Why Are We (Why Am I) So Obsessed With The Casey Anthony Case?

"Tot Mom" Casey Anthony on trial

Once in a while, a trial will come along and absolutely captivate the nation. In my lifetime, if you asked me which ones have done just that i would say BOOM- SCOTT PETERSON AND OJ SIMPSON. Now of course we have the Casey Anthony. Why are we sucked in? What makes these cases different, more infamous than others? People are on trial for murder on the daily. Is it a media frenzy? (well, of course) But I would like to share my thoughts on why i think this is. My opinions are coming from two places inside me as i write this blog, the emotional woman who is never going to accept the unanswered death of a toddler, and the girl who studied sociology and criminology in her undergrad. I  feel like if I tie these two together I can explain pretty well our obsession with Casey Anthony, and the other two trials.

When I was  junior at Umass, I enrolled in an incredibly well taught, interesting, modernized class called "Gender and Crime" (it is tied for my favorite class ever along with "Sociology of the Mob") Since it interested me so much, I did very well in the course and returned as a TA for both semesters of my senior year. So when I say things like "we're obsessed with Casey Anthony's Murder Trial because she defies gender norms" please hear me out, I was passionate about the things that I studied and what i came to know about the world from a sociological point of view and i like to think that i can be a respected voice here...espero que si....

Now, It's pretty obvious why we were enthralled with the OJ Simpson double murder trial. Before he even led the police on the (coolest) low-speed chase in the white Bronco, he was a household name, a respected athlete, an icon to some, i suppose. Race played a huge roll, it's no secret that the nation was pretty much split as far as his 'not guilty' verdict went. I watches the news as large crowds of African Americans leaped for joy when the verdict was read, I along with some of you who are reading this was in Mrs. Kelley's 4th grade class watching it on the roll-away tv as she cried right in front of us. I believe together with his race, high profile coverage and his celebrity status was cause for alot of people to sympathize with him. Let's not forget his economic status. Can most men, black or not, on trial for murder afford such high caliber attorneys ? not. a. chance. now THAT  was a defense team! (RIP Rob Kardashian, i love your family) Key factors in the OJ trial- economic status, race, and celebrity and jury selection...11/12 were either black, hispanic or native american. one white woman served on the jury. this matters. SIDE NOTE- you know Oprah Winfrey, one of the worlds most powerful women, excuse me, people- well her life long goal is to interview OJ. LIFE. LONG. GOAL. she's always been vocal about this and she believes he is guilty. Guess now her show is over she won't have that chance. oops excuse me it's because homeboy is locked up these days. do i think OJ Simpson is guilty of murdering ron goldman and nicole brown? yes i do.

The All American Couple

Scott Peterson was charged with murdering his wife Lacy and their unborn child in 2003. The reasons we were all captivated with this trial are a little more relateable to the reasons we are captivated with Casey's. Scott Peterson is the epitome of the all american boy. Handsome, successful, beautiful family and home...when we as americans think of cold blooded killers, we don't picture a man like him. The media has taught us to do this, statistics have taught us to do this, but now we have a tall, dark and handsome OUTLAW. “I am not sure what a killer looks like, but I didn’t think
he had the look. He was the All-American boy.”
—Mike Belmessieri, Juror No. 4. his sex appeal and charisma were even present during trial, he caught our attention in a different way. WHO THE HELL IS THIS GUY? RIGHT? People were mesmorized bu the images of him, lacy and his mistress Amber Frey..btw...i still want to read her book "WITNESS" . Scott Peterson, no criminal record, golf enthusiast, ASU graduate, what happened? we can't pull 'social strain theory" here, life was good. We sympathized with his TWO victims. we wanted to believe there was NO WAY he could kill his beautiful pregnant wife...which led us all to america's favorite passtime...arguing over whether this was a double murder or not, is the unborn child a murder victim as well? This California jury said yes. Justice was served in this case, Peterson sits on Death Row as we speak, guilty of  the 1st degree murder of Lacy and 2nd degree murder of Connor, the unborn child. Welcome to the dark side of the American Dream folks.

