Nine years after the murder case that captured the globe’s attention, when two-year-old Caylee Anthony was found dead in woods near her home, her mother Casey Anthony has spoken publicly.
Casey Anthony was found not guilty of Caylee’s murder in 2011, after a six-week trial that saw her branded “the most hated mom in America’ by HLN TV reporter Nancy Grace.
Two-year-old Caylee was missing for 31 days before her maternal grandmother reported her missing, telling police that her daughter Casey’s car smelt like a corpse had been in it.
Air samples from Casey’s car indicated the presence of human remains, and two months later Caylee’s body was found inside a garbage bag near the family home.
Casey went to trial for first-degree murder in 2011 but was found not guilty. Instead, she was sentenced to prison for lying to law enforcement.
She admitted that she had lied when she said Caylee had been taken by her babysitter and that she had told two people she was missing.
Now, in a series of interviews with The Associated Press over the course of a week, Anthony maintains she has no idea what happened to her daughter.
“I’m still not even certain as I stand here today about what happened,” she says. “The last time I saw my daughter I believed she was alive and going to be okay, and that’s what was told to me.”
Anthony now lives in South Florida with the lead investigator on her defence team, private detective Patrick McKenna, according to The Associated Press.
“Caylee would be 12 right now,” she reflects. “And would be a total badass.”
Although she’s uncomfortable constantly being recognised in the streets, Casey says she has learnt to live with it.
“I don’t give a shit about what anyone thinks about me, I never will,” she says.
“I’m ok with myself, I sleep pretty good at night.”
