← 13th Juror Podcast
13th Juror Podcast
The Prosecution of Casey Anthony
00:42:36
Step inside the prosecution’s case against Casey Anthony. Examine the timeline, forensic evidence, and her web of lies presented to the jury. From the mysterious disappearance of her daughter Caylee, to chilling discoveries made close to the Anthony home, the State builds its argument for premeditated murder. But the question lingers: Was this a tragic accident—or a calculated choice for freedom?
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- [00:00]
Ingrezza Patient
My uncontrollable movements called TD tardive dyskinesia felt embarrassing. I felt like disconnecting. I asked my doctor about treating my TD and learned about Ingreza Valbenazine capsules, a prescription medicine clinically proven for reducing TD in adults. That's always one capsule once daily and number one prescribed. People taking in can stay on most
- [00:21]
Ingrezza Medication Information
mental health meds in can cause depression, suicidal thoughts or actions in patients with Huntington's disease. Call your doctor if you become depressed, have sudden behavior or mood changes or suicidal thoughts. Don't take in al. Serious side effects may include allergic reactions like sudden, potentially fatal swelling in hives, sleepiness, the most common side effect, and heart rhythm problems. Know how inezza affects you. Before operating a car or dangerous machinery, report fevers, stiff muscles or problems thinking as these might be life threatening. Shaking, stiffness, drooling and trouble with moving or balance may occur.
- [00:51]
Ingrezza Patient
Take control by asking your doctor about Ingrezza.
- [00:54]
Ingrezza Medication Information
Learn more at ingrezza.com that's I N G R E Z Z A dot
- [00:58]
Dr. Horton Home Builder
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- [01:32]
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- [02:04]
Narrator / Prosecutor
for many crime junkies. When we hear the name Kaylee Anthony, there's a specific image that comes to mind. A two year old girl is sitting on a couch, her tiny hand pressed against her cheek, wide eyes gazing off into the distance, brown hair falling softly across her forehead. The softness of her features makes her look almost like a cherub from a renaissance Painting. There's a stillness to her, the kind children sometimes have when they don't yet know how dangerous the world can be. That image was splashed across tabloids, looped on national media. A missing child in central Florida became a national obsession as families across the country held their breath, hoping for good news. And naturally, the focus turned to Casey. Imagine being this child's mother. Your two year old is gone. No one knows where she is. Every minute that passes feels unbearable. We have a collective understanding of what that looks like. Frantic phone calls, tearful pleas on television, sleepless nights, and desperation etched across a parent's face. When a child is missing, we expect urgency. We expect visible fear. We expect a mother who will stop at nothing to bring her child home. But that wasn't the picture emerging in this case. Instead of press conferences begging for Kaylee's safe return, Kaylee's mother, Casey Anthony, quickly became the center of suspicion. Reports surfaced that she had lied to police that Kaylee had been missing for a month before authorities were notified that while her parents begged to see their granddaughter, Casey was out partying at clubs with friends. Appearing anything but Distraught, more than 4,000 people showed up to help search Kaylee's grandparents, George and Cindy Anthony organized efforts, printed flyers, contacted media outlets, and pushed law enforcement for answers. The public consumed every detail, and before long, Casey earned a nickname that would follow her for years. The most hated woman in America. Long before a jury was ever seated in an Orlando courtroom, Casey Anthony had already been convicted in the court of public opinion. But public opinion isn't proof beyond a reasonable doubt. As media coverage intensified, defense attorney Jose Baez stood before cameras insisting that things were not what they seemed and that Casey Anthony was innocent. So today we're stepping outside the tabloid frenzy and into the courtroom. We're going to examine only what the jury heard, what the state believed it could prove, and what the evidence supports. The prosecution says she chose a social life over motherhood. The defense says this was a tragic accident covered up by a dysfunctional family. But it's the jurors who have the final say. This is the 13Zero podcast where we break down real court cases and put you in the juror's seat. Two sides, the same evidence. You decide what to believe. I'm your host, Brandi Churchwell. Today's episode is Florida versus Casey Anthony, Part one. The prosecution. Before the Anthony family became a household name, they were a middle class family from eastern Ohio. George Anthony worked in law enforcement. His wife Cindy was a nurse. They married in 1981 and had two children. First a son named Lee, followed by a daughter, Casey. When Lee was seven