Friday, January 16, 2009

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?

Video
Documents
Van Susteren

8 comments:

Sprocket said...

Wow, ritanita! Excellent entry and great analysis.

Anonymous said...

The Bozo Brigade (Baez & company)must be really disappointed now that they got ahold of these tapes. I bet JB was PISSED when he learned KC accepted a visit from her parents when it's obvious he told her NOT to take visits or TALK to anybody. Leaves me wondering, if when asked, did KC tell Bozo that the video visit with her parents went just swell and that she told them how depressed she was on Caylee's birthday and stayed in her "room" in her "bed" with her head buried under the covers all day. Oh...and reading her bible! Is that what Bozo wanted the public to know? Did he fail to realize that there was so much more on this tape and that it really didn't go so swell afterall! It showed the true Casey in action - not the poised jail inmate we saw in court last week. I think Bozo made a BOO BOO demanding that this tape be released!
Great entry RN. Loved the bit of sarcasm you added to a wonderful synopsis of the video!
Kitty M.

ritanita said...

Thanks Sprocket and Kitty!

There is so much more that can be said. It's such a tale of a sick power struggle.

And the loser is... Sweet Caylee...

The battle goes on, even after she is dead.

katfish said...

I saw Geraldo on Fox tonight really slamming the Orlando LE because they allowed (although in the end the private meeting didn't happen)Casey to have a private visit with her Dad after Baez supposedly had told LE he didn't want that to happen.

I think that may be what George was talking about when he was telling her "she is the boss of her corporation." (When I heard that I thought wtf?) He may have been trying to tell Casey it was her call, not her lawyer's....who she talks to. I don't know they are all so squirrely, it's hard to tell, there is no doubt she and Cindy have struggled for a long time over who's the boss.

Baez on Greta trying to do damage control tonight...LOL! Change of venue...LOL...you can run but you can't hide. He and the Anthony's spent the last six months on national TV every time they turned around....most everyone knows about this case and that is noone's fault but their own, and of course Casey's.

Anonymous said...

Still "upchucking" am I the only one who doesn't believe Casey???

Kath said...

Great post girl! I think everyone knows by now just what sort of person we're dealing with. And what sort of family. I can't believe how they babied her during that visit. She would have gotten some demands from me she wouldn't have wanted to hear. And if she hung up and walked off...oh well.

Kath

shari said...

this whole conversation between casey and her parents is such a great insight into the family dynamics. The stupid "corporation" scenario where casey is the boss and everyone else "works" for her is unreal. This was the way this girl was brought up...ugh! They overlooked every bad behavior in her from the get go and look where it ended! I have never seen such "self absorption" since OJ and scott peterson. This family is so dysfunctional that it boggles everyones minds. George should have left this wife and daughter when he originally intended to when he filed for divorce. This man is so overwhelmed with these 2 women in his life that he can't even trust his own thoughts and gut feelings. what a mess!!

ritanita said...

Shari, I wonder so much about George Anthony. it seems like he kow-tows to his wife just to keep her from going off.

It's no wonder he distanced himself from his children. He had no respect from his wife who probably ruled the roost from the beginning, but continues to bring up his every fault at every occasion possible. Where would his children gain respect for him?

He's a tragedy all on his own.