What Are Caylee's Grandparents Hiding?

What Are Caylee's Grandparents Hiding?

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Cindy and George Anthony's credibility could be called into question.

If you knew your child was a murderer, wouldn't you do anything in your power to save them from life in prison or possibly the death penalty? OK -- what if it meant misleading the media or tampering with evidence? What to most people is just a hypothetical question of morals is very real for Cindy and George Anthony, parents of Casey Anthony, the mom from Central Florida accused of killing her daughter Caylee.

Should they be charged with obstruction of justice?

From the onset of the investigation into the disappearance of their granddaughter, the Anthonys have changed their story, morphing them from angry parents who hinted at their daughter's guilt into a loving mother and father who desperately defended her. Questions of their involvement in the disappearance became more numerous when their house was searched -- and investigators hauled off massive amounts of evidence -- after the remains of what's thought to be Caylee were found less than a quarter mile from their home.

To date, the Anthonys are not suspects in the case. Cindy, George and Casey's brother Lee have all been fingerprinted to rule out their involvement. The Anthonys' attorney Brad Conway stressed his clients are not being investigated but added, "If they do get charged, we will be prepared to aggressively defend them."

Although Judge Jeanine Pirro doesn't believe that at this time there is enough evidence to indict the couple on obstruction of justice charges, she does believe the Anthonys have known that Caylee has been dead for some time and are now attempting to protect Casey. "I don't think that there is any question that George and Cindy Anthony are circling the wagons around their daughter Casey," she says.

Charging someone with obstruction of justice rather than an attempt to mislead can be extremely difficult, explains Pirro,. "You must prove they [George and Cindy] knew something beforehand," she says. "For now, no one can be sure how much of the truth they know because the entire Anthony family has -- up to this point -- declined to take lie detector tests."

Below is a sample of inconsistencies in the Anthonys' comments and behavior:

The Hairbrush
In July, emails obtained by WFTV-Channel 9 suggest Cindy Anthony could have knowingly given the incorrect hairbrush to investigators who wanted a strand of Caylee's hair for DNA testing. In the email written to Larry Garrison, her spokesman at the time, Cindy says, "I never lied, I just never went to the bathroom to get the hairbrush I used for Caylee."

The Pants
Allegedly, Cindy Anthony washed a pair of Casey's pants that were left in the car after the Anthonys picked up the car from the tow yard.

On the topic of the pants, Cindy's brother Rick Plesea berates his sister in an email written in late August: "You have to be a moron to destroy evidence with washing pants that smell like a dead body."

The Smell in Casey's Car
From the moment Casey's car was picked up from the tow yard, it apparently emitted a very strong smell. Investigators concluded that it was consistent with the smell of a decomposing body.

Cindy alluded to it in her second 911 call July 15:

There's something wrong. I found my daughter's car today, and it smells like there's been a dead body in the damn car.

Then while speaking to Eyewitness News in August, she changed her story:

There was a bag of pizza for like 12 days in the trunk of the car full of maggots. It stunk so bad ... you know how hot it's been.

George Anthony seemed convinced the smell in the car was a decomposing body when he spoke with investigators in July:

I've been around that stuff, I mean the law enforcement stuff. We caught people out in the woods, out in a house in a car. So I know what it smells like. It's a smell that you never ... get rid of.

Then on "Larry King Live" on December 10, he had a different explanation for the smell:

My professional opinion is I never really realized how long it would take garbage to smell for 19 days or 18 days inside of a car in Florida.

The Pictures of Casey Partying
The images of Casey partying at Club Fusion showed the young mother drinking and dancing allegedly during the same time frame that Casey told investigators she was searching for her daughter.

During Cindy's appearance on the "Today" show in October, she said the pictures were not relevant to the case:

Most of the pictures happened before June 16th.

On "Larry King Live" in December, Cindy told Larry King the pictures we used for promotion for Club Fusion:

Those are photos that they used to entice other people to come into that club. She would have gotten paid for that photo. So, in fact, she was working.

What do you think? Do you believe George and Cindy could be indicted for obstruction of justice or are they just spinning the media?