and Casey was three, they packed up their young family and moved to Orlando. In Orlando, George took on various security jobs and Cindy continued nursing. By most accounts, they built a conventional, stable life in central Florida. Then In June of 2005, Kaci told her parents she was pregnant and and she wasn't sure who the child's father was. Georgia and Cindy knew that being a young single mother wasn't an easy task. But they were thrilled at the idea of becoming grandparents. They promised to help Kayce and provide stability while she raised the baby. On August 9, 2005, Kaylee Marie Anthony was born. From the beginning, Kaylee formed an especially close bond with her grandparents. Like many first time grandparents, Kaylee, they adored Kaylee and took countless photos of her first holidays, steps and smiles. To George and Cindy, or JoJo and CeCe as Kaley called them, their granddaughter was their world. George and Kaylee would eat breakfast together and watch SpongeBob in the mornings. Afternoons and weekends were often spent swimming in the backyard pool. George and Cindy even built her a small playhouse in the yard complete with a mailbox bearing her name. They rarely went a day without seeing her. On Monday, June 16, 2008, Cindy Anthony left for work sometime between 7 and 8 that morning. When she returned home in the early Evening, Casey and 2 year old Kaylee weren't there. Casey had said she was working late and planned to drop Kaylee off with a babysitter, a woman she referred to as Zanny the nanny. If it got too late, she and Kaylee might just stay the night at Zanny's. To an outsider, it might seem strange that Kaysi and Kaylee would spend the night at the nannies, but it wasn't. To Cindy, this was something Casey had done several times before. But as the days passed, Cindy grew uneasy. Each time she called asking when Kaylee was coming home. Casey had an explanation. She claimed to be in Tampa, then at a hotel near Universal, then in Jacksonville. Every time Cindy pressed, the story shifted. And every time she asked to see her granddaughter, something else seemed to stand in the way. By July 15, nearly a month had passed since George and Cindy had last seen Kaylee. That day they received a letter from a wrecker service. Their Pontiac Sunfire had been towed and sitting in an Orlando lot for more than two weeks. The Pontiac was Casey's car, the same car she claimed to be driving in Jacksonville. Cindy's stomach dropped. If the car was in Orlando, that meant Casey had been lying about where she was and about what she was doing. They went to the lot to pick up the car and brought it home. Kaylee's car seat was still in the back, along with some of Casey and Kaylee's belongings. But what stood out the most was the smell coming from the trunk. Frantic, Cindy tried to reach Casey. When she couldn't get answers, she enlisted the help of one of Casey's friends to locate her. That Evening, Cindy made three calls to 911. She told dispatchers her granddaughter was missing and that Casey's car smelled like a dead body had been inside the trunk. She even said she wanted Casey arrested because she believed Casey had been lying to her about where kaylee was. Those 911 calls set in motion one of the largest and most controversial investigations in Florida history. For five months, law enforcement and volunteers searched, hoping Kaylee would be found alive. Then, In December of 2008, Kaylee Anthony's skeletal remains were discovered in a swampy wooded area less than half a mile from the Anthony home. Casey Anthony was charged with first degree murder and prosecutors announced they would seek the death penalty. Because of the high profile nature of the case, jurors were brought in from out of town and sequestered for the duration of the six week trial. For 33 days of testimony, both sides presented their versions of what unfolded in the summer of 2008. But what happened inside that home on June 16 and during the 31 days that followed depends entirely on which version of events you believe. According to the evidence and testimony they presented, this is the prosecution's story.
- [10:33]
Ingrezza Patient
My uncontrollable movements called TD tardive dyskinesia felt embarrassing. I felt like disconnecting. I asked my doctor about treating my TD and learned about in valbenazine capsules, a prescription medicine clinically proven for reducing TD in adults. That's always one capsule once daily and number one prescribed. People taking Ingrezza can stay on most
- [10:54]
Ingrezza Medication Information
mental health meds in can cause depression, suicidal thoughts or actions in patients with Huntington's disease. Call your doctor if you become depressed, have sudden behavior or mood changes or suicidal thoughts. Don't take in serious side effects. May include allergic reactions like sudden potentially fatal swelling and hives, sleepiness the most common side effect and heart rhythm problems. Know how in greza affects you before operating a car or dangerous machinery. Report fever, stiff muscles or problems thinking as these might be life threatening. Shaking, stiffness, drooling and trouble with moving or balance may occur.
