Caylee Anthony: A Family Conspiracy

Casey Marie Anthony, age 22, says she dropped her 2-year-old daughter Caylee off with a mysterious babysitter named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez on June 9. Casey then lost track of the child. Both Caylee and "Zenaida" vanished, without a trace.

On June 20, John Azzilano was taking photos at Fusion, an Orlando nightclub. Caylee Anthony had been missing for 11 days at that point, but her mother was captured by Azzilano's lens that night. She could be seen smiling with friends and acquaintances, some of them throwing fake gang signs. She looked like any other pretty twenty-something out on the town, without a care in the world.

Two weeks later, a MySpace friend of Casey's left this comment on Casey's "kayseeomaree" profile. Casey's friend Yelena seemed to be responding to a suggestion from Casey. She wrote, yeah we should def get together!!! Lets go to the beach this sunday??!!!" The following day, a young guy named Frank left a comment, and he also appeared to be responding to some communication from Casey, "that sounds like it could be fun :)" [TCR]

About a week after Frank told Casey that whatever she'd suggested "could be fun," Casey's mother, Cindy Anthony, called 911. Casey Anthony's party was over.

In one of 3 calls to 911 she made on July 15, Cindy Anthony said the following: "I told you my daughter was missing for a month. I just found her today, but I can’t find my granddaughter. She just admitted to me that she’s been trying to find her herself. 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..." [Emphasis added.]

Casey was arrested and jailed on $500,000 bond.

Her family -- especially her mother Cindy -- went from being worried about a missing 2-year-old to doing whatever they could to preserve their ideas about Casey. Cindy Anthony tried to explain away the "dead body" quote regarding the abandoned car. It could have been rotted food, she said. Casey tried to tell the police her story, according to Cindy, but the police wanted something Cindy's daughter couldn't provide -- clear details. Casey could only lie. Then when caught up in her lies, she reverted to her original tale; the evil, and according to police non-existent, Zenaida had taken her baby.

A child seems to fade into the ether at the beginning of June. Her mother continues life as usual. She goes to clubs. She makes fun plans, goes to the beach. Then she's called into account by her own mother, and asked where her daughter is. And Casey Anthony really doesn't have an answer.

So her family seems to decide that whatever happened, Casey isn't at fault. Casey is a victim of the local police. Casey Anthony and her family -- including missing child Caylee -- are being victimized by the curious media. The pesky media, which can't quit asking questions.

Transcripts of jailhouse communications between Casey Anthony and various members of her family make it clear that Cindy Anthony, Casey's father George and Casey's brother Lee have no idea what really happened to Caylee.

Yet where their words to the media are concerned, the Anthonys have entered into a conspiracy. At the center of the conspiracy is Casey Marie Anthony, the apparently footloose young woman partying at Fusion and heading to the beach with Yelena. The daughter who swears at her mother on the phone, even as her mother goes out to angrily lambaste the police and the press on her daughter's behalf.

There is a timeless tragedy to the vanishing of a small child. It has happened throughout history, and you can't help but react with a deep, instinctive sympathy for those who loved the child. But in the Anthony case, it sometimes seems like there is another layer of tragedy. A layer created by the familys' conspiracy to believe anything other than what seems like the most common-sense possibility -- Casey Marie Anthony may have done something terrible to her daughter. She may have simply gotten rid of her. Because Casey had more partying to do. Because it was summer, time for the beach.

In every other statement made to the press, Cindy Anthony whines about how no one is focusing on Caylee, or looking for Caylee. She doesn't realize that so many people are looking on in horror. Horror at the thought of what the little girl's fate may have been. Horror at the realization that Caylee Anthony's family has only one real concern now -- saving Casey Marie Anthony from life in prison, perhaps -- if Caylee is ever found -- even death row.