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  She also shared her concerns about the problems on George’s side of the family. His sister, Sonie, she claimed, was bi-polar, and the symptoms included compulsive behavior and overspending. She saw those same traits in Casey, she said, and it worried her.

  She explained that all the drama and upheavals George and Casey brought to her life had had a negative impact on her own mental health. “I’ve even thought of doing away with myself, and probably would if it weren’t for Caylee, you and Dad. The only thing that keeps me sane is my work—I love my job.”

  Casey sent a text to Amy on the afternoon of May 3, 2008: “Any more details on that party?” Two hours later, she wrote, “Cross your fingers that my parents get back soon. God, I need this tonight.” After 8 that night, she sent another message to Amy: “I’m trying to get a hold of my mom to see when they’re coming home. Sitting around sucks.” After 11 P.M., Casey begged off of the party and asked, “Downtown tomorrow? My mom owes me.”

  She also madly exchanged instant messages with Anthony, Jesse’s colleague who was a deputy with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. He started the conversation with a simple message: “??”

  Casey wrote back: “I’m going to have to call you in a bit. If I don’t finish this shit for work, I’m screwed. I’ve been up since 5.”

  “Ok, well what are the chances of chillin’ today at all?”

  “Very good as long as I can get this stuff done, and sent to my boss.”

  Anthony pressed for a time and added, “Get over here woman.” He then continued urging her to come to his place, no matter how late it was when she finished her work. Casey didn’t show up. Anthony tried to get Casey’s attention on May 4 and 5, but although she responded, her messages were short and desultory.

  On May 5, Casey’s excitement was apparent the moment Jesse answered the phone. “Guess where I’m going? Puerto Rico! Rico has family there that we’re going to stay with. All we have to do is pay for the flight and some food and expenses while we’re down there.” Later when she shared her good news with her mother, Cindy refused to take care of Caylee while Casey cavorted in the Caribbean—another drop in the boiling pot of anger that Casey had for her mother.

  After talking to Rico that Monday, Casey went over to Christopher Stutz’s home. Christopher was out with friends when Casey arrived, and she chatted with his parents for a couple of hours. When Christopher returned, he and Casey went out.

  The next day, she was more responsive to Anthony’s messages. “Bring your fine ass over here sometime today.”

  Casey wrote, “When I can, I will,” and then complained about having to rely on other people; at the moment, she said, she was waiting on her nanny to get back from her sister’s wedding in Tampa.

  “Is she willing to get the offspring?”

  “As of right now,” Casey affirmed.

  Anthony griped about the indefinite nature of that response and then wrote, “I could def. see you moving into a g.f. role, but not if I don’t see you. I know it’s like beating a dead horse, but it’s how I feel. My point in all of this . . . if it’s going to work, whether I ‘have to make this all up to you,’ or whatever, you’re going to have to suck it up, and come see me every once in a while, you’re a lot more mobile than I am a lot of the time . . .

  “As for the sex thing, let’s clear this up right now. When it’s as good as it has been, I need it, I told you me and my routine, but it’s not my main concern for seeing but once in three weeks is a tease, plus again, your pretty damn good in bed.”

  Casey complained about Caylee wanting more lunch, and when she said she didn’t know what to eat, Anthony offered to cook for her if she came over. Casey wrote, “Ha, want me to bring this little snot head? Didn’t think so.” She said, “Spending the day with Caylee is ten times more exhausting than working a twelve-hour event.”

  The afternoon wore on, while Anthony and Casey exchanged more messages. Throughout the hours, Casey provided running commentary on the nanny’s current location—there always seemed to be one problem or another. Then Casey got serious. “I’m sad, I’ve been sad all day, shit, I’ve been sad for days . . . Too bad I can’t move out tomorrow, would make some of this a lot easier.”

  Casey told friends she’d meet up with them on the night of May 10, but didn’t make it. The next morning, she got a text message: “I thought you were coming out last night.”

  “Yeah, so did I,” Casey complained. “Mommy duties.” Once again, Caylee was her excuse.