- [11:23]
Ingrezza Patient
Take control by asking your doctor about
- [11:25]
Ingrezza Medication Information
ingrezza learn more@ingrezza.com that's I N G R E Z Z
- [11:33]
Dr. Horton Home Builder
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- [12:09]
Narrator / Prosecutor
The state told jurors this case began long before Kaylee was reported missing. At the very beginning of this story, they said, was a young mother balancing two identities, the responsibilities of raising a child and the pull of a life without those responsibilities. For a long time, prosecutors argued Casey fabricated people, employment and her circumstances to maintain both lives at once. But eventually, they said, the lies became unsustainable and Casey was forced to make a choice. The state claimed she chose freedom over motherhood. And from that point forward, they argued, everything Casey Anthony did was about protecting the life she chose. But to understand how prosecutors got there, they rewound the story for the jury. Casey was 18 when she learned she was pregnant. By the time she told her parents, she was nearly seven months along. During that period, she was in a serious relationship with a guy named Jesse Grund. Throughout the pregnancy, Casey allowed Jesse to believe he was the father. Jesse even proposed. However, it was only after the relationship ended that that Jesse requested a paternity test. That's when he found out Casey was misleading him and he was not the father. Casey became a young single mother living in her parents home, where they expected her to get a job and contribute to raising her newborn. Casey told them she had returned to her job at Universal Studios, where she had previously worked at a photo kiosk. Later, Casey told her parents she'd been given a new opportunity at Universal, an event coordinator. She said it was a better position with flexible hours, but would require her to work some nights and weekends. So she claimed she had found a nanny for Kaylee named Zenaida or Zanny, the nanny who would watch Kaylee while she worked. But prosecutors argued none of it was true. There was no job at Universal, no promotion, no return to work and the nanny who supposedly watched Kaylee. According to the state, she was fictional, too. Prosecutors told jurors that Casey had a pattern. When faced with pressure, she solved problems with her lies. Her parents wanted her employed, so she claimed she was. She needed to explain Where Kaylee was, so she invented a nanny. She wanted time away, so she invented a job. With nights and weekends creating excuses for her parents to keep Kaylee, the state argued that pattern would become key to understanding what happened next. In February of 2008, Casey met Ricardo Morales. She became invested in the relationship, but she knew her parents wouldn't approve of her spending nights away with Kaylee. So prosecutors said she adjusted the lie she told George and Cindy she was working late and that she and Kaylee would stay at Zanny's if Kaylee was already asleep by the time she was off work. That way, she wouldn't have to wake her up and move her. For roughly two months, Casey and Kaylee spent nights away several times a week. Then Ricardo ended the relationship. The state argued that the months that followed were pivotal. Friends testified that Casey wanted freedom to come and go, to spend time with friends, to. To live like someone without a toddler on her hip. Prosecutors also suggested there was growing tension at home. Cindy was pushing Casey to be present, to be responsible. And the state argued Kaylee was getting older, close to the age where she might start repeating what she saw, what she heard, and what she knew about her mom's alleged lies. Prosecutors suggested Casey's web of lies was tightening. In May of 2008, just weeks before Kaylee disappeared, Casey met Tony Lazzaro. They began dating, and Casey often brought Kaylee to his apartment during the day. Tony developed a relationship with Kaylee and described Casey as an attentive mother. But Tony's life looked different. He was a club promoter, out late, surrounded by nightlife music and the freedom Casey didn't have then. During the first week of June, Cindy took a week off of work to spend time with her granddaughter. Kaylee was with George and Cindy almost every day. For Cindy, it was quality time. For Casey, prosecutors argued, it was something else. Her first sustained taste of freedom. And the state told jurors that once Casey got that taste of a life without responsibility, without a toddler, without rules, she couldn't let it go. Prosecutors argued that Casey Anthony had reached a point where she felt like she had to choose between sacrificing two things. Her life of freedom or her child. And according to the state, on June 16, 2008, Casey Anthony made her choice. When Casey left with Kaylee that Monday morning, she used the same explanation she had used before. She was working late so she and Kaylee would stay at Zanny's. It was familiar, so it didn't immediately alarm George or Cindy. But prosecutors argued that unlike earlier periods, Casey wasn't setting up an overnight routine. They said that when she left her parents house that afternoon, Casey knew that by night she would be in the arms of her boyfriend and Kaylee would be dead. For the next 31 days, Casey Anthony told her mother a rotating series of stories. At first they were vague. She was working late. Kaylee was with the babysitter. She'd bring her home soon. But as Cindy pressed, the explanations evolved and grew more detailed. Around day three, Casey claimed she was attending a work conference in Tampa. Kali, she said, would be staying with Zanny, along with a friend from work, Juliet, and her young daughter, Annabelle. Casey told Cindy it would be good for Kaylee. It would be a fun play trip for her and Annabelle. For more than a week, the Tampa trip kept getting extended. First, the conference was running