Casey Anthony's Video, August 14

In his recent set of motions to the court on January 8, Jose Baez petitioned the court for the video records of Cindy and George Anthony's visit with their daughter on August 14, 2008.

According to the prosecution attorney, Linda Drane-Burdick, the fact that the defense had not received the video was an apparent oversight. I can't help but wonder if the prosecution was doing a favor for the defense here!

Yesterday, this video was made public. Bloggers and posters on various message boards, as well as me, are wondering if Baez opened a Pandora's Box with this video. It does not show his client in a very favorable light. It shows Casey at her narcissistic best. She uses personal pronouns referring to herself about 378 times (yes, I counted), mentions her daughter's name 5 times, and refers to Caylee as "she" exactly 4 times. In the meantime, she shows a nasty temper and her great ability to manipulate her gullible parents numerous times.

I think a person working on a doctoral degree in abnormal psychology would have a field day with this video. I am just going to point out a few of the things that struck me the most.

As the video begins, Cindy Anthony is crying. George has the phone and greets her cheerfully as is his way. Casey greets him back with a hint of laughter in her voice. Casey then immediately asks,

Why is she crying already?

Doesn't Casey understand that her mother is exhausted and grieving for Caylee?

George mentions that it's because they miss her and Casey echoes his words. There is no other mention of her mother and the discussion moves on to the butterfly T-shirts her parents are wearing. Casey says she likes them and the conversation continues.

George hands the phone over to Cindy who is still crying and Casey gives her eyes a poke with her finger and says that "she" didn't last long. To the news that reports say Caylee may have drowned in the pool, Casey answers, Surprise, surprise! with a little giggle in her voice.

When Cindy mentions all the bad materials that have been published, Casey brags that she hasn't received any such information.

They discuss the "secret" meeting with George Anthony. Casey mentions that she has discussed with whom she shold have this meeting with Jose Baez and that she has decided it should be her father. George is thrilled with this. He goes so far as to thank her more than once. He also tells her that she should not go through her lawyer to request the meeting. Casey rejects speaking to Lee, since he will do nothing but ask her questions, and her mother, who will dominate the conversation. She chooses the one who she has been the most "distanced" from. She chooses the one who calls her "beautiful" and is not exactly the one in control of the family!

The very same day, Casey wrote this note to Sheriff Beary

Sir,

I ask your help at this time. If there is any way that I can have a meeting set-up with my father (George Anthony) I would in every way appreciate it. I know it is an unusual request, but it is important nonetheless.
I was told that you could help me in this manner. I truly hope that it can be done, and without causing any trouble.

Thank you so much for all of the help you have offered to my family, and to helping find my daughter.

Sincerely,
Casey Anthony

We later learn that such a meeting was arranged for that same evening. According to the police reports released on November 26, that George Anthony was brought to the jail and waited from 7:30 PM until about 9 PM to meet with Casey. At the time, Casey was meeting with attorney Adam Gabriel. Sergeant Allen had made it clear that the meeting was entirely Casey's decision. She could meet with her father alone or with her attorney. In the end, Casey rejected her father's visit.

Whether or not Casey was affected by her attorney's opinion, I have to wonder why she had spoken to Jose Baez about such a meeting and why the attorney with her at the time talked her out of it.

The rest of the video goes on and on and on. Casey whines to her parents constantly about her problems, seemingly glossing over their situation. She also loads her parents with a guilt trip for not getting her out of jail by mentioning that they had an opportunity (what, with the reward money?) to get her out. Mind you all, Leonard Padilla says that this was the very day Casey was informed that he would be bailing her out.

Thank you to Greta Van Susteren for the following quotes from Casey (with my personal, perhaps sarcastic comments).

I am upset now. The media is going to have a freaking field day with this. I wasn't even supposed to take this.

Since Baez was in New York at the time, one has to wonder whether that boat trip with Geraldo was worth it!

My entire life has been taken from me. Everything has been taken from me. You don't understand. Everybody wants me to have answers. I do not have any answers because I do not know what is going on.

However, she did know what did happen back in June! In addition, she's apparently viewed an episode of Nancy Grace and doesn't like what she's hearing there!

That is why I have not been calling, why I have not been taking calls, because I am trying to make sure that I am not going to give anybody else anything else to throw against me. But even with me giving them nothing, they are still doing it.

Casey, Casey. Anything you had to say pales in comparison to what was found of your daughter a short, convenient, distance from your own house.

I have been here a month, out of contact with everybody except you guys on a rare occasion that I get to see you, and my attorney. Do you understand? What am I supposed to learn from that? What am I supposed to learn, the first week and a half?

Perhaps you could learn what happens when you kill your little girl?

There is nothing more that I can say or do until I'm home, and even then, I do not know what I can do from that point. But I can least do something other than sit on my butt on day and read or look up stuff for my case, because that has to be my focus right now.

Casey did get home. We know from Leonard Padilla and Tim Miller how useful she was to her case. She also says here that she can only focus on her case right now. She was only charged with negligent child abuse at the time. Perhaps she already knew exactly what charges would be coming. I doubt she was referencing check forgery!

I do not have access to the Internet. I can't make phone calls. I can't go anywhere.

That was Casey's whole life before being arrested. In her whole 31 days of Caylee being "missing," she had all of those. It didn't work then, and it certainly didn't work whenever she was out on bond.

I am going to just walk away right now, because I am frustrated and I'm angry, and I don't want to be angry. This is the first time I have truly been angry this entire time.

Is anyone out there buying this?

But I'm so beyond frustrated with all of this that I can't even swallow right now. It hurts.

What does really hurt, Casey?

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