Parent's Worst Nightmare: Your Kid's a Murderer

Parent's Worst Nightmare: Your Kid's a Murderer

Thursday, October 16, 2008

filed under: Casey Anthony

If your child was charged with murder could you testify against her?

On Tuesday, a grand jury returned a seven count indictment against Casey Anthony, including first degree murder charges in the disappearance of her daughter, Caylee.

And now there is another victim in the tragedy. George Anthony, grandfather of Caylee, who did today what his lawyer Mark Nejame said is the "unthinkable" -- he was forced to testify against his own daughter. "This is going to be very hard for me to do," said an emotional Anthony yesterday outside the courthouse, "I love my daughter, I love my wife, I love my son." The grand jury subpoenaed Anthony after returning the indictment against his daughter.

Can any parent imagine the pain of possibly being instrumental in sending their own child off to life in prison or possibly execution? Or the humiliation of having a child capable of murder? Murder has got to be the ultimate parental failure. Most parents of convicted murderers will steadfastly defend their children's innocence for the rest of their lives. Still others will dismiss the child as "bad seed" and disown them, thus exonerating themselves from any responsibility.

"Every parent thinks their child is a reflection of them," says momlogic's licensed marriage and family therapist Shannon Fox, "and the fact is, parents are the number one influence in a child's life, so if their child murders they definitely have something to do with it." "There are almost always signs of a deeply troubled youth or child," says Fox, "and most parents simply ignore the signs."

Kurt Whitaker, author of "Murder by Family," certainly ignored the clues. In 2003 Whitaker's son Bart was convicted of murder for arranging to kill his mother and brother in what was named in the press as the Sugarland Conspiracy. Promoting his book on "Oprah" last week, Whitaker admitted that even when local police warned him his son was overheard plotting to have his family killed, he ignored it. "I was concerned about it," say Whitaker in his book, "but just couldn't believe that it could be true."

Does George Anthony believe the unimaginable is true? He says he doesn't, but is he taking steps to convict his own daughter?

27 comments so far | Post a comment now >>

Skorian….You took the words right out of my mouth. I could not have said it any better!!! I am truly amazed at the amount of people that appear to know the Anthony’s so well and have been around them all their lives and witnessed them raising their children and also have all the inside information regarding Casey and Caylee. I as a mother of 3 and grandmother of 5, personally know first hand what it is like to be in this same situation. It is the worst nightmare of any parent and grandparent. My heart breaks everyday. I hope and pray that all the people that “know all about everything - but nothing about anything” never have to face anything like this in their lifetime. I can truthfully tell you that what a child (young or adult) does or does not do IS NOT THE PARENTS FAULT. Unless you have your child in a bubble and/or sheltered from daily living….you truly do not have complete control over them every minute of the day and night. You can only teach them right from wrong, love them and discipline them and teach them morals and ethics….but they do have a mind of their own and they use it. Let’s turn the table here and look at an opposite type of situation. Let’s look at a set of alcoholic/drug addict parents, that neglect their children, don’t show love and perhaps are abusive…it has happened many many times, where the child has been able to overcome their rearing and gone to college, become successful, loving, non-using individuals. Now tell me….did those parents have anything to do with that childs actions…no, they did not. That child had a mind of their own and acted on it. Oh, and one other thing…about the media and people in general…they NEVER get the information correct…even the slightest details are more often wrong than right. Remember playing telephone in class when you were a youngster??? A simple sentence/statement, when repeated by 25 classmates, was totally different and wrong by the time it got to the last person. I heartfully wish that the public would stop condemning Cindy and George and Lee…they are all going through #$%& right now and will for the rest of their lives. They will NEVER live a normal life again and yes they will continue to support and love Casey even if she is convicted.

- A Mom & Grandma

Posted 11/18/08 05:15 AM

CONTINUED FROM ABOVE: As far as Casey goes…leave her in the hands of the judicial system. We have no right to judge her unless we are chosen to be on her jury…in which case all the facts and evidence will be presented in truth. The victim here is Caylee…a perfect innocent little child…wherever she may be…you can be sure that God is taking very good care of her.

- A Mom & Grandma

Posted 11/18/08 05:23 AM

I think you all give George way to much credit. If you look back at all the interviews of him… he had to testify against his daughter. Even though he is a retired police officer, in the heat of the moment, as upset as he was in the beginning, he told the police an awful lot more than he wanted to by the of the hearing, only now he had to tell the truth… it was already out there. He had absolutely no option but to tell the truth. I realize the last post in this window was before they found Caylee, and I have a little more information to go on than at the time of these previous writings, but this entire family was involved in covering up, and hiding, but long before questions came up about them all knowing about where the body was and/or had been before it was finally found. The police were given false information several times. The wrong hair brush given, clothes from the car with the smell of death washed. All kinds of things. The simple truth is, when they were speaking freely in the beginning, they could not fathom their granddaughter was dead. As time passed and having experienced the police’s persistence in their belief that Casey did kill their granddaughter, they started to wake up to reality and realize. There is only one way they could prevent their daughter from getting the death penalty and that was to help her. As soon as their attitudes changed with Casey, they knew the sorted details. It was so obvious in attitude change with Casey and them. I could tell exactly when they worked it/talked it out… Through her attorney I am sure. They withdrew from being so helpful to the police. George is a retired homicide detective… if he wasn’t so personally involved, we would have a different outcome, but the fact remains, he is. If you ask me, he was pretty sneaky knowing the police would know if he was involved so instead of doing anything himself, he had to be the one to instruct Cindy to wash clothes, give the wrong brush and instruct his son what to do, say and not to do or not to say. As cold as this will sound to some of you, as everyone, including myself, believe that Casey’s trouble’s started at home, I am

- MeToo

Posted 01/03/09 12:42 AM

This family knows that Casey killed Caylee,She was stealing from them everyday.They know that she is lying to them.This woman is a Bad Seed.

- Felicia Woods

Posted 01/04/09 03:16 AM

This family is in complete denial. Their picture should be next to that word in the dictionary. However, it’s one thing to be in denial but quite another to take this denial to the level that they have. THEY KNOW.

- Linda from New York

Posted 01/22/09 09:17 PM

What did George testify to during the Grand Jury? Will that come out at the trial?

- Linda from New York

Posted 01/22/09 09:18 PM

The Antisocial Personality Disorder is characterized by a disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others. Its traits include unlawful behavior, deceitfulness, impulsivity, irritability, aggressiveness, reckless disregard for the safety of self or others, irresponsibility, and lack of remorse. A pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking is seen in the Histrionic Personality Disorder. Sexually provocative behavior, shallow expressions of emotion, self-dramatization and theatricality, suggestibility, and superficial interpersonal relationships are core features. Grandiosity, a need for admiration, and a lack of empathy distinguish the Narcisstic Personality Disorder. Individuals with this disorder believe they are “special,” have a sense of entitlement, exploit others, and manifest envy, arrogance, and haughtiness. These four personality disorders comprise what the DSM-IV refers to as “Cluster B” personality disorders. Males are much more likely to use extreme violence such as bludgeoning, beating, strangling, or torture. Women on the other hand favored poisoning or smothering their victims. Where men would normally stalk their victims, the female killer would lure her victim to their death.

- Anonymous

Posted 02/20/09 02:09 PM

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