long. Then Casey wanted to stay an extra night and take Kaylee to Busch Gardens, a large theme park in Tampa known for roller coasters and zoo style animal exhibits. Then she claimed Zanny had been injured in a car accident and Casey was tending to her in a Tampa hospital while Kaylee stayed with Juliette and Annabel. On day 11, Casey told Cindy that Zanny had been released, but it was late, so they'd stay one more night and come home the next day. The next day came, but they didn't return. Instead, Casey said she was meeting a man named Jeff Hopkins at the Hard Rock Hotel. She explained it was close to her work and that she planned to spend the weekend there. She described Jeff as wealthy, able to travel, and she suggested potentially someone who could become a stable father, father figure for Kaylee. Throughout the weekend, every time Cindy called, Casey said she was still at the Hard Rock with Jeff. By Monday, Cindy was on vacation and determined to see her granddaughter. It had been 15 days since she'd seen Kaylee, but now Casey was saying that they weren't at the Hard Rock anymore. For the next few days, she claimed she and Kaylee would be staying with a woman named Jennifer Rosa, a relative of Zanny. On July 3, 18 days since Casey and Kali had last been seen, Casey told her mother that Jennifer Rosa was taking Kaley to Universal Studios for a character breakfast. Cindy had had enough. She drove to Universal to pick Kali up herself. But when Cindy called from the park asking where they were, Casey changed the story again. Kali wasn't at Universal. They were back with Jeff, this time in Jacksonville. Casey said Kaylee was spending time with Jeff's son Zachary, and that Jeff's mother was caring for both Children. Then Casey said her car had broken down in Jacksonville. Jeff was helping her get it fixed. They would be home by July 12th. July 12th came. Then another extension. Now there was a wedding. Jeff's mother's wedding. They needed to stay longer. By then, it had been 28 days since. Since Cindy Anthony had seen her granddaughter. And every time she asked to speak to Kaley, to hear her voice, to see her face, there was a reason she couldn't. Three days later, on July 15, the letter from the tow yard arrived. The car wasn't in Jacksonville. It was in Orlando. And it had been sitting there for weeks. That was the moment the stories stopped being frustrating and became impossible. Cindy contacted Casey's friend, Amy Huizenga, and told her she needed to reach Casey immediately. Amy told Cindy she had just dropped Casey off at her boyfriend Tony's apartment. Cindy had never even heard of Tony. Amy agreed to help, so she arranged to meet up with Cindy and take her to Tony's apartment complex, where Casey was staying. When they arrived, Amy knocked on the door with Cindy standing just behind her. When Casey opened it, Cindy confronted her face to face. Casey repeated the same explanations. Kaylee was with Zanny. Bringing her home would disrupt her routine. But Cindy stopped accepting those answers. According to the prosecution, Cindy pulled Casey out of the apartment so quickly, she didn't even gather her phone or belongings before they left. After dropping Amy off, Cindy made her first call to 911. You can hear the anger in her voice. She told dispatchers her daughter had been lying, that she hadn't seen her granddaughter in weeks, that she wanted Casey arrested, and that Casey's car smelled like a dead body had been in the trunk. While they waited for deputies to arrive, Casey's brother Lee tried to reason with her. He urged Casey to think it through, to understand this wasn't going away. He told her once law enforcement got involved, the questions would not stop. He encouraged her to take them to Kaylee. And that's when Casey's story shifted. For the first time, she said Kaylee wasn't simply with Zanny. She said Kaylee had been kidnapped by her. Now frantic, Cindy called 911 a third time and told the dispatcher that Casey had admitted her daughter had been kidnapped. Cindy handed the phone to Casey, whose tone was calm and controlled. She offered minimal details, answering only what she was asked. Casey told investigators she last saw Kaylee on June 9, 2008, when she dropped her off with the nanny. Prosecutors later highlighted the discrepancy, that the date was wrong, but the number of days Kaylee had been gone was correct. The name Casey provided was Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez, though she said the woman went by Zanny. She gave detectives details. Zanny's parents names, her background and why she moved to Florida. She described Zanny as about 25 and said she had also cared for Jeff Hopkins son Zachary, which is how she met her. But unlike Kaylee, Jeff's son, she said, was not missing. According to Casey, she went to pick Kaylee up, but no one answered and Zanny's phone number was no longer in service. She waited. Then she drove to places she thought they might be, like the mall and the park. But when she couldn't find her, she didn't go home. She told detectives she was afraid of what her mother would say. So instead she went to Tony's apartment and never told him Kaylee was missing. She said the only people she confided in were Jeff Hopkins and a co worker named Juliet Lewis. Before the interview ended, Kaylee detectives asked her directly, was any part of her story untrue? No sir, she said. They asked if she had hurt Kaylee, if there had been an accident. She said no. Detectives asked her to take them to the apartment where she claimed she dropped Kaylee off. So Casey rode with investigators to Sawgrass Apartments and pointed out a specific unit. The apartment, she said, belonged to Zanny. But inside the apartment was completely empty. From here, the investigation followed two main paths, finding Zanny and corroborating what Casey had told them. But as detectives began trying to verify Casey's story, it didn't take long for everything to unravel.
