ORLANDO, Fla. -- It has been almost three years since I sat down at the computer and typed my first article on Casey Anthony and her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. At that time, the case did not stand out a lot. Kids go missing every day and I've certainly covered my fair share. It's never an easy task, but by no means an uncommon event. Little did I know I was about to be sucked into something much bigger -- something that would hover over my life like a dark cloud for years to come.
The disappearance of Caylee Anthony shifted within the first few days from a missing child case to a possible case of child murder. A web of lies was uncovered and it became painfully obvious that her mother knew more -- much more -- than she was willing to tell. The case was coming together like a great novel -- a mind-bending work of art, yet it wasn't fiction and was all too true.
The characters connected to the case and those who were drawn in were like no others. There were crackpot psychics, celebrity bounty hunters, tabloid journalists -- everyone, it seemed, wanted a piece of the Anthony family pie.
In September 2008, I spoke with Tim Miller, founder and director of Texas EquuSearch. Miller and I had worked together in the past. I had covered cases he worked on and had volunteered in missing person searches. I was with Miller when I saw my first body -- that of a missing person who had been dead for several days. That first experience was one I never forgot. Miller told me that he and his team had just arrived in Orlando and were having a difficult time getting volunteers.
On September 3, 2008, roughly fifty thousand people visited Walt Disney World, while all of twelve showed at the EquuSearch command center to search for Caylee. I ran an article pointing that out; the next day hundreds of volunteers showed up and the Discovery Channel flew me to Florida.
Hurricane Ike was on the horizon when I arrived in Orlando. There was a dark cloud on the horizon that seemed to portend things even more ominous than the hurricane itself.
I was the only reporter Miller gave behind-the-scenes access to and allowed in the command center. He showed me the maps where searches were being conducted and where they were preparing to go next. They had the search area broken down into a 30-mile grid. They were literally looking for a needle in a haystack.
I went on more searches than I can remember. The searches ran from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. My day, however, would begin again when I went back to the hotel because then I had to cover the case. I typically made it to bed by 3 or 4 a.m. After a day or two of that I felt like a zombie. And so it went for days on end.
I learned right away not to stray too far when searching in the Florida swamps.
I'll never forget one particular incident when I fell behind to get a group photo of the searchers I was with. I was about 100 feet or so away and was standing in about a foot of water, adjusting my lenses for that perfect shot, when I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. When I looked over I saw I was not the only thing in the water and was eye to eye with a curious gator. I froze for what seemed like an eternity and then slowly stepped away. He or she, whatever the case might have been, let me pass. It was, perhaps, as perplexed by my presence as I was by its. Either way, the incident was forever burned into my mind and I never fell back again.
As the searches heated up so did the presence of protesters outside the Anthony family home. They would chant "baby killer, baby killer," over and over again. It was not uncommon for fights to break out and it was while covering the protest that I had my first run-in with Casey Anthony's father, George Anthony. I was standing on the edge of his yard when he ran up and told me to get my foot "the f--k off his land." I figured that was probably a bad time to request an interview, so I backed off.
On September 7, 2008, the search for Caylee was temporarily suspended. High waters had left many of the areas unsearchable and unsafe. Hurricane Ike was coming ashore as I flew out. The turbulence was unreal and it was the worst plane ride of my life. I literally felt like kissing the ground when it landed.
During the first week of November 2008, I returned to Orlando again and met with Miller as he and his group prepared to search for Anthony. I was again given behind-the-scenes access. Search two was much bigger than the first and between 2,000 and 4,000 people came from all over the U.S. and abroad to volunteer.
I met several memorable people during search two. There was Larry, a 40-something-year-old man who had terminal cancer and was told by doctors he had less than a month to live. Despite his condition, Larry volunteered at the sign-in tent.
Another person I met was Jesse Matthews, a mentally challenged young man, who was eager to assist by handing out water and doing a variety of jobs around the command center.
Another wonderful person was Kristen Stephens. Her daughter, 16-year-old Staci Stephens, had died three years earlier from viral myocarditis. Kristen spent a lot of time volunteering at the command center and used her own personal tragedy to help many of the volunteers.
There were others -- countless others who came out to search for Caylee. All of them devoted precious time from their lives to help search for a missing little girl that they never even met.
