You might wonder what Casey Anthony is thinking so many years after the murder trial that turned her into the most infamous mom in America.
Anthony wants you to know she doesn’t care.
“I don’t give a shit about what anyone thinks about me, I never will,” the 30-year-old told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview.
Anthony’s comments come five-and-a-half years after she was found not guilty in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.
The child’s remains were found near their Orlando home in December 2008, about six months after she was last seen. Anthony initially told police that a fictitious babysitter had kidnapped the child. But during her trial for murder, the defense team admitted that she’d lied and claimed that Caylee had drowned in the family’s pool.
Anthony was acquitted of murder on July 5, 2011, but convicted of lying to authorities, for which she was given a four-year prison sentence. Credited for time served, she was freed not long after her trial.
Casey Anthony Trial: Anger At The Courthouse
Nancy Grace, the former HLN anchor who regularly referred to Anthony as “the most hated” mom in America, notoriously responded to the verdict by declaring, “Somewhere out there tonight, the devil is dancing.”
Former Orange County Judge Belvin Perry, who presided over Anthony’s trial, suggested last week that Caylee was overdosed with chloroform.
“There was a possibility that she may have utilized that to keep the baby quiet ... and just used too much of it, and the baby died,” Perry told the Orlando Sentinel. If the jury had come to the same conclusion, he suggested, Anthony could have been found guilty of second-degree murder or manslaughter.
Anthony, who still lives in Florida and reportedly works for a private investigator, received death threats after her release. She remains the subject of multiple social media groups made up of people angry about her acquittal, and she still garners media attention whenever she is spotted in public.
She blames the attention she receives on the way she was portrayed by the media.
“The queen is proclaiming: ‘No, no, sentence first, verdict afterward,’” said Anthony, who AP reported views herself as something of an Alice in Wonderland. “I sense and feel to this day that is a direct parallel to what I lived. My sentence was doled out long before there was a verdict. Sentence first, verdict afterward. People found me guilty long before I had my day in court.”
While AP described its newly published interview with Anthony as “the first time” she has spoken with a news media outlet, she first broke her silence in June 2012, when she talked to British journalist Piers Morgan. At the time, Anthony told Morgan she hadn’t killed Caylee and expressed regrets about how she’d handled the investigation, including the lies she admittedly told police about her daughter’s whereabouts.
“I was 22. I was scared and confused with life in general, not having a direction. ... I’m ashamed in many ways of the person that I was,” she told Morgan by phone.
Casey Anthony Trial Photos
In speaking with AP, Anthony didn’t provide any major revelations about Caylee’s death. Pressed for answers, she simply said she’s “still not certain” what happened.
Anthony also made it clear that she doesn’t spend too much time dwelling on her past decisions.
“I sleep pretty good at night,” she said.
David Lohr covers crime and missing persons. Tips? Feedback? Send an email or follow him on Twitter.
CHECK OUT THESE RELATED STORIES:
Related
Before You Go