- [24:39]
Ingrezza Patient
My uncontrollable movements called TD tardive dyskinesia felt embarrassing. I felt like disconnecting. I asked my doctor about treating my TD and learned about in valbenazine capsules, a prescription medicine clinically proven for reducing TD in adults. That's always one capsule once daily and number one prescribed. People taking in can stay on most
- [24:59]
Ingrezza Medication Information
mental health meds in cause depression, suicidal thoughts or actions in patients with Huntington's disease. Call your doctor if you become depressed, have sudden behavior or mood changes or suicidal thoughts. Don't take in serious side effects. May include allergic reactions like sudden potentially fatal swelling in hives, sleepiness, the most common side effect and heart rhythm problems. Know how in grezza affects you before operating a car or dangerous machinery, report fever, stiff muscles or problems thinking as these might be life threatening. Shaking, stiffness, drooling and trouble with moving or balance may occur.
- [25:29]
Ingrezza Patient
Take control by asking your doctor about Ingrezza.
- [25:32]
Ingrezza Medication Information
Learn more@ingrezza.com that's ing R E Z Z A dot com
- [25:39]
Dr. Horton Home Builder
your new home is now ready Dr. Horton, America's builder has new homes that are ready today. With new construction communities throughout the Puget Sound and Central Washington areas And more coming, Dr. Horton has the right home for you at Dr. Horton. We're still building with more construction, more communities and more homes available every day. Tap your screen now or visit drhorton.com to find your new home now ready. Dr. Horton, America's builder and Equal Housing Opportunity Builder Life is full of choices,
- [26:10]
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- [26:46]
Narrator / Prosecutor
Officer Yuri Melish with the Orange County Sheriff's Office Missing Persons Unit was assigned to the Anthony's case as the lead investigator. By then he'd been briefed on what the Anthony's had reported, including Casey's claim that she'd dropped Kaylee off with Zanny, the nanny at the Sawgrass Apartments. The next day, Melish went to the complex and spoke with a supervisor. He asked about a woman named Zenaida or Zanny living there in June of 2008. He was told no one by that name had ever lived in that unit. In fact, the apartment Casey had pointed to had been vacant for months. Investigators moved on to the next set of names Casey had offered Juliet and Annabelle. The co worker and her child. Detectives checked. Juliet wasn't employed at Universal. She wasn't an event coordinator. She wasn't connected to Casey at all. She and her daughter Annabelle didn't exist. Casey had given detailed descriptions, job titles, backgrounds and personal histories of people she had completely made up. Next, investigators focused on Jeff Hopkins. Casey had claimed she spent significant time with him while Kaylee was missing. She said his son Zachary was also cared for by Zanny, that the children were together. Jeff Hopkins confirmed he knew Casey. He had once worked at Universal Studios, but he hadn't worked there in six years. He told detectives he and Casey were not close, barely acquaintances. He had not been with her in Jacksonville. He had not been at the Hard Rock Hotel. In fact, he hadn't even spoken to her recently. And then investigators asked the question that collapsed another part of the story. Did Zanny also babysit his son Zachary? That's when Jeff told detectives, no, Zanny doesn't babysit Zachary because there is no Zachary. He doesn't have any children. Prosecutors argued that Casey used Jeff Hopkins and the idea of being out of town with someone stable and wealthy to buy time and create distance between Kaylee and her grandparents. And they argued that once the tow yard letter arrived, the entire structure of that story began to cave in. As detectives dug deeper, they uncovered another lie, one that went beyond the month Kaylee was missing. Casey had told her parents she worked as an event coordinator at Universal Studios. But in reality, she hadn't worked there in two years. For two years, prosecutors said, Casey had been getting dressed each morning, leaving the house with Kaylee and telling her parents she was going to a job that didn't exist. At this point, investigators were left with two questions that mattered most. Why is she lying? And where is Kaylee? Detectives decided to test Casey's claim in real time. Casey insisted she had an office at Universal. Investigators arranged to take her there. At the employee entrance, security checked the system. There was no employee listed under her name. Casey offered a supervisor's name that wasn't in the system either. A manager intervened and allowed Casey to walk the detectives inside. They followed her through hallways as she smiled and waved at employees as if she belonged there. Some waved back politely, but with hesitation, as if trying to place her. Then Casey reached a dead end. With nowhere left to lead them, she turned to the detectives, slid her hands into her back pockets, and admitted she didn't work there. Casey told detectives she lied because she thought she could find Kaylee on her own. She said she didn't go to police because she was afraid that if she did, Sammy would hurt her daughter. Up to that point, detectives had approached Casey as a mother whose child might still be found alive. After that moment, their tone changed. On July 16, 2008, Casey Anthony was arrested and charged with child neglect, giving false information to law enforcement and obstruction. While Kaci was in jail, her brother Lee confronted her with the fact that no one named Zinaida had ever lived at the Sawgrass Apartments. And suddenly, the