Caylee Anthony - A family, the media and the struggle to truth

Newest post on this case here: Caylee Anthony New reward for information $125,000 7/22

UPDATED 7/21 11:32AM

50k flyers donated to find missing girl

In addition to flyers donated, a $5,000 reward has been offered by the Never Lose Hope Foundation to find Caylee.

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/myfox/pa...Y&pageId=1.1.1

UPDATED 7/21 3:05AM Caylee's family have launched HelpFindCaylee.com

Original Post : "caylee anthony" Missing Orlando Florida 2 year old

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One doesn't normally feel badly for journalists when they're interviewing and trying to get information from a parent, grandparent or other family members of a missing person -- don't we typically get annoyed about the questions these poor folks, who are under so much pressure already with a missing loved one, are asked? Instead after watching Geraldo Rivera interview Cindy Anthony last night and then Casey Anthony's attorney Jose Baez both nights this weekend, Geraldo definitely showed class and allowed us one of the few patient, sensitive, ethically and morally correct interviews in cable new broadcasting over the last year.

MissingAbducted.com doesn't usually share with you op-eds regarding the families or legal counsel of those who are missing. This case and the corresponding interview with the family and Jose Baez are clearly unique: there appears to be a completely dysfunctional relationship between Casey Anthony and her mother, a grandmother who is loving and caring yet at the same time controlling and somewhat naïve regarding her own daughter's ability to fabricate and misdirect, especially now where Caylee is missing and has been for several weeks. This case also hasn’t taken a more typical “path” we see with missing person’s cases; the delay of a timely missing persons report (5 weeks), lack of organized searched at known locations (focused on known area, like where the car was found), and no reward fund for leads/tips to recover Caylee don’t appear to be in place. Confusing matters more, the statements made by the grandmother, Jose Baez, and even by the investigators on the case have reported seem to be disjointed and misaligned. The Anthony family takes their own position (they're focused on the babysitter, per Jose Baez comments to WESH2 in Orlando and to Geraldo last night) and investigators have taken theirs with the confinement of Casey Anthony for providing false information to law enforcement. Sensational but… Not. Good.

Note to the Anthony family: we all understand that you want the focus to be on Caylee and it is. You didn’t ask for our advice, but we’ve been around long enough and followed enough cases to tell you that you may be undermining your own credibility with the investigators who are trying to ascertain where Caylee is, as well as the audience which sees you that you’re trying to expand to help you find her. By responding to reporter’s questions with what you believe to be facts (such as Casey getting a phone call from her daughter last week), the perception is law enforcement appears to hear about them only after you reveal them in your media interviews. Here it begets questions like “Where you on that call? How did you heard about it if you weren’t?”  No doubt you cooperated with police in their search on your property, and it’s to your credit you did so. It’s wise to use the media to get exposure for Caylee, it’s not so wise to expect them NOT to ask questions because that is exactly what they’re going to do. Casey’s attorney spent more time commenting what a great grandmother you are in his interview tonight – and frankly, isn’t he representing Casey?  The more you say “off the cuff”, the more subjected to scrutiny, judgment and suspicion you’re going to be.

As far as Jose Baez is concerned, the same article linked above as well as his interviews with Geraldo this weekend shows how little experience he has in a case like this. A comment about due process in response to being asked about Casey charged with providing false information to police was absolutely pointless, considering at least one of those statements resulted in the police actually taking Casey to Universal Studios as she identified as her “employer” when she hadn’t been employed there since 2006. Due process being what it is, one can’t be so deluded not to know that employment records are a matter of fact and easily obtained by law enforcement in spite of his presumption of innocent until proven guilty. And that was BEFORE Casey’s parents were subjected to a property search. As Casey’s attorney (we think he represents her, not the family), we think Jose Baez’s client should be his focus. The judge’s statements to Casey during the bond hearing should be a clue that HE needs to be involved with her daily despite his revelation today that Casey has spoken to police on her own without counsel. Most people would think that a sign of cooperation and trust, but if he hasn’t counseled his client about the ramifications of what the Sherriff has also coined as “lying”, Jose Baez is NOT doing HIS job. That is, if he really can and that, friends, remains to be seen.

We’re sure that there will be some that don’t appreciate what we’ve said here, and that’s ok.  However with what we know so far, we suspect this particular missing child is alive and well and being taken care of, or she’s dead. There’s not much room after all this time for anything in the middle. (Thank you, Mark Gregaros) And somebody knows something….yet strangely enough we have 1 question that has been posed to these loving, caring family members that we can’t believe they don’t “know”:

What’s the father’s name?