Caylee's biggest advocate

This is when i began watching Nancy Grace. Grace is the most powerful liaison between us, the public, and the Casey Anthony Trial, and has been since july 2008. I have mad respect for her. She is so smart, fearless, opinionated, and powerful. She is entertaining to watch. I watched her coverage on the Anthony case for a year and a half pretty faithfully before i came to guatemala...also known as the land of no television. Is Nancy Grace responsible for the media frenzy surrounding this case? yes. Is that a bad thing? no. Cuz here is a straight up FACT for you...in the 6 months between the day Caylee was reported missing and the day they found her body, oops excuse me, her skull, Nancy was 10 times more of an advocate in finding the toddler than the entire Anthony family combined. She ran photos of Caylee nightly, gave us access to tip hotlines, shared the latest in the investigation...somebody had to be in Caylee's corner-It was Nancy Grace, since day 1, fighting for justice.  She isn't  hot-head either, in her nightly show on HLN she is constantly sharing the screen with lawyers, forensic experts, witnesses etc...she made sure she was reporting from different points of view...that didn't mean she didn't let them know when the were dead wrong- but i respect she let others share their expertise and views on her national tv show.
Grace promtly coined the phrase "Tot Mom" in the beginning stages of the investigation, she gave us the facts as soon as she knew them. I really just enjoy watching her, since i have not had a tv, i've tried to follow snippets of her show on you tube...i downloaded one the other day in the first 10 seconds it's Nancy "Tot Mom trial, defense drops a bomb today, excuse me, STINK BOMB" ...it was a stink bomb. the day the defense gives us the theory that Caylee drowned in the family pool. I'll get to that bogus move in a minute. Grace's reaction to one of the most controversial verdicts of all time? "I absolutely can't beliee that Caylee's death has gone unavenged-In the end, Tot Mom's lies seemed to have worked"
is she on the hook for telling it like it is? yup. she says "I told the truth. Am I taking the heat for it? Yep. Is that going to make me stop looking for missing children and trying to solve unsolved homicides? No. I'm not going to let some kooky jury stop justice. Not for me anyway..."  i got your back...and i agree with you when you say "somewhere out there, the devil is dancing tonight." There are no winners in this case.

don't forget to tag me on facebook, my daughters missing!

I don't have to agree with the jury. I don't agree at all- but that's my right. just like it's Casey's right to a fair trial.  Guilty of four counts of lying to the police...why do you lie to the police? to cover something up HELLO GOODBYE. unfortunately in most US courts, those charges are misdemeanors and homegirl is walking out of jail is 5 days for time served and good behavior, ha, good behavior. I believe she is guilty as hell of both first degree murder and aggravated assault against a child. 

RIP CAYLEE

Here are the facts as i know them...facts which will later be construed as inconclusive evidence. Now, my recent searches on the internet include jennifer aniston, perez hilton, and CNN. NOT NECK SNAPPING AND CHLOROFORM . Cindy Anthony, Casey's mom testified it was her who had searched those things...which may lead to her facing some perjury charges because she was clocked into work at the time. Throughout the 3 year investigation, trial, her parents have switched up stories...I am not gonna judge them TOO BAD i have no idea how to relate to what their going through, dead granddaughter and daughter in the national spotlight for her murder. that's alot to go through. It was Cindy who called 911 and reported Caylee missing, not Casey. 31 days too late. Cindy testified originally that she had begged Casey to inform her of Caylee's whereabouts for a month and got nothing but the run around from TOT MOM. Casey was laid up in bed with her boyfriend the day after Caylee really 'disappeared' all day. chillin. She continued to party it up showing everyone her COMPLETE disregard for her daughter. Sometimes, it was just in the way Casey spoke that made me say "WTF" even early on, august 2008, Caylee's 3rd birthday was approaching and in a jailhouse interview with her parents, Anthony kept repearing " I want to see THAT girl, i miss THAT baby girl" THAT girl? what kind of mother talks like that? now i know there is no legal legitimacy to judge her this way but come on! how about "my girl, my baby, caylee, my daughter" i mean get out of here man, terrible mom.
when Cindy was called by the impound station to come pick up casey's abandoned car, she originally described a 'dead body smell" coming from the trunk and all over the car, which she later testified as 'rotten pizza smell" The forensics team found both cloroform and body decomposition in the trunk along with a single hair from Caylee's head. Why this was never conclusive evidence for anybody, I don't know. oh yes i do know...this bring us to the defense's theory that Caylee drowned in the pool. I don't believe this went down AT ALL.
I am not a mother, so what i say is as an outsider. I am however a HUMAN and a woman and i've spent hundreds of hours taken care of a precious toddler. Now, if your daughter is drowning in the pool, you call the effing paramedics! what you don't do is drive around for 3 weeks with your daughter's dead body in the trunk then dump her in the woods with duct tape on her mouth to rot. People are forgiving, if it was an accident , anyone with a heart is going to sympathize with you..is that what she was so scared of? the judgement of being an irresponsible mom? look at you now. The most hated woman in america.