kidnapping story began to shift. According to prosecutors, Casey realized she could no longer sustain the version where she had calmly dropped Kaylee off and later discovered she was gone, so she gave a new account. This time, Casey said she met Xannie at a park. She claimed Zanny arrived with her sister and several children. The meeting, Casey said, quickly turned hostile. While sitting on a park bench, she alleged that Zanny and her sister grabbed her wrists and held her down. Then, Casey said, Zanny took Kali from her. According to Casey's statement, Zanny told her she was not a good mother, that she was taking Kali to teach her a lesson. Casey claimed she was warned not to go to the police and that if she did, she would never see her daughter again. Casey said she was scared. She didn't know what to do, she said. After that confrontation, Zanny continued to control her, allegedly accessing Casey's MySpace account, using her password, sending her messages and instructing her where to go and what to say. This evolving version of events only deepened investigators concerns. The story was no longer just unverified, it was changing again. And with no evidence that Zanny the nanny existed and Casey's credibility collapsing by the hour, the investigation widened. What began as a missing persons case was now moving towards something far more serious. When George and Cindy Anthony retrieved Casey's car from the tow yard, both commented that it smelled like a dead body had been in the trunk. George, who was a former law enforcement officer, told the jury that decomposition has a distinct odor, one you don't forget. As he approached the car and caught that smell, he said he prayed silently that it wasn't coming from his daughter or his granddaughter. The tow yard manager also took the stand. He testified that he had been in the towing business for years and had encountered vehicles containing deceased individuals. Based on his experience, he believed the odor coming from Casey's trunk was consistent with human decomposition. Investigators noted the smell as well. But it wasn't just the odor that concerned them. Inside the trunk, they located strands of hair similar in length and color to Kaylee's. The hair was confirmed to be human, but because it lacked a root with nuclear DNA, analysts could not make a definitive individual match. Microscopic comparison showed similarities to Cayley's known hair sample, but it was not conclusive. To narrow it further, forensic scientists conducted mitochondrial DNA testing. That testing cannot identify a single individual, but it can determine maternal lineage. The result? The hair came from someone within the Anthony maternal line. Then came the FBI laboratory analysis. Examiners testified that the hair exhibited characteristics consistent with post mortem root changes, including what is known as a decomposition band, sometimes referred to as a death band. This banding pattern can occur when hair separates from the scalp after death. To investigators, this suggested that a body, likely Kaylee's, had been in the trunk of Casey's car. A cadaver dog trained to detect the scent of human decomposition was also deployed. The dog alerted to the trunk area. With all this evidence mounting, prosecutors argued that the trunk of Casey Anthony's car had held the remains of a deceased child. And In October of 2008, Casey Anthony was indicted for the murder of her two year old daughter. For months, Kaylee Anthony was considered a missing child. Search efforts continued. Media coverage intensified. Hope, however faint, still lingered. Then, on December 11, 2008, a utility worker named Roy Cronk called authorities after discovering what appeared to be skeletal remains in a wooded area less than half a mile from the Anthony home. The area was swampy and heavily wooded, a place that had previously been searched but had been underwater during earlier attempts. Investigators recovered skeletal remains along with a child's Winnie the Pooh blanket and a laundry bag. The remains were later confirmed to be Kaylee Anthony. For the prosecution, this discovery changed everything. They were no longer searching for a nanny with an abducted child. This was now a homicide case. When the remains were examined, investigators noted that duct tape was found in the area of the skull. The tape was adhered in a way that prosecutors would later argue was consistent with suffocation. But because the remains were skeletal, the medical examiner could not determine an exact cause of death. However, the manner of death was ruled a homicide. The proximity of the remains to the Anthony home, which was within walking distance, became a key point for the state. Prosecutors argued that location suggested familiarity with the area and intentional placement. Combined with the trunk evidence, the decomposition testimony, and the false kidnapping story, the state contended that the totality of evidence pointed in one direction. Kaylee had not been kidnapped. She had been killed and her body had been discarded and near her own home. With Kaylee's remains recovered, investigators began putting together their case against Casey Anthony. Over the next two years, prosecutors worked to organize the forensic findings, digital evidence, witness testimony, and expert analysis into a case they believed proved premeditated murder. By the time the trial began in 2011, the state of Florida was prepared to present to the jury what they argued was a clear narrative. Kaylee Anthony had not been kidnapped and her mother lied repeatedly to authorities about it. They had forensic evidence that they believed showed Kaylee's body had been in the trunk of her mother's car before being left in the woods. During the trial, Casey's boyfriend, Tony Lazzaro, took the Stand. So