We told you – it’s a really different missing child case, for us.

Comments

[Jen]

I agree wholeheartedly. The family needs a spokesperson, or needs to stop doing interviews. The lawyer needs to stop lecturing us on Law School 101 and represent his client more appropriately.

[Domestic Goddess]

I, too, find myself feeling "offended and angry" watching the grandmother bully the media and audience - Find her granddaughter! Find her granddaughter now!

Then, in the same breath . . . "We know that Casey knows who has Caylee - but, we will just have to wait and see if Casey is capable of opening up to us and telling us the truth" -

Why does all of America need to look/hunt/find Caylee when Casey knows who has her?

None of these statements are truthful or believable - Just poor taste and the loss of a little girl -

[K Mero]

This morning the Grandmother was even more bizarre than yesterday and of course we have heard nothing from the Mom who is safely tucked away in jail. I am beginning to suspect the Grandmother and Mother killed the little girl together or one is covering for the other. The cop in charge of the cadaver dog that sniffed the car abandoned by the mother said last night that his dog gave an absolute "find" sign when taken to the car. And the cop himself was a homicide detective so he claims he had smelled the unmistakable odor of a decomposing body. He was interviewed last night on FOX. The grandmother was asked about that this morning on FOX and here was her reply, I paraphrase, " look, do me a favor, get a piece of pizza and put it in a car, and let me see [then she counts to herself how many days the car was sitting there] oh yeah, let it sit for 19 days and then open up the car. After 19 days you tell me what the car smells like!"
The brazen attitude of this woman is incredible. She blames everything on the press because they dare to ask why her daughter doesn't just tell the police where she last saw her daughter. How dare they? She just wants the national press to put the little girl's picture on the screen so we can "find" her. The daughter has no responsibility for telling any of us where she last saw her little girl and who if anyone she was with. The interesting clues that are accidentally being dropped are fascinating. God preserve us from amateur murderers. Why did she come up with the exact number 19 days? She didn't say 'about' or 'maybe' she settled on that as a firm figure. The car was abandoned by the daughter some distance from the home where she lived with her Mother and little girl. She has given no reason why she abandoned it. Here's my theory, the little girl was killed about five weeks ago, she was stored in the trunk of the car. The mother left the body there for 19 days, when the odor became too much even for her and her Mother they took the body to an 'undisclosed location' and disposed of it. Then drove the car to a place to abandon it and hoped no one would ever notice. If the Grandmother did not help with the body and truly didn't know something had happened to her granddaughter then we must explain why she does not seem to have noticed her daughter's car was absent without leave. I think if the cops will count out 19 days from the day they think the child was last seen, they will have the day that the body was buried or disposed of in some way. They need to find out the movements of Mom & Grandma on that day. If you have time go to the FOX news website I think they will have the videos of the interviews with the Grandma if you missed them.

Here is my synopsis of the simple facts the Grandmother could provide to help in this case:
1. When was the last time you personally saw your granddaughter?
2. Where exactly did you think your granddaughter was when she was not in your home after that date?
3. What did you think happened to your daughter's car when it was no longer in your driveway or garage?
4. Who is the father of your granddaughter?
5. Do you know where he is and have you contacted him?
6. In the past what was the longest time you think you ever went without seeing your granddaughter? Was this unusual or was she often gone for days even though your daughter was at home?
7. Do you believe your daughter suffers from a mental illness?
8. How does your daughter support her child?
9. How do you manage to control your grief over the missing child? How did you find the time and determination to update your Myspace mood to "distraught"?
10. Why do you think your daughter has given false answers to even innocuous questions regarding her employment, and people who have been babysitters for her child? Why lie about these things? If she is unemployed just say so. It's not a crime to be out of work.

Most of all why did you think the car was closed up for 19 days?

[Concerned Mother]

For the grandmother to say leaving pizza in her car for 19 days will make the car smell, so was that pizza left in her back yard as well. Didnt the dogs pick up a scent in her backyard?  And if the daughter lived w/her and she was with the granddaughter every day , why did it take so long for her to make her daughter come forward to report her as missing. UH HELLO if my daughter lived with me and left with her child and I didnt see them for a week I would be on my daughter's case about bring me my grandbaby I miss her. Was she just not concerned or was she sick of seeing her own grandchild that she just let a whole month pass before growing concerned?  It all does not make sense. I agree with you Domestic Goddess I think the grandmother and mother killed that baby and waited thinking that they could buy themselves time. I think that if the grandmother knows something that they should give her a polygraph and get the truth out of her or lock her up with her lyin daughter. They both need to rot as far as I am concerned. Anyone that would hurt their own child (let alone any child) needs to suffer the same fate. An eye for an eye.