Caylee Sighting?	Caylee and Casey Anthony Photos

114 comments so far | Post a comment now >>

I think law enforcement can’t even think about obstruction charges until they get a conviction against Casey. They might be able to go after them for tampering with evidence and lying to police, but not obstruction without a conviction. It’s Casey they want, not the grandparents. I don’t think they’ll be sending them any sympathy cards any time soon, however. There’s bad blood there, which the Anthonys have more than earned. Their behavior has been contemptible and transcended normal, reasonable behavior by entering the criminal realm. Their lives are destroyed; law enforcement will deem that justice enough.

- Marcie

Posted 12/17/08 11:50 AM

Marcie, I agree with you on this, but I also feel as well that these 2 people have endured more than any 2 people should have to go through. This is one of the biggest news stories in history for missing children, their lives have been shattered beyond belief. I do not in any way condone how Cindy has behaved throughout all of this. I wish the death penalty was put back on the table and I would love to see Casey pay for what she did to her baby. Especially if their is Duct tape around her skull.

- April

Posted 12/17/08 12:17 PM

I believe that they should be charged…but only after Casey is convicted. There are two messages that need to be sent to the public: 1.) You don’t destroy potential evidence, and 2.) You don’t intentionally provide misleading information via the media in hopes of planting doubt in potential jurors minds. Should they be found guilty I think they should be sentenced to community service….and forced to go out and actually LOOK for missing persons.

- madee223

Posted 12/17/08 12:27 PM

I am tired of the sympathy angle for Cindy & “whateveryousay” George. These people knowingly conspired to deflect all away from Casey to try and get her off. They knew early on thtat Caylee was deceased and Casey probably the culprit, yet they decided to lie, contradict previous interviews and take the “show” on the road. They have been a disgrace to parents & grandparents everywhere that raise their kids to tell the truth. Now they want total immunity but still want to say the babysitter did it! So they want to come clean but their first move is to tell another bs story. The only way these two can be trusted now, is to hook them up to a lie detector. First Question, do you really believe the babysitter did it? They will fail and then they should be charged. Real Parents that care and have a child in prison, go visit him/her everyday to comfort them and profess their unconditional love no matter what NOT tell bs after bs and go on interview tours. Also - This full immunity request could be indicating that they may have lied or hid evidence more than we know. The Anthonys are a sick lot.

- MrRealist

Posted 12/17/08 12:33 PM

Parents who stand erect to protect their murdering children should be charged along side that child. They need to see that their actions hinders law enforcement’s right to seek evidence and bring a case against that child. Tampering with evidence such as washing a pair of pants that smells like a decomposing body is criminal and should be grounds for prosecution to the fullest extent of the law. I don’t care that Cindy was trying to protect her child — she tampered with evidence and should go to jail. Cindy is a professional (she’s a nurse) and knows what decomposing flesh smells like that is why she stated that the care smelled like there was a dead body in it. She washed those pants with full knowledge and therefore jail is the place for her. Furthermore, Cindy knowingly and willingly gave authorities the wrong hairbrush and admitted it. What more can the public want to know about this woman? Both she and George made conflicting statements to authorities. In other words, they down right lied to the police. This is hindering with prosecution! Yes, slap the cuffs on them. It would probably get Casey to start singing like a bird about what she did to Caylee. Although I would doubt it Casey’s so self-centered she’d probably say her parents made her kill Caylee.

- Nellie

Posted 12/17/08 12:58 PM

Great article! I think they should be charged once Casey’s trial is over. Much like civil charges have to wait until criminal charges are done…I think that might be the case with this. By the way, I really like your journalistic style. That’s the style I’m going for in a section of my blog once it’s redesigned (currently ongoing). Perhaps you’d like to guest post sometime. Thanks for the read - it’s nice to see others who feel the same about this criminal case. I am just so annoyed by those folks who still think Casey didn’t do it…and over course most of them are NOT moms. Only a mom would know that her taped “fake” crying and calls for “that girl” to be found are not the words and actions of a mother who loves her child.