  The next day—Mother’s Day—Casey did not spend the day with her mother. Instead she took Caylee and went over to one-time boyfriend Christopher Stutz’s home.

  On Monday, Casey told Anthony that her vacation—from the job she didn’t have—started on Thursday. She put off seeing him that day, but dangled the promise that she would be free for twelve of the fifteen days she was off work.

  On Wednesday evening, Casey went downtown to Voyage Nightclub with Rico and Troy. Afterwards they all went back to Rico’s place, but Casey stayed there only ten minutes. On her way home, she hit a construction barrier on Route 408, running over something in the dark and popping two tires.

  At first she kept driving, getting off of the highway and into a residential area. She traveled a half-mile before tire chunks and sparks from the rim forced her to stop. She called Troy and Rico for help. They came to her rescue.

  Casey tried and failed to put on her one spare tire while she waited for their arrival. The two guys finished that job and then tried to put Rico’s spare on the Sunfire. When it wouldn’t fit on the rim, Casey insisted they drive her home, since she needed to be there for Caylee in the morning.

  The next day, she told her father about her abandoned, crippled car and asked what she should do. His first concern was making sure that she hadn’t been hurt. She assured him she was okay. George then wanted to know why she’d been on that particular highway if she was working at Universal as she’d said she had been that night.

  Casey avoided answering the question by asking, “Dad, what should I do?”

  “Just have it towed home,” he said. “Let me take a look at it.”

  Amy loaned Casey the $80 she needed for the tow. After looking the car over, George bought two new tires for the Pontiac.

  It was mid-May and the house where Amy rented an apartment was sold, and she had to vacate, moving in with Troy Brown on a temporary basis. She was counting on Casey, who told her that her parents were helping her buy a home. By the time she took up her new living arrangements, Casey told her that the deal had fallen through—someone else had made an offer on the house.

  “But great news!” Casey added. “My mom is getting a condo in Winter Park. My grandparents are moving there from Mount Dora, since there’s a better facility in Winter Park for my granddad. And, my mom is signing her house over to me.

  “I’ll take over the mortgage payments and we can just move in there. It’s great news, ’cause I don’t actually have to move and Caylee can stay in the place she’s always been—that’s awesome.”

  “Cool,” Amy said. It sure beat her current nomadic existence. She made plans to move into the Hopespring Drive home in mid-June, when, Casey told her, the paperwork would be completed.

  Ryan—who’d moved to Jacksonville in January to attend school—called Casey in May, to share his excitement about finishing his final exams. Instead of congratulating him, Casey attempted to top him. “Well, I’m working in event planning at Universal now. I even have my own office.”

  Ryan recognized her one-upmanship, but wondered when that competitive quality had slipped into their nearly life-long relationship. It seemed to have been happening for a while, but he couldn’t remember when it had begun.

  That Saturday night, Casey and Caylee spent the night at Christopher Stutz’s parents’ house—his mom and dad were away for the weekend.

  On Friday, May 23, Amy invited Casey out to a party, but Casey wrote, “I’m going to stay home,” then suggested they g
o out together the next night. “I’ve already cleared it with my madre.”

  Amy didn’t make it to the Friday night party, since Casey couldn’t go—but Casey attended after all. In the wee hours, Casey sent another text to Amy: “The cops came around 1:15 and broke up the party.”

  Tony Lazzaro was new to town. He scouted around Face-book looking for interesting people in the area. He found “a good-looking girl” named Casey Marie Anthony, who claimed to be a student at Valencia Community College. He sent a friend request and she accepted. Soon, he had her phone number and called her on May 23 to tell her about a “no clothes” party the next night at the Villages on Science Drive near the University of Central Florida campus, an event where you had to dress in things that weren’t normally worn. She said she’d like to go, and got directions. Over dinner at Waterford Lakes Buffalo Wild Wings, Casey invited Troy and Amy to go with her. They agreed. Later that night, she texted Amy about the party: “You will officially see the American flag in all its glory tonight.”

  Casey, wrapped toga-style in an American flag, was a bright flash of color next to Troy, whose chest was swathed in layers of plastic wrap, and some of the other attendees who simply wore large paper bags.

