The tragic case of Caylee Anthony
Cindy and George’s daughter had left home for over a month now.
Cindy finally found their daughter. But she couldn’t find their three-year-old granddaughter.
Cindy called 911.
Dispatcher: 911, What’s your emergency?
Cindy: I have someone here that I need to be arrested in my home. There’s a possible missing child. There’s a three year old that’s been missing for a month.
Dispatcher: A three year old?
Cindy: Yes.
Dispatcher: Have you reported that?
Cindy: I’m trying to do that now ma’am. I’d like to speak to an officer. Can you ask someone to come out to my house?
Dispatcher: Okay. We’ll have a deputy out to you as soon as one is available, okay?
Cindy: Thank you.
A few moments later….
Dispatcher: 911, What’s your emergency?
Cindy: I called a little bit ago….I found out my granddaughter has been taken.
She has been missing for a month. Her mother finally admitted that she’s been missing. And she just admitted to me that she’s been trying to find her…
Get someone here now. We’re talking about a three year old little girl. I need to find her. There’s something wrong. I found my daughter’s car today. And it smells like there’s been a dead body in the damn car.
Cindy and George Had Two Children Together
Cindy and George Anthony welcomed their first son, Lee, and then a daughter, Casey, soon after their marriage.
The family moved to Florida, USA, afterward.
Casey grew up into a wild and rebellious daughter.
Cindy and George wanted to celebrate Casey’s graduation when she was about to graduate high school. They invited people over to have a little party for Casey.
But they discovered from Casey’s school that Casey wasn’t going to graduate because she failed most of her classes.
It was a day before Casey’s graduation when Cindy and Anthony found out about that.
And Casey hadn’t told them anything.
Cindy and George’s Daughter Dropped Out Of School
Casey quit high school soon after.
She got a job at Universal Studios. Then she met Jesse Grund.
The two fell in love with each other, and they started dating. Casey soon got pregnant with her daughter.
But she wanted to give up her baby for adoption as soon as she was born so she could continue her fun lifestyle and not worry about the kid.
But Cindy and George were over the moon when they found out that their daughter was expecting.
And the grandparents were totally against the idea of Casey giving away their grandchild.
Casey Gave Birth to a Baby Girl
Casey gave birth to her first daughter, Caylee Anthony.
Jesse proposed to Casey afterward.
Casey was excited to start her own family with him. But Jesse soon discovered via DNA tests that Caylee wasn’t his child.
So he broke off the engagement.
Casey started partying a lot after her breakup. She soon found a new boyfriend whom she hung out with often.
Meanwhile, Cindy and George helped to take care of their granddaughter. They gave Caylee her own room in the house.
And they fed, bathed, and clothed her.
Casey Left Home With Caylee
Casey left home one morning after she got into an argument with her parents.
She took Caylee along with her.
Casey went to her boyfriend’s house. But Caylee wasn’t with her when she got there.
She told her boyfriend that she had left Caylee with Cindy and George.
On the other hand, Casey told Cindy and George that she had hired a nanny for Caylee. Her name was Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez.
So Casey always told her parents that Caylee was with Zenaida whenever they asked to speak to their grandchild.
Cindy and George started to worry more about their granddaughter as the days passed.
Cindy and George Found Casey’s Car Impounded
Cindy and George received a call informing them that the car they gave to Casey was impounded.
So George paid the money to get the car out and picked it up.
But George and the worker at the impound place figured out that the car gave off a pungent smell upon opening it.
The worker even told George that it smelled like a dead body.
George took the car home. Cindy also agreed that the car had an intense foul odor.
Cindy and George found a trash bag in the trunk of the car and a pizza box.
So the couple threw everything away. They cleaned the car and left all the car doors open.
Cindy and George Looked For Casey
Cindy and George searched for Casey and found out she was at her new boyfriend’s house.
So Cindy went to Casey’s boyfriend’s house and found Casey there.
Cindy also found out that Casey had been spending all her time partying and doing drugs.
Cindy had dad enough at that point.
She took Casey along with her, and she called 911. Cindy rang the authorities three times that day.
She reported Casey for stealing and abandoning her car in the first call.
Cindy then also called 911, informing the police that her granddaughter was possibly missing.
When Cindy called the police the last time, she told them that she overheard her daughter confirming that her granddaughter was missing.
The authorities arrived at Cindy and George’s house.
They interviewed Casey.
Casey claimed that her nanny, Zenaida, kidnapped Caylee. And that Caylee had been missing for a month.
The Police Found Out That Casey Lied About The Nanny
The police found out that Casey wasn’t telling the truth about Zenaida.
When the police showed Casey a picture of the real Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez, Casey couldn’t recognize her.
They also asked Casey to take them to the last place where she had handed her baby over to Zenaida.
The police visited the apartment and were told that no one lived there.
And neither Zenaida nor Casey appeared in the parking lot’s surveillance video on the day of the claimed kidnapping.
So the police figured out that Casey was lying.
The police arrested Casey. She was charged with neglect of a child, obstruction of justice, and making false statements.
The police brought in a search dog that could distinguish the scent of a dead body to smell Casey’s car.
The dog went wild when it smelled the car trunk. They found a stain on the carpet of the trunk the size of a small body.
The test results of the stain confirmed that a decomposing body caused it.
The police found Caylee’s hair in the car trunk.
Caylee’s remains were found in the woods.
Caylee’s skull had duct tape on it, and nearby was a bag that included the rest of her bones.
Casey Was Charged With Killing Her Daughter
Casey was now being charged with first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter, and aggravated child abuse.
George didn’t take Caylee’s death well.
He attempted to commit suicide at one point. And the fact that Casey was now trying to pin Caylee’s murder on him made the situation worse.
Meanwhile, Cindy was in denial. She couldn’t accept that Casey had killed Caylee.
So, she defended Casey throughout.
The Aftermath
In a shocking turn of events, Casey was found not guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter, and aggravated child abuse on July 5th, 2011.
Casey was convicted of four misdemeanor charges of giving false information to a law enforcement officer.
She was sentenced to one year in county jail and one thousand dollars in fines for each of the charges.
But Casey had already served three years at that point. So she was released from prison on July 17th, 2011.
Sources: wikipedia, Bailey Sarian