[nika]

i think that Casey is a victim of incest and her father is also Caylee's father. and this is why there is no record of a father and this is why casey is a compulsive liar and shows little emotion- that's what can happen to incest victims. i think Caylee became in danger of being an incest victim and either she was rapad and murdered by the grandfather or casey killed her in a type of defense. either way i think all three (grandmother, grandfather and Casey) worked together to get rid of the body. and Cindy is speaking in very specific terms when she says "there could be one or two reasons why Casey is not telling the truth and that somebody could be holding something over her head and threatening her in some way." i think Casey has been living in an extreme state of conflict, being both a victim and a dependent mother and maybe she snapped- or maybe that grandfather did it. But either way- i think there is a deep back story here that actually makes everything make a certain sense and this is why the women in this family lie all the time and the grandfather is relatively silent.

[nika]

i think that Casey is a victim of incest and her father is also Caylee's father. and this is why there is no record of a father and this is why casey is a compulsive liar and shows little emotion- that's what can happen to incest victims. i think Caylee became in danger of being an incest victim and either she was rapad and murdered by the grandfather or casey killed her in a type of defense. either way i think all three (grandmother, grandfather and Casey) worked together to get rid of the body. and Cindy is speaking in very specific terms when she says "there could be one or two reasons why Casey is not telling the truth and that somebody could be holding something over her head and threatening her in some way." i think Casey has been living in an extreme state of conflict, being both a victim and a dependent mother and maybe she snapped- or maybe that grandfather did it. But either way- i think there is a deep back story here that actually makes everything make a certain sense and this is why the women in this family lie all the time and the grandfather is relatively silent.

[Prissyme]

I totally agree with the piece written. Something about grandma disturbs me greatly. I have seen her interviews and she is not helping with her attitude. If Casey knows where she is, speak up!!! I agree with the comment asking why we should "find her" if the mother knows. ?? something is terribly wrong in this family. Someone find out who the father is. Have police asked and what was the answer? Grandma talking about wanting her back,and I pray she's alive but does grandma actually believe that child would be returned to this family that lost her to start with and took so long to report. something just don't jive here. My opinion is that Casey has the same mental problem as Scott Peterson. So sad, Caylee is precious and I do pray for her safety. God take care of her!

[Flgrl8585]

It is more believable that Casey was doing drugs, rather than a victim of incest. I lived in the same neighborhood as they do all my life. People here are good people, they look out for each other, they care, and for all of us to show more love and care for a child than her own mother is bizarre. I have seen her before at Publix and at the gas station and it seemed like she was running with the wrong crowd. In this neighborhood a lot of young people are doing drugs. So it is more likely than not she was too. It seems also that her parents handed everything to her on a silver platter. What kind of single mother doesnt work to provide for her child. And also how come Caylee doesnt have a room, I saw no toys in "Casey and Caylees room", and no toys around the house? I must say the family knows something, they are all a little too suspicious. Why no amber alert? Why no frantic call from the mother to 911 the moment she realized her daughter was missing? Why all the lies and deceit? I smell a cover up and i fear it's not good for poor little Caylee. Also I was quite offended by the grandmother's comment "All 22 year olds have problems" I am 22 and have two beautiful daughters a 3 year old and a 2 year old, i have a job, and I go to college, I have no problems with mental issues or with how I treat my daughters. What is this ladies problem? If you know you can not handle tough interviews, simply dont do them! There are other ways to get Caylees picture out there! And truth be told they would post it all over TV anyway. All I can do is pray and pass out fliers.

[TwoCents]

Just my two cents, but...

1. Grandma & Grandpa apparently were heavily involved in care of child prior to "disappearance."

2. Daughter is not fully mentally functional.

3. GRANDMA says "Casey knows"

4. GRANDMA says that her last confirmation of Caylee being alive was on June 15 and then changes story to July 15...

5. GRANDMA says lots of weird things.

6. GRANDMA is described as "controlling"...

7. It is not clear where the mother was all this time, and we have mostly GRANDMA's assertion that mother was saying that she was working and the child was with a sitter.