A little-known fact is that, during search two, Cindy Anthony came to the Holiday Inn hotel at which Texas EquuSearch and I were staying near the Orlando International Airport. Anthony sat down in a room with us and cried as Miller discussed losing his own daughter, Laura Miller. She was abducted and murdered in 1984. Her killer has never been identified. Tim Miller played a song that had been written about Laura and Cindy sat in tears as they listened to the lyrics.
After the meeting, Cindy Anthony approached me. I was somewhat surprised that she knew who I was and, in that moment, Cindy Anthony reached out and embraced me. Afterwards, we spoke and I was left with the impression that she was trying to hang onto any shred of hope that she could find.
A day or two later, on November 9, 2008, the search for Caylee was suspended. I sat down with Miller just prior to his announcement. He told me he felt he had done all he could and did not believe Caylee would ever be found. "There is only one person who can bring this to an end and she's not talking," he said.
From Orlando, I traveled with Miller and his group to North Carolina to conduct joint searches for Kelly Currin Morris, Jennifer Rivkin, Mouy Tang and Jamie Michelle Fraley. Caylee, however, still remained on my mind.
I was sitting in my office on December 11, 2008 when I received a phone call from Mandy Albritton, a close personal friend who was working as a spokesperson for Texas EquuSearch. She told me that a child's skeletal remains had been found down the street from the Anthony family home. The news was a shock. Ten minutes later it was all over the television. They were not saying it was Caylee, but everyone knew it was. She was found. She was finally found.
It was not until later that day that I realized the location where Caylee's remains were found was within a couple hundred feet of a location I had gone into with EquuSearch during search one. I remember the area was under water. She was there and we never even knew it. That is something that still bothers me. I was later deposed regarding this and was placed on the witness list. Apparently Anthony's attorney planned to somehow use the information but, as it turned out, I was never called to testify.
I chose not to attend Caylee's public memorial in Orlando. I was afraid I would later regret the decision, but as of yet I don't. I've never been much for public displays and prefer to deal with things in my own way. I did, however, return to Orlando on my own dime a few months later to pay my respects at the scene where Caylee was found.
The long limbo between Caylee's remains being found and the start of Anthony's trial dragged on forever. When the trial finally began in May, I came out for the first week to cover it for The Huffington Post.
When Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, brought up the drowning theory during opening arguments, I knew it was all over. He pulled the rug right out from under the prosecution and they were unable to get back the momentum they surely would have otherwise had.
I was in Orlando again this week for sentencing. While I did not expect Anthony to be convicted of first-degree murder, I was surprised she was only found guilty of four misdemeanors. I was, of course, not alone.
The nation was angry and I was there on the courthouse steps when an angry public stormed up to the front doors chanting, "Justice for Caylee." I was also there today when an angry group of protesters stood outside shouting as Anthony learned she would be freed in less than a week.
When I came to search for Caylee in 2008 -- yes, I, too, searched; I didn't merely report -- there was that dark cloud on the horizon from Hurricane Ike. Today, as I sit in an Orlando hotel writing this, there is -- once again -- a black cloud on the horizon.
Will Caylee ever get justice? I doubt it. I think whatever happened to her will forever remain a mystery. I never knew Caylee. I never met her and, as a journalist I tried not to become emotionally attached. I am, however, human. I have a heart and a mind and both still ache for that little girl.
|
browneyes4306 said on 8 Friday 2011 am31 8:09 am: Dear David, I am from your home town and I remember you as a young kid and I remember your Dad who was always such an awesome man and I do know who your Mom is too. Your Dad would be so proud of the work you do now, of course anything you have done your Dad would be proud of, but you go above and beyond when you are working on one of your cases. I can imagine how this one must of been so hard for you, and to know that Caylee was so close that time when you were helping search for her. I think that with all the work that you did to help this precious child who will forever be lost to the world shows how much you care about your articles as well as human beings. You keep on doing what you do best and that cannot be an easy job you have chosen, but you are a true professional. I will introduce myself when I see you in town one day to let you know who I am, but know that you are highly respected for your work. When I think of your Dad I smile because he was an honest hard working man and he raised a son just like him. So have no regrets and keep on doing what you do. Thank you!!! |
Post a Comment
Michael Popek: The Weirdest Objects Found Inside Books (PHOTOS)
The State Attorney's Office wants Anthony to pay for its prosecution and investigative costs and intends to address the matter at a hearing Aug. 25.
