Imperfect Justice_ Prosecuting Casey Anthony - Jeff Ashton [32]
“She gets further and further away,” George completed Allen’s thought. “And that’s if she’s still with us.”
When asked what he thought may have happened, George mentioned that Cindy had found the side gate open and the pool ladder up, meaning it straddled the pool, allowing someone access to the water. It was up some- time around the time Caylee was last seen. He wasn’t sure of the date. In his notes, Melich pointed out that when at Universal Studios with Casey on July 16, Cindy had called him mentioning this same incident and the fact that she thought it odd. Both George and Cindy say they keep the side gate closed and the pool ladder down, meaning the ladder was closed up and away from the pool.
The investigators asked George if he wanted to listen to the 911 calls made by Cindy. The media had made a public records request for them earlier that day, and it appeared likely the judge was going to agree to their release. George said he wanted to hear them and he wanted his son, Lee, to also be present. George didn’t want Lee to know he was speaking with the investigators, so Melich called and asked if he wanted to come listen to the tapes. Lee agreed. While waiting for Lee to arrive, George began feeling nauseous and officers took him outside for some fresh air. Once outside, George began shaking and vomiting, but refused medical attention, saying it was his nerves. When Lee arrived, George went to the bathroom and Lee listened to the 911 tapes. After that, Lee drove his father home.
AFTER CASEY’S BAIL HAD BEEN set, the judge had ordered her to meet with two psychiatrists for evaluation. On July 24, Casey had an interview with the second of those psychiatrists, and the initial reports from both doctors stated that she was perfectly normal, that there was no indication of any mental illness. Casey reported that she had never had any mental health treatment and that she did not have a drug or alcohol problem. She also stated unequivocally that she had never been physically or sexually abused. The only item of note was an observation made by one of the psychiatrists, Dr. Jeffrey Danziger, who reported that Casey was “unusually happy considering her circumstances.”
Casey’s brother, Lee, was the first to visit Casey in jail. This was the first of the so-called jailhouse conversations. The policy of the local jail is that all visits are on video and are subject to monitoring and recording, but they are not recorded as a matter of course. Casey’s visits were by video link, with Casey communicating remotely with her visitors, who remained in a separate location nearby. Because Casey was being held in protective custody, she was not permitted to have contact visits, not even with her closest family members.
The conversations were extraordinary in capturing the family dynamic. When I reviewed them, I was impressed by everyone’s initial cooperation, George and Cindy assuring Casey that they would follow any clue she could give them, and Lee methodically evaluating people they should trust or suspect. In the early visits, no one in her family accused Casey of having a hand in her daughter’s disappearance, even as evidence mounted that she was lying. They seemed to be walking on eggshells in her presence, trying to get valuable information without provoking her anger or frustration. By mid-August, all that would change dramatically, and these cordial family dialogues would devolve into something else entirely. But even their videotaped unraveling offered clues to the family’s inner workings.
Approaching the situation in an organized and professional manner, Lee read from a set of notes, and even though he was greeted by his sister with a giggle, he remained composed for the entire visit. He told her how the jail mail system worked: that everything she wrote would be read, nothing was private. He also explained that her conversations with her attorney, Jose Baez, were protected and that the lawyer was not obligated to pass along anything she said. Lee thought that Baez was interfering with Casey’s ability to communicate