8. GRANDMA complains repeatedly of NOT BEING ALLOWED TO TALK TO HER DAUGHTER. Why? Why is she not allowed to talk to her daughter?

The thing is that there is something wrong between GRANDMA and MOM. What if the reason that Grandma wants Mom out is because it would be kind of hard to lead everyone to where Caylee is (due to where Grandma put her) and suggest Mom led her if she is not even in communication with Casey.

[FLres]

Not sure if you'd seen this: there is a complete clip of "Cindy Anthony speaks to reporters after bond hearing" at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/services/newspaper/printedition/thursday/localandstate/orl-caylee2408jul24,0,7351291.story , which shows husband George differing with Cindy in how they should proceed, having to literally steer her away as she's angrily jabbing her finger in the media's and our faces. [total aside: I wonder, after seeing that video clip, if that might be part of what led George Anthony to file for divorce several years ago?]

I, too, was appalled at Cindy's stonewalling Greta on Monday and in every clip I've seen of her. She does not answer even the simplest most logical questions, yet bitterly chastises the rest of us for "not understanding" or "not caring".

Clearly, at the very least, Cindy has been covering for and enabling Casey for YEARS leading up to this point. She has not required that Casey take even the simplest responsibilities. Cindy is complicit in this: else she would be as angry as the rest of us at Casey's lying dissembling behavior which endangers Caylee.

I do want to know more of a timeline on the car: why was it not reported missing either by Casey or by her mother, who owned it? HOW was Casey getting around for all this time without this car, and why did her mother not ask her about it? when was odor noted (when it was first towed, or possibly from outside the car?); WAS a bag of pizza found in the bag (as if that explains the decomp odor and HAIR for Pete's sake -- Cindy is an utter idiot); when were police notified to it; when were Anthonys notified of it being found; etc etc etc ...

Don't get me started on lawyer Baez -- uh, why would he not have the info Nancy asked him last night right at his fingertips, if not in his brain? Note in the story at above source that now even his daughter Christina Baez is being quoted!

God bless the detectives and others working to find Caylee -- may they find what they need to get to the bottom of this sorry sick mess and find that beautiful little girl.

[Shirley]

I think it would be a good idea to run a DNA test and find out if there might not be an incest issue. It really is weird that no-one knows who the father is and that does make one wonder. A test would settle that issue once and for all

They should be able to get dna for caylee easily and that alone will tell them if caylee's father was related to casey. But they should also be able to get dna from the grandfather without much trouble.

If there should be an incest issue, the whole family would lose so much credibility that it would strengthen the police case considerably in which case grandma could just shut upt about what a wonderful family they are.

[Becky]

I think he whole family has something to do with Little Caylee missing and as days goes by I feel Casey will not be found live (I hope andpray I am wrong)I hope they all pay for this, how could any person harm or do away with anybody epecially a little adorable angel like Caylee. I hope oneday whoever is involved in this ROTS IN HELL. Has the grandmother hardly shed a tear or dear ole grandpa. If it was me in those shoes I wouldn't be as calm as dear ole grandma with a bruise.

[Cherie]

No doubt that the little girl was killed by a member or members of her family. It's only a matter of time until the police solve it. They have nailed every person who has tried this "they were abducted" story.

[Shawna M]

This story is just crap. I have had my nose in every paper that says the little girls name. This grandmother said the car smells like a dead body when she called 911, and yet she wants her daughter out of jail? I dont care I have 3 kids, and if one of my kids did this and i thought that they had did this to my granddaughter i would want them to stay right were they are. That baby should have been reported long befor she was, and The grand parents should have questioned her more then they did in the 5 damn weeks, or just called cops to report something, anything. Maybe the cops would of went to this mothers house befor this and saw that the girl was nowhere to be found. This is just sick, and that mother is just sick in the damn head, If this little girl is dead anyone and everyone who knew or had some play in it should be shot

[Janelle]

This just OUTRAGES me!! When this story first broke My mother & I thought maybe Casey is hiding her to protect the little girl from someone..(dead father?) Unfortunetly, after seeing her behavior in the courtroom, & that of her nutty mother in the media, one can only speculate that maybe, just maybe..the mother & grandmother are covering up something horrible. We live over 700 miles away from my mother & if she hadn't talked to my kids for even a week she'd be wanting to talk to them & asking questions. IF as the grandmother says, "Casey knows where Caylee is," then instead of plastering herself on tv, maybe she should be at the jail asking her daughter questions. You love your children unconditionaly, but to possibly be apart of the cover up to the disappearance of your grandchild is just unacceptable. I hope this ends with them finding Caylee alive, and safe. Unfortunetly, we have seen too many cases were it does not end that way. For Caylees sake I hope they find her soon...dead or alive she needs to be brought home. CASEY NEEDS TO START TALKING...THE TRUTH!!

