We did our job. The jury did their job. This is justice in America."

Casey didn't say anything in public after the trial, and she didn't testify during the trial, either. "The main reason that people are reacting so strongly is that the media convicted Casey before the jury decided on the verdict," forensic psychiatrist Dr. Carole Lieberman told ABC. "The public has been whipped up into this frenzy wanting revenge for this poor little adorable child. And because of the desire for revenge, they've been whipped up into a lynch mob."

But following her release from prison in 2011, Casey remained an ambiguous figure and out of the limelight. The 2017 interview with Associated Press gave some insight into her character — particularly that she didn't care “what anyone thinks about [her].” But then in November 2022, Casey spoke on-camera about the story for the first time. Yet the program still proved divisive.

Casey Anthony: Where the Truth Lies features a long-form interview between Casey and the show's director, Alexandra Dean. One of the things that the pair touched on was the guilty verdicts that Casey received. “It was the right guilty verdict,” Casey said. “I did lie to law enforcement, I admitted that I lied to law enforcement, so I am a convicted liar. It’s the truth.”

“I lied to everyone because that was my whole life up until that point,” Casey explained in the show. “Acting like everything’s okay but knowing nothing was okay. I’ve had years of therapy, and I’m trying to analyze my own behavior and explain my own behavior, all of this is a reaction of trauma.” Casey said this was because she had been abused as a child.

“I made myself look crazy,” Casey continued. “And gave law enforcement absolutely no reason to believe or trust anything that I said.” She also said she understood why people might have thought she was acting strange. “Because even for me, it still feels that way,” she said. “As far as I am concerned, there’s no justifying my actions or behavior, except to say that I was doing what I was conditioned to do.”

During the interview, Casey said that her father abused her when she was younger. George Anthony has continually denied this — and he didn't conduct an interview for the documentary. “When I was eight years old, my father started to come into my room at night,” Casey said in the documentary. “I was physically hurt, scared because I was physically hurt and I ‘can’t tell mommy what happened, she’ll get mad at me.’ That’s what I was told.”

Casey also alleged she became pregnant with Caylee after being sexually assaulted at the age of 18. She described the assault in detail and claimed that her family told her to keep quiet about the resulting pregnancy. Casey further claimed that she had originally told people that the baby belonged to her ex-boyfriend. However, she said, a paternity test showed otherwise. “I lied to everyone,” she said.

She continued, “It’s just years of feeling like I needed to live a certain life or show people I lived a certain life because I didn’t want people to pity me and I didn’t want my kid to grow up thinking she was the product of something so bad and that I didn’t want her.” Casey then gave her version of the events of June 16, 2008.

Casey said to the cameras that, on the morning that Caylee likely went missing, she “wasn’t feeling that great.” She said that she returned to bed and that Caylee came with her. “I’ve been a light sleeper my entire life,” Casey said. “Because I’m used to someone opening the door while I’m asleep. I am used to being on alert, especially with my child next to me. It’s part of the reason she slept in bed with me so much.”

Casey told the show's director that she “was asleep for a while.” And then, according to Casey, her father woke her and was asking after Caylee. Casey said she thought at the time that it "didn’t make sense." She said that Caylee “would never even leave [her] room without telling [her], even if she had to go to the bathroom.”

“She knew she wasn’t allowed to just be in the house by herself,” Casey said. Casey claimed that she then searched for Caylee and that when she came back to the house, George Anthony, Casey's father, was “standing there with her.” “She’s soaking wet,” Casey said. “I can see him standing there with her in his arms and handing her to me and telling me that it’s my fault. That I did that. That I caused that.”

Casey said that her daughter was “heavy” and “cold” and that she “collapsed.” Then, Casey said, her father took Caylee away from her. Casey said George told her it was “going to be okay” — but didn't call the police. “I don’t know how long I sat outside, I don’t know where he went, he took her from me and he went away,” Casey said in the documentary. “I don’t know where he went, and I don’t know what he did.”

“I know people are going to question why didn’t I make a phone call, why didn’t I call 911, why did even I wait to tell my mom anything, but I didn’t tell her anything, why lie?” Casey continued. “Knowing that I failed to protect my child and I kept failing her even after that. I failed her again and again and again. Because I still protected the person who hurt me.”

“It was like I was brainwashed,” Casey said in the documentary. “And it wasn’t until much later that I started to really realize why. It’s like I had Stockholm syndrome.” Casey added that her father had “conditioned” her and led her to believe that Caylee was still alive. She said that her father told her, “Keep doing what I’m telling you to do.”

“That whole time he told me she was going to be okay,” Casey said in the documentary. “It’s what I chose to accept because there was that little girl inside of me that wanted to believe he wouldn’t hurt her the way he hurt me.” But she also claimed in the series that she didn’t know what really happened. “It’s why all of this is so hard,” she said.

“I live with that guilt of feeling like I failed her and didn’t keep her safe and protect her,” Casey said. “I’ve always wanted the truth because I’ve lived so long without it. But I don’t know if I can handle all of it. I don’t know if it would be better to know or just keep not knowing. Because I don’t know what the truth is. All I know is that something happened.”

Casey closed the documentary by saying that the events of that time are always with her. “It’s a hard thing to live with every day because nothing’s going to bring her back,” Casey said. “Even if I someday get the answers that I need, it’s never going to be enough. It’s never going to be enough.”