- Diane

Posted 12/17/08 12:59 PM

Casey is a brilliant strategist. She outfoxed investigators on Day One by leading them on the famous “Wild Goose Chase” to Universal Studios. We now realize that this led investigators as far away as possible from where Caylee’s body was dumped. More astounding was Casey’s steadyhanded composure at Universal, which is a good predictor of how she still will continue to act and explain her way out of first degree murder. Her one slip-up may be the duct tape on Caylee’s body. Not only might it have her fingerprints or teeth marks left when she tore it off the roll and tied it around Caylee’s head, but it may have Caylee’s hair still attached. If any of the strands of hair do NOT have the “black band” of decomposition, then they were torn out of the scalp while Caylee was still alive and struggling for her life in the final seconds before her death.

- SquirrelFinders

Posted 12/17/08 01:17 PM

For six months we have been lead down a primrose path by the enabling parents of Casey Anthony. They are partly responsible for the kind of self-centered person she turned out to be. I am sure murder of her child is at the end of a string of MANY other incidents in her life. Her parents should be charged with obstruction of justice whether Casey is convicted or not. If they had been honest it might not have taken so long to find Caylee’s body. If giving false information to the police is not obstruction of justice, what is?

- Jane

Posted 12/17/08 01:25 PM

Yes!!! I do

- Brandy

Posted 12/17/08 01:43 PM

It is so heart wrenching that that little girl was allowed to be placed in such a manner that animals have been chewing on her bones- like road kill. But then again Casey did not strick me as much of a hole digger unless it is by her own lies. As for the grandparents it looks like it is all about reasonable doubt. And to bring in all these extra experts to Casey’s legal team are they free???

- Michaela

Posted 12/17/08 01:53 PM

The Grandparents are in the middle of something so tragic!!! And Casey is their daughter.. Cindy has been very emotional through out.. Your mind can make you beleive things that normally you wouldn’t And with a daughter that has done nothing but lie…It has to be hard..

- Lisa

Posted 12/17/08 02:11 PM

SquirrelFinders said: ‘Casey is a brilliant strategist. She outfoxed investigators on Day One by leading them on the famous “Wild Goose Chase” to Universal Studios.’ I think you are way off SquirrelFinders. There is nothing brilliant about Casey or her story. She had a full month to think up a good lie and investigators were able to unravel her lies in a single day. Her wild goose chase to Universal did nothing at all other than pull investigators out of the area for a few hours. If she had an ounce of intelligence she would have simply told her parents that she gave the child up for private adoption or something along those lines. THAT would have been brilliant. Instead she comes up with a lie that everyone in the world can see right through and her whole story falls apart with a single day worth of investigation. Most children could pull off a better lie than Casey has managed. She’s not brilliant at all. She’s not some sophisticated criminal. She’s more like an immature adolescent who put no thought into her story at all because she didn’t have the foresight to see what would happen. She’s an idiot. And if you are in any way impressed by her I’d suggest you need to raise your standards a bit.

- Duh

Posted 12/17/08 02:12 PM

If George and Cindy Anthony are in fact requesting full immunity, then clearly there is something incriminating that they did or said that they want protection from. I don’t know if they should get immunity or not, but if they do, they should be hooked up to a Polygraph every time they speak or answer a question. They may want immunity, but it is going to be difficult for them to change from cover-up mode to telling the truth about their involvement.

- Kitty

Posted 12/17/08 02:12 PM

First they should be indicted for incompetence as parents for raising, then excusing the unbelievable narcissism, irresponsibility, lying, thieving, and criminal behavior of their daughter. It is clear they’ve always excused and protected her behavior or she wouldn’t have continued to behave the way she does. Then they should be indicted for terminal stupidity, combined with being accessories after the fact. Then why not throw in obstruction of justice. Isn’t George a former police officer? Now we know why “former”.

- Mike

Posted 12/17/08 02:54 PM

I think what George and Cindy Anthony are guilty of is a bad case of denial. I don’t think they should be charged with anything.

