O-mama - Opinionated Moms

Photo Red Huber/AP

UPDATE 7/18: Casey Anthony was released from prison.  Her whereabouts are unknown.

UPDATE 7/5:  Casey Anthony was found not guilty on the charges of murder, manslaughter and child abuse.  She was found guilty on misdemeanor charges of lying to law enforcement.

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Originally posted 6/30: Casey Anthony is fighting first degree murder charges and the death penalty in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony. Anthony did not report her child missing for 30+ days and when confronted by her mother, Cindy, insisted the baby had been kidnapped by a make-believe nanny.  The prosecution asserts that the toddler was suffocated with three pieces of duct tape and remained in the trunk of her mother’s car until she was dumped in the woods near their home.  Cindy reported her granddaughter missing after she got a whiff of "death" coming from the trunk of her daughter’s car.  

Anthony's defense is that her little girl, Caylee, drowned in the family pool.  Her attorney's attributed Casey's bizarre behavior to her alleged sexual abuse by her father and has made innuendos that there may have been an inappropriate relationship with her brother, Lee (the baby's name is a combination of Casey and Lee's names).  The brother and father were given a paternity test that proved neither one is the father of Caylee.   

MOMism: “Lies beget lies.”  We tell our kids to tell the truth because it's the right thing to do, but also, because it's hard to keep track of lies.  MAMAs need to nip lies in the bud and reward our kids for truth telling, not enabling them to perfect the cover up.  If kids get punished when they tell the truth, then they learn to hide behind lies because at least there's a chance that they might get away with it.  (Of course, there should be consequences for the bad behavior that kids might be temped to lie about, but let's not forget the positive reinforcement when they tell the truth about the stupid thing they just did.)

When lies start, they tend to build in scope and scale.  Finally, it's hard for kids (and adults) to know where the truth begins and ends creating a big, gigantic pile of lies that just get buried with more lies to cover the lies.  Denial and complete distortion of reality follow, but eventually, the lies fester and manifest in bizarro ways.  

What makes this trial noteworthy to MAMAs, besides the fact that a MAMA is on trial, but really an entire dysfunctional family is on trial.  And, we are watching the consequences of years of lies unfold before our eyes.  (It reminds us that no one really knows what goes on behind closed doors - even well manicured people and lawns have deep dark secrets.)  Casey learned to be a good liar, so good in fact that it's hard to figure out the truth.  It's disturbing how tangled up this family's stories are - so many questions and bizarre twists and turns in the trial to find the truth. 

Why did Casey lie about where her baby was?  Why lie for so long?  To be a party girl?  Really?  Why didn't she give the baby to her parents to watch?  Why didn't she get a sitter?  Fear? Bizzaro. 

If she was molested as a child, why was she still living with her parents?  If her baby died accidentally, why wasn't she distraught?  Why was she "pretending" everything was fine?  Why the duct tape?

Why is she such a good liar?  Who did she learn that from?

Casey’s brother, Lee, said that her pregnancy with Caylee was sort of “ignored” by the family.   Why?  Who fathered this child?  Paternity tests have determined that none of Casey’s family members fathered her baby, but no father has been named.  Meanwhile, grandma, seemingly the most devastated by little Caylee’s death, is the one who cleaned out the trunk of her daughter’s car to rid it of the supposed decomposition smell.  There are a mountain of lies to dig through that could confuse the jury, so Casey doesn't get the death penalty.  Hopefully, at the end of this trial, justice will be served and the truth will set little Caylee free.  But, will it set Casey free?

What do you think MAMAS - is Casey guilty of murder or just being a negligent MAMA?