What's Been Up With Casey Anthony Since She Got Off: 4 Crucial Updates

April 09, 2017
By: Mike McPadden

Related To:

In this Feb. 13, 2017 photo, Casey Anthony poses with a photo of her daughter Caylee during an interview in her West Palm Beach, Fla., home. Anthony, 30, opens up for the first time on-the-record about the death of her daughter in 2008. (AP Photo/Joshua Replogle)

Casey Anthony

In this Feb. 13, 2017 photo, Casey Anthony poses with a photo of her daughter Caylee during an interview in her West Palm Beach, Fla., home. Anthony, 30, opens up for the first time on-the-record about the death of her daughter in 2008. (AP Photo/Joshua Replogle)

Photo by: AP Photo/Joshua Replogle

AP Photo/Joshua Replogle

On July 5, 2011, the jury in the murder trial of Casey Anthony delivered a “not guilty” verdict, and the world seemed to erupt with outrage and indignation.

After minute-by-minute news coverage, endless talk-show hoopla, and protests and debates both online and off, the woman branded “the most hated mom in America” and harangued as “Tot Mom” beat the rap for the 2008 disappearance and slaying of her two-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony.

The media circus and the public uproar slowly subsided, although fascination with the case never faded away. Anthony herself did seem to fade away from the spotlight, though, effectively slipping into anonymity to the point that if she did turn up anywhere outdoors, somebody reported on it.

Watch Investigation Discovery’s three-part investigation, Casey Anthony: An American Murder Mystery, on Saturday, April 15 at 7/6c or online now.

In March 2017, Casey Anthony, who’s now 30, finally broke her silence with her first public interview in a half-decade. Here are four updates as to what Anthony’s been doing since her acquittal.

1. CASEY ANTHONY “SLEEPS OK” AND DOESN’T “GIVE A S—T”

Sitting with an AP reporter for a five-part Q&A, Anthony spoke at length about her present life. She stunned observers with a few choice quotes that included:

“I don’t give a s— about what anyone thinks about me, I never will. I’m okay with myself, I sleep pretty good at night…. I understand the reasons people feel about me. I understand why people have the opinions that they do. I’m still not even certain as I stand here today about what happened.”

Anthony also admitted lying to the police, also noting:

“Cops tend to victimize the victims. Cops lie to people every day. I’m just one of the unfortunate idiots who admitted they lied…. My dad was a cop. You can read into that what you want to.”

In this Feb. 13, 2017 photo, Casey Anthony poses with a photo of her daughter Caylee during an interview in her West Palm Beach, Fla., home. Anthony, 30, opens up for the first time on-the-record about the death of her daughter in 2008. (AP Photo/Joshua Replogle)

Casey Anthony

In this Feb. 13, 2017 photo, Casey Anthony poses with a photo of her daughter Caylee during an interview in her West Palm Beach, Fla., home. Anthony, 30, opens up for the first time on-the-record about the death of her daughter in 2008. (AP Photo/Joshua Replogle)

Photo by: AP Photo/Joshua Replogle

AP Photo/Joshua Replogle

As for her daughter, Anthony said, “Caylee would be 12 right now, and would be a total badass. I’d like to think she’d be listening to classic rock and playing sports and not taking s— from anybody.” [Associated Press]

2. CASEY AND O.J.: A RUMOR OF TV COSTARDOM

During her AP interview, Casey Anthony said she had become fascinated with the 1994 O.J. Simpson murder trail, stating, “There are a lot of parallels” to her own case and adding: “I can empathize with his situation.”

At present, Anthony lives with and works for Patrick McKenna, a private eye who worked as the lead investigator for the defense teams of both Casey and O.J.

In March 2017, InTouch magazine printed an unofficial, uncredited rumor that Casey and O.J. might possibly be co-starring on a reality TV show, once Simpson gets out of prison for stealing sports memorabilia at gunpoint.

According to the report in InTouch, the source said: “It will give viewers the inside story on the aftermath of living with the horrible crimes they were ultimately acquitted of.”

InTouch further quoted the same unnamed source as saying that O.J. was “putting Casey on his visitor list, and is even willing to pay for her to visit.” [Daily Mail]

3. CASEY TRIED TO OPEN HER OWN PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO

In November 2015, Casey Anthony filed papers to open Case Photography in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Anthony had always been a talented shutterbug and she looked to be putting her skills to work. The address listed on the filing indicated a property owned by Patrick McKenna, her ex-investigator and current boss, with whom she also lives.

Case Photography opened January 1, 2016. News of the launch hit the media the following month, and incensed online readers bombarded the company’s Facebook page with negative messages, prompting it to be taken down.

The company’s Twitter page is still up, although it hasn’t been active since August. [Orlando Sentinel]

4. CASEY TURNED UP AT AN ANTI-TRUMP RALLY

The AP reporter who, at last, convinced Casey Anthony to chat for the public initially came across her while he was covering an anti-Trump protest in February 2017 staged outside the President’s “Winter White House” in Florida, Mar-a-Lago.

After being initially spotted by a TV news crew, Anthony declined to talk on camera, but said she opposed President Trump’s policies. The AP scribe turned out to be more persuasive, and … here we are. [Palm Beach Post]

Next Up

The Twists And Turns Of The Infamous Susan Smith Case

On October 25, 1994, the 23-year-old South Carolina mother drowned her two young children.

Navajo Nation Girl Assaulted, Killed After Man Kidnapped Her While She Was Playing

Tom Begaye Jr. left the 11-year-old child to die in the desert after “repeatedly hitting her on the head and face with a tire iron.”

How West Memphis Three Case, Damien Echols Inspired ‘Stranger Things’ Character

The show’s executive producer says exploring 1980s “satanic panic” led to the creation of “true nerd at heart” Eddie Munson.

How The Abduction And Murder Of A 9-Year-Old Led To The AMBER Alert System

The AMBER alert system first debuted in 1996 as a collaboration between news media and police in Arlington, Texas. Named for Amber Hagerman, the alerts have helped find more than 1,000 abducted children.

True Crime News Roundup: Alabama Corrections Officer Vanishes With Her Inmate Boyfriend

Plus: Dead Louisiana woman found fused to sofa; JonBenét Ramsey’s father seeks governor’s help with DNA testing; Australian man incarcerated for killing gay American in 1988; and Pennsylvania mother shoots her two boys in the head.

5 Things to Know About The 1955 Murder Of Emmett Till

The Black teenager was murdered by two white men in Money, Mississippi, in August 1955 after a white woman accused him of making a pass at her in a grocery store.

Inside The 27-Year Investigation Of JonBenét Ramsey’s Murder

On Dec. 26, 1996, the pageant princess was found strangled to death in her family’s home in Boulder, Colorado.

UPDATE: Fugitive Leticia Smith from ‘In Pursuit With John Walsh’ Captured In Mexico

Authorities confirm former fugitive, Leticia Smith was extradited from Mexico to California. Smith will face charges for allegedly killing her husband, Antione Smith.

Police Continue Search For Relisha Rudd, Who Was 8 When She Vanished In 2014

‘I have days when I think she's alive. I have days when I think she's no longer with us,’ says Henderson Long of D.C.’s Missing Voices.

Who Was Notorious Jewel Thief Jack “Murph The Surf” Murphy?

Not all of the details Murphy shared about his life can be verified, but what we know to be true is a fascinating tale about a daytime surfer who moonlighted as a high-end thief.