CNN
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More than a decade after she was found not guilty of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Casey Anthony is back in the national spotlight.
In a new three-part docuseries called “Casey Anthony: Where the Truth Is” airing on Peacock, Anthony addresses what she says led to Kelly’s death. According to showrunners, Anthony never testified during her trial, so this is the first time the public has heard her testimony on camera. Peacock did not respond to CNN’s request for further comment.
For three years, from Caylee’s disappearance to Anthony’s acquittal, the Florida case shocked the nation as it played out on social media and traditional news outlets. Prosecutors have called for the death penalty, saying Kelly’s death occurred during severe child abuse and was carried out “in a callous, calculated and premeditated manner without any moral or legal justification”.
After nearly six weeks of testimony, a jury rejected the prosecution’s allegations that Anthony gave her child chloroform, suffocated her with duct tape and dumped her body in the woods. They found her guilty of four lesser counts of lying to law enforcement.
Anthony spent about three years in jail and was released after being honored for his time behind bars. Angry protesters took to the streets, calling her a “baby killer” and demanding justice for Kelly.
In the docuseries, Anthony and her defense team made several bombshell claims in response to the decade-long mystery surrounding her daughter’s death. Here’s what you need to know about “The truth lies”:
Time magazine called Anthony’s story the social media trial of the century in 2011. Years later, the mystery surrounding Kelly’s death is still a topic of fascination.
In July 2008, Anthony’s mother called 911 to report that she had not seen her granddaughter in a month. Pictures of a partying, smiling Anthony, taken between Kelly’s last appearance and when she was reported missing, quickly filled television screens across the country. Tabloids and social media users are concerned about a mother who was partying with her friends to get a “Bella Vita” (Italian for “beautiful life”) tattoo and her daughter goes missing.
In the documentary series that has sparked new controversy on social media, Anthony said that period “wasn’t the same as my real life”.
She has since covered the tattoo with flowers, which she describes as a symbol of growth and rebirth.
“Up until then, it had been my whole life, acting like everything was fine but really not knowing anything,” she said.
At the beginning of the documentary, Anthony talks about why she decided to speak out after years of silence.
“I’ve spent the last 10 years making sure I know who I am, and I’m starting to deal with this loss and that I have something to say to make my daughter proud while also respecting her appropriately,” she said. “That’s part of it.”
Anthony and her defense team admitted she had lied multiple times. After Kelly disappeared, she lied about working at Universal Studios. In another lie, she said a nanny named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez stole her children. She admitted in the docu-series that the story was made up and that the only person besides her caring for Kylie was her mother.
During the series, she also revealed that she lied to her ex-boyfriend that he was Kylie’s father because she was too ashamed to admit she was raped at a party and didn’t know who her father was. A paternity test showed he wasn’t.
“I’m a convicted liar,” she said. “I lied to everyone … for years I tried to show everyone that I lived a certain life because I didn’t want people to pity me,” she said. “No lie is off limits, no lie is off limits.”
For months, Anthony and her parents believed that Kelly was alive.
During the trial, the defense argued that the child drowned in Anthony’s swimming pool on June 16, 2008, and that Anthony and her father had concealed the death. In the docuseries, Anthony presents a conflicting theory, blaming her father entirely.
She also reiterated her allegations that her father sexually abused her as a child – claiming he denied any involvement in Kylie’s death during the trial. In the series, Peacock said George Anthony turned down an offer to appear on the show. CNN has reached out to Anthony Sr.
Anthony is now working with one of her defense team’s lead investigators, Patrick McKenna, who runs a private investigation firm. In the documentary, McKenna said he believed she was innocent. Fearing for her safety, Anthony lived with the family for some time after the trial, McKenna said, adding that she was like a daughter to him.
Anthony admits she still doesn’t have an answer.
“It was hard because I had a thousand questions running through my head. It was my responsibility to answer every single question in the world about her, about what happened,” Anthony said. “I still don’t know what happened to Caylee. I know what I’m afraid of. I know what’s for dinner.”
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