  She met Tony Lazzaro and a girl named Jamie Realander at the party and hit it off with both of them. She and Jamie made plans to get together at Jamie’s place in Ovieda in mid-June. When the time neared, though, Casey told her she’d just gotten a speeding ticket and didn’t want to drive outside of Orlando. A convenient excuse—but unfortunately untrue. Casey had gotten her last ticket in 2004.

  The meeting with Tony proved more fruitful. Casey was drawn to his stereotypical jaded New Yorker appearance with a natural expression reminiscent of Mickey Rourke’s. Together, they played innumerable games of beer pong, a drinking game. The set-up consisted of a triangle of cups filled with beer, with contestants on the opposite end of the table. Each team attempted to throw a Ping-Pong ball into the cups. When a player succeeded, the other group had to drink the beer. The first team that emptied their cups, won.

  She ran into Brandon Snow at the party, and informed him of the alleged miscarriage she’d had on Valentine’s Day in 2007. It was an emotional, high-drama scene, with Casey crying loud, bitter tears. Brandon couldn’t understand why she was dumping this on him now, more than a year later.

  That week, Tony asked Casey to come over and hang out with him and another couple. She agreed, but then called that night to say she was staying with the nanny, as Caylee had woken up before she could leave.

  Casey and Caylee spent the night at Rico’s apartment on May 28 and 29. On May 31, Tony was the DJ for a pool party at Arden Villas apartment complex, where Jesse lived. Casey went up to Jesse’s unit to encourage him to come down and meet Tony Lazzaro. Jesse felt as if Casey was asking for his blessing on the relationship. After five minutes, Jesse was bored. He left the complex to go birthday shopping for his brother.

  Soon after he left, the weather turned nasty, bringing the party to an end. Tony and Casey went to the movies and then to the apartment of one of Tony’s friends. When Casey dropped Tony off at his place late that night, he invited her inside, but she demurred, explaining that the special ring on her cell phone indicated her mother was calling. She heard that little riff many times that night and, though she hadn’t answered any of them, she knew they meant she had to go home.

  The next day, Casey picked up Tony and they went to a barbecue by the pool at Pegasus Connection, an apartment complex off Alafaya and University, where one of Tony’s friends lived. This time, when they returned to Sutton Place, Casey accepted Tony’s invitation to come inside. They were intimate for the first time, but Casey did not spend the night.

  CHAPTER 19

  George and Cindy’s relationship was working well at this time. They enjoyed evenings out and day trips to the beach, as well as working together on landscaping, pool maintenance and other needed chores around the house. But when Cindy took vacation week in early June, she planned to devote that time to bonding with her daughter and granddaughter. A visit to George’s mother in Fort Myers and relaxation on the beach were on the agenda. Cindy had Caylee the whole week, but Casey was never around.

  On Thursday, June 5, Caylee’s presence brightened her grandmother’s birthday—helping Cindy forget that her daughter hadn’t bothered to call. Lee did show up with his girlfriend Mallory to wish Cindy a happy day. Lee did not know that it would be the last time he would ever see his niece.

  When Cindy’s mother called to wish her a happy day, Cindy sounded depressed. Shirley suspected her mood was due to her financial problems. Since she’d made her decision not to divorce and had taken George back, her husband had jumped around to three different jobs, causing Cindy to remain the only consistent breadwinner in the house.

  Casey certainly wasn’t any financial help. She constantly asked her mom for money, knowing if she said she needed it for Caylee, Cindy would not refuse. At the same time, Cindy was already footing the bill for Casey’s car insurance and paying off high credit card bills created by charges her daughter had made.

  Shirley tried to avoid those conversational landmines and instead asked, “Why didn’t you go to Fort Myers?”

  Rather than explaining that Casey had avoided her all week, Cindy claimed, “I didn’t feel like going.”

  At work, Cindy complained to Debbie about always having Caylee. Debbie suggested that if she was the main caregiver, she ought to get custody of Caylee. Cindy became agitated and said that she couldn’t afford the legal expense of doing that.