Who could ever have predicted the outcome and eventual freeing of Casey Anthony?
You have actually helped me get through this horrible ordeal of the senseless discarding of a human being. A child who was beloved by many. Many who never met her.
One thing I can see in the pensive picture of her with her little hands up is a child who has seen and suffered a lot. She was a blessed child. Your days don't have to be long, but let them count.
If anybody can write and bring forth something to be learned and remembered from this tragedy, it is you. I will buy your book.
Casey Anthony writing a book? Someone must have a real sense of humor. Why on earth would anybody buy it except if they have nothing else to throw their money away on? But, read it? No way.
Thank you for your caring, your genuine heartfelt love for this child. Caylee touched a lot of souls in the short time she was here.
Thank you so much for yet another of your wonderfully respectful articles. You never cease to amaze me with your compassion!!
Keep up the great work!! It's so much appreciated!!
I, too, ache for the little Caylee we've never met. May she rest in angels' arms!!
It's so very sad that she's loved more in death than she ever was in life.
as the corrupt means to prevent Casey Anthony from being deposed in the civil case with Zenia.
I wonder what was going through her mind when she decided that Caley was a burden, Did she really make chloroform and thought Caley would take a little nap? I guess nobody will ever learn the truth. Casey will have to live with it all by herself.sooner or later Casey will be confronted, she will never be able to hide from this.
under the pressure, guilt, and madness of a retrial, one of those anthony's would have broke.
Also, I disagree; I don't think a retrial could jar the clearly-disturbed members of that family.
"the jury should have declared a hung jury.
under the pressure, guilt, and madness of a retrial, one of those anthony's would have broke."
******
interesting insight.......I agree.
My friend’s brother was in his early 40’s 2 years ago and passed away in a hotel room. He did have medical conditions that could eventually cause death. Even with a fresh intact body no cause of death was established.
I can understand the jury not wishing to convict on first degree murder when there isn’t enough evidence. For the jury then to consider that it was an accidental drowning, the actions of the mother after the “accidental drowning” were consistent only with her feeling free of her burden of raising the child. Therefore you need to examine the circumstantial evidence which in my mind leads to a conclusion that a lesser conviction on a manslaughter charge should have been the only reasonable choice.
I have read some of your comments and believe that you are sincere in finding out what happened to little Caylee, and as your column Portends we may never know....I have sent many E=mails to many of the talking Heads in this Case, and not a person yet has ask for and investigation of the Orange County Sheriffs Offices for derelection of Duty...They received several calls (three from Roy Kronk in August) that Caylee's remains maybe in the Woods off of Suburabn Rd..If they had not ""RUSH TO JUDGEMENT" and were convinced that they had there """So Called MAN"" If the Sheriff's Office had Placed a High Priority in following up on those Phone calls they would have had some Pretty fresh evedince to work with , and then we may know what really happened...But I will bet that no one will ever get the Sheriffs Office to Change there procedures, because to this moment they think Casey was responsible,So the Sheriff's Office will continue on with there frame of mind and the Case is over But if someone was to do some investigation of where the cracks are in there procedures...I hope no more Caylee's will have to depend on them to seek Justice for this Little Baby...God has this Child now and she is Safe from the Anthony's....BZ
ABSURD!!!
What the hell was wrong with this jury..? They showed no common sense whatsoever.....
Being sequestered, listening to the constant testimony - for well over a month - had to be mind boggling........
but not so NUMB - that Casey Anthony does not get convicted.
The victim always gets lost in the process. But the fact that her own mother was party to the child's demise - and concealing the child's death............should have meant something to the jury.
Little Caylee died in vain = through her own mother's vanity - and lack of courage to tell the truth.
""Proper Verdict" and get Justice TO prevail for that child!
I agree, the Jury was incompetent!! I do not think that they utilized any of the evidence for a verdict, they obviously did NOT follow the Judge's instructions and personally, I do not think they were the brightest lights on the tree!!!
This is a singular travesty and I am sure it happens many more time than we care to know, and in other cultures than the well to do whitebread culture of America.....
Someone connected to this situation, PLEASE FILE A WRONGFUL DEATH CIVIL SUIT AGAINST CASEY ANTHONY.
It will at least say something.