did his roommates and several of Casey's friends. One by one, they testified that during the month Kaylee was gone, Casey never told them her daughter was missing. She never appeared distressed. She never asked for help finding her child. On June 16, the last day, George Anthony said he saw Kaylee alive. Phone records showed Kayce remained near the Anthony home until around 4pm that evening. Surveillance video captured Casey and Tony at a blockbuster. She appeared relaxed and affectionate, her arms around his waist. Kaylee was not with them. Prosecutors argued that by that point Kaylee was already dead and likely in the trunk of Casey's car. The state also focused on a pattern. Cindy left for work between 7 and 8am and returned after 5pm George typically left before mid afternoon. So on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the house was empty for several hours. Phone records showed that on those specific days when the home was unoccupied, Casey often returned to the Anthony residence. The day after Kaylee disappeared, a neighbor testified that he saw Casey pull into the driveway and back her car into the garage around 2:45pm she remained there until approximately 4:30 before leaving again. The following day, he saw her again backing into the garage. This time she asked to borrow a shovel. He testified that she kept it for about an hour or so before returning it. Over the next several days, when either George or Cindy was home, Casey did not return to the house. Instead, jurors heard about what she was doing elsewhere. On Friday night, Casey went to an Orlando nightclub called Fusion wearing what would later be referred to as the blue dress. She was photographed dancing on stage during a hot body contest. Witnesses from the club testified. And jurors were shown photos of Casey on stage smiling ear to ear as she danced for the competition. At the same time, Casey was telling her mother she was on a work trip in Tampa and that Kaylee was with the nanny she was out clubbing. Over the course of that month, witnesses described Casey attending parties, staying out late shopping and spending time with friends. Absent from every account, Kaylee prosecutors argued that this was not the behavior of a mother who knew knows her child had been abducted. They also highlighted two incidents involving Casey running out of gas. The first time, Toni helped her break into her parents shed to retrieve gas cans. The second time, on June 27, 12 days after Kaylee's disappearance, Casey was complaining to a friend about a strong odor in her car, saying there was a dead animal stuck to the frame. Minutes later, she ran out of gas near an Amscot on University Boulevard. Tony testified that when he arrived to pick her up. He noticed grocery bags filled with items from a refrigerator and clothing inside the car. Casey left the vehicle there, and when the manager noticed it sitting all weekend, they called to have it towed. On July 3, 18 days after Kaylee was last seen, Casey got a tattoo that read Bella vita, Italian for beautiful life. The state introduced this not as character evidence, but but as part of the timeline. They argued that while her daughter had not been seen for nearly three weeks, Casey appeared to be living freely. Throughout the trial, prosecutors framed this pattern of behavior, the parties, the lies, the lack of urgency as consciousness of guilt. They argued that Casey was not behaving like a mother who believed her child had been kidnapped. They argued she was behaving like someone who knew her child was not coming back. Jurors heard recorded interviews in which Casey maintained the kidnapping story even after her arrest. They listened to jail calls between Casey and her family. And prosecutors suggested that while Casey became emotional when discussing herself, she remained detached when discussing Kaylee. But behavior alone does not prove homicide. To secure a conviction for first degree murder, the state needed more than character judgments. They needed forensic evidence. They needed something physical, something scientific, Something that tied Kaylee's death directly to Casey. So they walked the jury back through the trunk of the Pontiac, back to the wooded area where Kaylee's remains were found, back to the duct tape, the computer searches the decomposition evidence. And piece by piece, they argued that the science told the same story. The timeline did. They begin with the scene where Kaylee's remains were found. When investigators recovered her skeletal remains, they also recovered a child's blanket featuring Winnie the Pooh and Piglet characters that decorated Kaylee's bedroom at the Anthony home. Her remains were located inside a canvas laundry bag. Testimony established that the bag had originally been sold as part of a two piece set. During a search of the Anthony home, investigators recovered the matching bag. To the state, that connection was important. It suggested that the bag did not come from some unknown location. It came from inside the home. Then there was the duct tape. When Kaylee's skull was recovered, duct tape was found in the area of her mouth. Prosecutors argued that the way the mandible remained positioned suggested that the tape had been applied over the mouth and nose before decomposition occurred. The state's theory was that the tape was used to suffocate her. The brand of duct tape that was used was also not a common brand. In fact, that brand hadn't been sold since 2007. Later, they also found a piece of that same unique tape on the Gas cans that Casey took from George's shed. Prosecutors also addressed the odor evidence. Using chemical analysis, Dr. Arpad Vas identified compounds consistent with human decomposition. The state argued that the odor described by witnesses was not