Facing the Death Penalty

So whatever, if she was covering up and accident, why is it that she allowed a first degree murder trial to pan out on the national and international news??? Casey Anthony was facing the death penalty. THE. DEATH. PENALTY.  I mean seriously. It's because it wasn't an accident, if it was the cover up itself should have been grounds for some jail time....legit jail time, do u know how many man hours went into the search for poor caylee? 


Once her first lie was proven false, you know the phantom Nanny who had Caylee safely under her care, began to surface, our minds were made up, and there was just no going back. I remember watching True Hollywood Investigates- Women Who Kill, back in the fall of 2009, before the trial even began and Casey Anthony was listed as NUMBER ONE in the countdown. a little preemptive from the E! channel but i was totally de acuerdo, i think we all were. It's because her victim was the most defenseless victim on the countdown. 

SHAME ON YOU PROSECUTION!

The Now-Famous Defense Attorney Jose Baez

I respect the justice system, when the verdict was read, it didn't make me necessarily lose faith in it, it is just so hard to swallow. hmm father of 3 locked up for 5 years for driving without a license, Casey Anthony walks free.   I mean ya ya ya time served...ugh get out of here! Over 400 pieces of evidence entered in trial, the Florida prosecution couldn't turn any of them into concrete evidence to convict her?! what are they working with? they should be ashamed and embarassed with their courtroom performance...they couldn't call in any other experts worth a dime? If it was me, and i saw in ANY way this evidence wasn't fuerte enough, i would have done anything in my power to get my hands on someone like Dr. Lee, the most respected forensics investigator in the world. i mean something, was it shortage of funds? is that the problem? what- we just want answers. (although this isn't the 1st time we've seen Florida screw up with a vote, right?)The defense wasn't THAT good, i'm pretty sure i might have made a legitimate argument against their theory right here in my own blog post. 
But why are we so invested? It's for so many reasons, number one being we want to see justice for victim Caylee Marie. ok. jury, you've acquitted  Casey of the charges, good for you. Answer us this, who IS responsible? you know investigators have Zero other leads...you had the right woman on trial, and everybody blew it. what can we do now? it sounds crazy but i keep thinking there was some sort of '12 angry men" thing goin on in the jurors quarters. it'd at least give me some peace.

awww, look who let her hair down for the 1st time in 3 yrs..

Casey's shocks us. We are appalled by her reprehensible attitude, we loathe her because of her obvious disrespect for law enforcement and the justice system. we are frustrated because her 'i'm the real victim" attitude is palpable, when she cries in court...is it for her baby? or that she has to go through this gruesome trial? we'll never know. we are angry with her because of the lies, why doesn't she seem to care what happened to Caylee? since she is just sooo innocent, she is just gonna live with the unknown...is this how her mind works? if so, are we gonna go head and define her as a psychopath? well, maybe, there aren't too many people who would knowingly drag their family through the international mud. literally, check out this article earlier in the week published in Guatemala's national newspaper
http://prensalibre.com/internacionales/Jurado-absuelve-Casey-Anthony_0_512348805.html


or this one..http://prensalibre.com/internacionales/Absuelven-mujer-acusada-asesinar-Florida_0_511749015.html

single white female..no?

Casey Anthony defies the social norms of a murderer. She is a young, white, single, mother, she is FEMALE, lady killers are few 'round these parts...'round any parts for that matter.... just let me ask you these questions: Who is Andrea Yates? Who is Susan Smith? Can you picture them both in your head right now? I guarantee at least 90% of you are going to say yes. Why is this? It's because they're white women who killed their children. period. whether in a mental institution or serving 2 life sentences, at least these women are locked up for life. These cases stay with us because they are so rare, and they're shocking. we don't want to accept the reality that some people are capable of such crimes. and the victimology? defenseless children, way to go ladies. we are so frustrated with the unknown surrounding this case and the injustice that has been served. for example.... WHO THE HELL IS CAYLEE'S FATHER? we don't know that either but i say HALL OF FAME DEADBEAT.


Por lo menos, we can say she will lead a life full of fear and shame from the moment she steps out that jailhouse. Her parents have been in hiding since the verdict was read on tuesday, rightfully so...i actually hope the FBI has them in the witness protection program soon. there has been enough tragedy in this family already.

just where i thought i'd be at 25

I said to myself a few weeks ago, 'wow, she has got to be just BEYOND ashamed of herself" why did i say that? because her face was plastered on PEOPLE magazine with the headline "getting away with murder?" you don't get any more shameful than that...you really dont. 


we feel helpless, and we all want justice for Caylee. we're already on it with the record breaking petition averaging 2 signatures per second. This law would make it a federal offense not to report a missing child/person in a timely manner.....join us in making sure this type of case never hit the courts again! 


http://www.change.org/petitions/create-caylees-law

RIP CAYLEE MARIE