  When Casey finally showed up on Saturday, June 7, to pick up her child, she told Cindy that the babysitter would be keeping Caylee from June 9 through 12 because Casey had to take an out-of-town business trip for Universal Studios. Cindy asked about the change of address for Amy Huizenga that had arrived in their mail.

  “Oh, she just wanted a package sent here.”

  “That makes no sense, Casey. You don’t change your address for that.”

  Casey just shrugged. She wasn’t about to explain the fantastical scenario she’d cooked up for Amy.

  Cindy wasn’t the only person that week to feel the sting of Casey’s indifference. On June 6, Rico made dinner for a group of friends. Casey told both Rico and Amy that she’d be there. When she was more than an hour late, everyone sat down to their meal without her. She finally called while they were eating; she said she had to work all day. Actually, she was too busy partying at Fusian with Tony Lazzaro to give much thought to her friends.

  Early the next morning, Casey posted a comment on the MySpace page of Brittany Schreiber, a friend from kindergarten through high school: “Hey girl! Quick question. Do you know any girls that can sing? My boyfriend, Tony, and his business partners are looking for an up and coming female R&B vocalist. Let me know! I appreciate it.”

  That night, Casey, with Caylee still in tow, arrived at Rico’s place after 11 P.M. She spent the night and left late in the morning of the 8th.

  Rico saw pictures of Casey at the night club when he visited MySpace later that day. Odd, he thought. Casey told him that she’d never been to Fusian. He sent her a text message: “Did you go to Fusian Friday night?”

  She responded. “Yeah, but my boss sent me there to spy on his daughter.”

  With Caylee in the car, Casey picked up Tony at school and drove him to the mechanic to pick up his Jeep on June 9. They took separate vehicles to Subway, where Casey bought three subs before heading back to Tony’s apartment.

  Casey and Caylee showed up at Rico’s that night after 8 P.M. Casey claimed that she and her daughter had no place to stay. Rico invited them to spend another night at his place. He and Casey had their last sexual experience together that evening. Afterwards, they had a huge blow-up over Casey’s involvement with Tony. Casey didn’t own up to any sexual intimacy with Tony, but she did confess to kissing him. Rico thought that since the two of them were still involved, she shouldn’t be messing aroun
d with another guy. Casey disagreed. That was the end for Rico.

  The last time he saw Caylee was the morning of the 10th before he went to work. He came downstairs and Casey and Caylee were on the sofa. He said, “I’m going to work.” Casey said, “Okay. I’m going to take a shower and then I’m going to leave.”

  That day, Tony said that he teased her about the possibility he’d move back to New York. Casey burst into tears and choked back sobs. “You’re taking this way too seriously,” he warned. “Things are going a little too fast here. Relax, you know I’m moving soon. I’m just here for school and then I’m out.”

  She and Tony had another discussion that added to Casey’s distress. Tony told her that if he ever decided to have children, he wanted sons. He knew how difficult it was to raise little girls, because he had two sisters.

  That evening Maria Kissh and her boyfriend Clint House planned to stop by Tony’s place when Maria got off work. Clint said that in between classes, he’d met Casey’s daughter. “She was really cute and talkative to all the guys.”

  “Tony doesn’t mind having her around?” she asked.

  “No. She’s the cutest thing.”

  “Well that’s really cool that Tony doesn’t mind that Casey has a child, and that she brings the child around,” Maria said, looking forward to meeting the little charmer that evening.

  When Maria and Clint arrived, Caylee answered the door. The little girl sat down with the couple and the roommates, but for a while, Casey and Tony were back in the bedroom.

  Caylee struggled to put on her socks and shoes, and Maria came to her rescue. Maria didn’t mind helping Caylee, but it didn’t seem right that her mother wasn’t there for her.

  Casey and Tony joined the group, and Casey talked to Maria about the job she had at Universal and the nanny she paid $400 a week to take care of Caylee. Casey told Marie that she and Caylee lived with her parents off Narcoossee Road. Her parents were moving out the first of July and leaving the house to them.