- Tamera

Posted 12/17/08 03:00 PM

I, for one, do not think George and Cindy knew Caylee was dead. They may have made some mistakes, but who knows how one would act in a similar situation? They have a pathological liar and a sociopath for a daughter…and these people can manipulate you and make you feel very guilty for disbelieving them. Early on George and Cindy are the ones who reported Caylee missing, and they actually tried to hold Casey accountable during phone calls at which Casey tries to turn it back on them and make them feel guilty. I have experienced this all too well with an ex-husband. George and Cindy are only guilty of believing their daughter and being manipulated by her. They may end up just like Scott Peterson’s parents…fully believing in their child till the end because the child, being a sociopath, will never confess. I feel sorry for Cindy and George…I hope they can get some closure, but no matter what, their lives will never be the same.

- Donna

Posted 12/17/08 03:49 PM

Mike blamed Casey’s parents for her ways. What Mike doesn’t understand is that you can try all you want to make a sociopath behave or be accountable, but it just doesn’t happen, at least not easily. Casey’s parents don’t need a guilt trip.

- Donna

Posted 12/17/08 03:52 PM

Yes Cindy and George want full immunity. Which I dont think the state should grant them.Yes it is there daughter but you can love and support your daughter without aiding in her crime.Whether it is lieing to police or tampering with evidence. If you do the crime you need to pay for it period.Grieving or not.What about Caylee and the justice she deserves.Are you just suppose to sell her down the river so you can clear your daughter.I think not!Its sad for me to say but is this full immunity agreement they want to save their arse or is it because they know if they are charged and conficted of it they wont be able to make a penny off the story when they sell it.Just a thought.

- Dawn

Posted 12/17/08 05:46 PM

Duh, you don’t think Casey is brilliant?? You ain’t seen nuttin’ yet! First, she successfully led investigators away from the body. Then she got her own attorney — free. Then she got out of jail — twice — free. Then she got her whole family to mount the largest reasonable doubt campaign in history — free. And now she’s got a million dollar DREAM TEAM for her defense — free! She’s not only brilliant. She’s got poise, confidence, and sway. She’s likely to have many suitors while in jail, and I don’t think Caylee’s death marks the end of the Anthony maternal line. You’ll see.

- SquirrelFinders

Posted 12/17/08 09:29 PM

It appears to me cindy anthony is indeed responsibile for the way her daughter casey turned out to be if infact casey was born a normal child. All of us are the result of the environment in which we grew. Who knows maybe casey is covering for cindy??? How much do we really know????? Fact is most if not all of us only know what we have heard from the media. In order to understand casey one must know about her upbringing. It’s apparent this marriage to george is not cindy’s first and george is not casey’s father. Maybe cindy needs a psychiatric evaluation. I would hope the FBI checked into all this as it would seem proper to do so. However now-a-days the law is just as corrupt as the criminals they are suppose to pursue!!! It saddens me terribly everytime I hear that baby sing, to know that she trusted and loved that family -the very family who is responsibile for what happened to her in one way or another!!! Think about it—- caylee lived with george and cindy and for them not to have seen her for a month before looking into where she was????? please even that stinks of suspicion. My grandchildren live with me and it is simply NO WAY they would take leave for a month without me talking to them at least!!!! ->let alone knowing where they were!!!!!!! I do not hold george responsibile but cindy MOST DIFFINITELY! AND CASEY YES!!!!! BOTH SHOULD PAY BUT NOTHING THAT IS DONE WILL BRING THAT LITTLE ANGEL BACK. Jail now-a-days is nothing more then an enclosed country club!!! Death is too good and easy for anyone who commits such an atrocity. what is needed is an old jail cell that they both can live out the rest of their days in on bread and water. Their own minds will haunt them to their dying days. we reap what we sow call it karma cause and effect whatever term you choose it’s all the same and it is a universal fact know by many names. At least now no one can hurt that baby no more. This is shattering to me as I know it is for so so so many others. Hopefully people will learn from this so it doesn’t happen within their own families. BB, Debi

- Debi

Posted 12/17/08 09:41 PM