[Jersey Girl]

I just stumbled across this website and find the commentary very interesting. I just started following the Caylee Anthony case yesterday. It caught the attention of my husband and me during the morning news and we were absolutely appalled to hear that a mother wouldn't report her own child missing immediately. This gives me a bad feeling that foul play is certainly involved and after reading the online Florida newspaper articles today, I'm not feeling any better. I hate to say it, but others have articulated the same - this child is dead, and probably at the hands of her own mother and/or grandmother. The report about the new cement slab in the yard was especially chilling to me. This is truly a case straight out of bizarro-land. It makes me think of the Susan Smith case. Because I'm still catching up on details, I was a little confused about the fatherhood reports. Why is there such an issue with the paternity of this child? Does she not have a birth certificate naming a father?

[Sheila]

The father is dead, from the reports. There is something wrong with the grandmother. She reported to the police that the car smelled a dead body. Then she said it was a pizza. They are all lying in my opinion. She is a register nurse. I believe Casey left Caylee in the car while she was on a shopping spree with credits cards she stole from her mother. The heat killer her. Lord knows what she did with the body. Yes, FL. has the death sentence. Lord forgive if they get out on bond. It will be another Trenton D. His mother killed herself. I will never know how someone could kill their child. Too many good people would have take her with lots love.

[DW]

I think Caylee is probably in the back yard, killed by the mother in a drug induced rage and Cindy the grandmother is well aware of this and helped bury her there in the concrete slab but is protecting her Casey because she doesnt want to lose her daughter to the death penalty in Florida.......The Grandmother is exhibiting symptoms of extreme anxiety guilt and grief. She is lying to cover up, feels guilty about it yet feels her daughter should be punished yet is afraid of losing her daughter as well. This is just my assessment

[Lex]

This is the most bizarre case I have ever heard of. Surely, the little girl is dead at her mother's and/or grandmother's hands. The father and brother are much to quiet, so that is very suspicious too. Casey needs to stay in jail, Cindy needs to stop talking nonsense. The father and brother need to step forward and tell what they know.

[MamaMia]

why doesn't anyone mention the babysitter? if the babysitter took Caylee, why no name, or mention that the police are looking for her?

[DW]

Actually, according to a news story on Foxnews.com Casey Anthony claims the baby sitter Zenaida Gonzalez took Caylee but the police went to the baby sitter's supposed address and it was an apartment and it had been vacant for 5 months and when they located a Zenaida Gonzalez, she had never seen either Casey or Caylee before. Also, Casey claimed to work for Universal studios and gave employees names as references, and those references also denied knowing her but she didnt really work for Universal Studios. Clearly a pathological liar. She is covering something up in my opinion......Im hoping not murder, but it's not looking too good

[DW]

CORRECTION TO MY LAST ENTRY

THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM FOXNEWS.COM ARTICLE

Once detectives caught up with Gonzalez and showed her pictures of both Anthony and Caylee, Gonzalez said she didn't recognize them.

Anthony also told authorities that she worked at Universal Studios, and gave names of people who could vouch for her, according to the Sentinel. But officials later learned she was never employed at the theme park — and neither were the people she mentioned.

[Eclectic1]

"Caylee Anthony - A family, the media and the struggle to truth" Struggle to tell the truth all right, Cindy and Casey couldnt tell the truth if their lives depended on it.

When all that come out of their mouths are bold faced lies, how can one possibly believe they really want to know the truth about where Caylee really is???? It only makes them look guilty and suspicious and I hope this case is solved soon....poor Caylee

[robin]

i believe mom & grandma know the real true story and are covering for each other ~ i agree that if the "new" concrete slab is pulled up, there may lye the truth !!!
you can only lie and cover up for so long ~ i think thier actions and words have admitted thier quilt ~
i have a daughter and can not even begin to imagine hurting her or if she was missing or us having no contact w/ my family.
"CAYLEE" precious baby girl ~ you are in our thoughts and prayers ...

[Richard]

Perhaps a bit of waterboarding would force Casey to tell investigators where Caylee is. If they are afraid to do it because of victim's rights I will be more than happy to oblige.