Deposition Revealed: Casey Anthony Asked Under Oath, 'Did You Kill Caylee?'
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ORLANDO, FL — In a deposition that has just been shared with the public, Casey Anthony was asked under oath if she killed her daughter, three-year-old Caylee Marie Anthony. Before she could answer, Anthony’s attorney intervened and reiterated that his client “denies admission.”
In addition, Anthony was asked if she ordered her defense team to launch a smear campaign against Orange County meter reader Roy Kronk, the man who discovered Caylee’s body in 2008.
The just-revealed contents of the deposition, which took place in August 2014, have come to light as Anthony’s attorneys are preparing to defend her from a defamation suit filed by Kronk. Attorney Howard Marks, who is representing Kronk in the lawsuit, questioned Anthony. Her lawyer, Cheney Mason, was also present for the interview.
According to the deposition transcript, Marks asked Casey Anthony point-blank:
“Do you admit you were involved in the death of Caylee Marie?”
Cheney Mason, speaking on behalf of Anthony, responded by saying:
“I’ll very clearly state, she denies admission. We have instructed her not to answer any questions regarding any knowledge she has or does not have about the death of her child.”
Marks followed up by asking, “In 2008, did you believe your daughter was alive?” Once again, Mason intervenes and says to Anthony, “I’m going to instruct you not to answer.”
Roy Kronk’s defamation suit centers on a 2009 Today Show appearance by Anthony’s attorneys Jose Baez and Andrea Lyon, during which, according to the filing, they suggested Kronk was somehow involved in Caylee’s murder.
During the appearance, Baez said:
“This is a situation where law enforcement never looked into this witness who is a critical witness — never investigated this man’s background. He’s the only one who has been with the body. He is the only who magically discovers it. He takes a day off the day before he discovers it again in December.”
Kronk maintains he accidentally discovered Caylee’s remains and he has never been charged in any way regarding the child’s demise.
In the course of the deposition, Marks grilled Anthony about her involvement with what he says was a smear campaign against Kronk.
Anthony denied instructing or agreeing to allow her attorneys to suggest Kronk should be investigated, and was instructed not to answer when asked if she “objected” to such a strategy. Anthony did say:
“I can tell you with full honestly [sic], I never knew the content of what was said. All I knew is that they may or may not have talked on this show or to this paper. That’s it.”
Marks also asked:
“Do you admit that your lawyers tried to portray Mr. Kronk as someone who killed your daughter?”
Anthony responded:
“I’m not making that admission, no, sir. I don’t believe that’s what they were doing.”
When asked if she understood that her attorneys were “trying to change negative publicity” about her, Anthony replied:
“I’m aware that they were speaking to the media to some degree but what their intention was, I can’t answer to that.”
Marks also asked Anthony if she was still “sort of living in hiding at the moment,” to which she said she was doing that for “security purposes” because, “There have been some threats.”
Last Monday, the civil case involving Anthony and Kronk was in a Tampa bankruptcy court. Mason said that any attempt to get money from Anthony would be like “squeezing blood out of a turnip,” since she has had no significant income since filing for bankruptcy in 2011.
Watch Investigation Discovery’s three-part investigation, Casey Anthony: An American Murder Mystery, on ID GO now!
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Read more: WESH, MSN, Deposition Transcript