garbage, not spoiled food, but the scent of a body. Dr. Vass also testified that he found unusually high levels of chloroform during his testing. Chloroform is most well known for being used to incapacitate people. And police believes that Casey used chloroform to render Caylee unconscious before using duct tape to suffocate her daughter. To support this theory, they turned to the computer Records from the Anthony family. Computer showed Internet searches conducted during times when both George and Cindy were at work. Among those searches were terms related to chloroform and how to make chloroform at home. The state argued those searches were consistent with premeditation, that someone in that home had researched a way to incapacitate. Prosecutors also introduced evidence in another form. Casey's social media password. Casey had set up a password for her accounts that she told her brother was related to kaylee. The password timer55. Prosecutors argue that the day Kaylee disappeared was 55 days before her third birthday, and Casey knew that she would only be able to stall her parents for so long. They suggested that Kaylee's birthday would be the day she could no longer stall, and she had a countdown going until that day. To support this, they reminded the jury that when police first asked Casey about where Kaylee was last seen, Casey got the date wrong, saying it was June 9th instead of June 16th. But she didn't get the number of days wrong. She knew that it had been 31 days. And they argued that's because she had a timer until her birthday. To prosecutors, the evidence was damning. This was not a kidnapping. This was a homicide. And they argued the evidence pointed to only one person. During closing arguments, the prosecution walked the jury through the entirety of the evidence. They said Casey wanted a bella vita, a beautiful life, free of responsibility. She wanted to party. She wanted hang out with friends, go shopping and date as she pleased. She chose to sacrifice her young daughter to create that life. The state's theory was that Casey researched how to make chloroform, then used chloroform to incapacitate Kaylee. She then placed three pieces of duct tape over her nose and mouth, making sure it was all covered, resulting in her death. She placed Kaylee in her trunk and returned home when George and Cindy were gone, backing her car into the garage, then borrowing a shovel from her neighbor. Her intentions, according to the state, were to bury Kaylee in the backyard with the family pets. But the job was too difficult and the ground was too hard. So Casey wrapped Kaylee in a blanket and the canvas laundry bag from their home, placed that in a plastic bag, and dumped Kaylee in the swampy woods around the corner from their home. Then she spent the next 3:31 days living her Bella vita. She went shopping. She spent time with her friends. She moved in with her boyfriend and his roommates, frequenting nightclubs, and even entered a hot body contest. She's seen on video all over town, shopping and partying, living the life she chose Prosecutors argue that Kaylee Anthony died before her third birthday because her mother decided that the life that she wanted was more important than Kaylee's. With the prosecution's case complete, it was the defense's turn. But how do you defend someone the media has already labeled the most hated woman in America? Long before the jury was seated, defense attorney Jose Baez stood before cameras insisting his client was innocent. And when he stood to address the jury at trial, his explosive opening statements turned this entire case upside down. The defense acknowledged the lies, but instead of denying them, they turned them into part of the defense. They argued Casey Anthony was not the villain of the story, she was a product of it. Then came the allegation no one saw coming. According to the defense, the real darkness in this case didn't begin with Casey. It began inside the Anthony home. It had involved her father, George Anthony. The claim ignited a media firestorm, and when the jury returned with its verdict, the courtroom and the nation were left stunned. 13 13th juror is an Audio Chuck production hosted by Brandi Churchwell. Ashley Flowers is executive producer. You can follow 13th Juror on Instagram. 13th Juror podcast I think Chuck would approve.
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Ingrezza Patient
My uncontrollable movements called TD tardive dyskinesia felt embarrassing. I felt like disconnecting. I asked my doctor about treating my TD and learned about in Valbenazine capsules, a prescription medicine clinically proven for reducing TD in adults. That's always one capsule once daily and number one prescribed. People taking Ingrezza can stay on most
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Ingrezza Medication Information
mental health meds in cause depression, suicidal thoughts or actions in patients with Huntington's disease. Call your doctor if you become depressed, have sudden behavior or mood changes or suicidal thoughts. Don't take Ingrezza if allergic. Serious side effects may include allergic reactions like sudden, potentially fatal swelling in hives, sleepiness, the most common side effect and heart rhythm problems. Know how in grezza affects you. Before operating a car or dangerous machinery, report fever, stiff muscles or problems, thinking as these might be life threatening. Shaking, stiffness, drooling and trouble with moving or balance may occur.
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Ingrezza Patient
Take control by asking your doctor about Ingrezza.
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Ingrezza Medication Information
Learn more@ingrezza.com that's ing R E Z Z A.com
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