Presumed Guilty: Casey Anthony: The Inside Story Read Online Free Page B
Author: Jose Peter; Baez Golenbock
defiantly.
“Okay, then, you’re under arrest.”
She was arrested around three in the afternoon. Two hours later, the police alerted the media. In Orlando, the police like to do perp walks, where they take the accused out of the police station and march them in front of the television cameras. The TV and newspaper reporters then ask the suspect questions. The strategy is to try to get recorded statements that can be used in court. Or, at the very least, the police department gets more publicity for a big arrest.
So the cops handcuffed her and walked her out. In front of the one camera crew that appeared, Casey didn’t answer a single question. Casey wore a light blue hoodie with the number 82 in bright yellow. The news crew had no idea that the B-roll it had just shot would be replayed and broadcast across the country for the next three-and-a-half years.
You might wonder why the cops arrested her so quickly. According to Melich, the reason they did so was what occurred in the Melinda Duckett case. Duckett was a young woman from Lake County, Florida, who had a missing child. After going on the Nancy Grace show, where Nancy Grace attacked her repeatedly, Duckett came home and took her own life. She shot herself in her grandparents’ home on September 8, 2006. Melich said they didn’t want a repeat of what happened to Duckett. But this case was different. Casey had shown no signs of depression. What was their hurry?
I have always believed that at this crucial moment in the investigation, the police made a horrible decision. They should have stopped and realized, Wait a minute, we’re not dealing with someone who’s playing with a full deck here . How much more evidence did the police need to see that this girl was taking them on a wild goose chase? Rather than thinking, This is a guilty person who’s a horrible liar , why didn’t they consider, This is a person who has built some kind of fantasy world, someone who lives within a mythical reality ?
I just can’t fathom that after going down to Universal and watching her make up names of coworkers and a fictitious office, saying she worked there when she didn’t, why the cops wouldn’t say, Wait a minute. Maybe we should have a psychologist come in and talk to her and see what we’re dealing with here.
That moment at Universal Studios was the time and place to confront this girl in a different manner. It was the time to bring in a mental health professional and say, We’re dealing with something beyond our comprehension . Instead, they went old school with a good cop/bad cop routine and mounted an accusatory interrogation.
They slapped the cuffs on her. They thought they were going to pull the truth out of her and that after a night in jail she’d break down and tell them everything. If they had just let her remain free, they could have bugged her phones, watched her movements, followed her, and perhaps would have gotten a better idea of the extent of her involvement in Caylee’s disappearance. But within twenty-four hours they arrested her and made her a suspect. She immediately got herself a lawyer (yours truly), which meant they had no more access to her. I’d have to say that was a really stupid move on their part.
The police took Casey to the Orange County jail, and the next morning she had what is called a first appearance. The judge read the police report. He told her, “You’re not cooperating. We need to know where Caylee is.”
Casey said nothing, and despite being held for child neglect and lying—minor crimes—the judge held her without bond, which was odd. Casey had a public defender at this point (she hadn’t yet hired me), so I can’t answer why this wasn’t fought more vociferously.
Several hours later I came to see her, and my life would never be the same.
CHAPTER 2
THE PHONE RINGS
I N THE SUMMER OF 2008, our little firm was growing. We were really rocking and rolling. I had moved my practice from Orlando to Kissimmee,
“Okay, then, you’re under arrest.”
She was arrested around three in the afternoon. Two hours later, the police alerted the media. In Orlando, the police like to do perp walks, where they take the accused out of the police station and march them in front of the television cameras. The TV and newspaper reporters then ask the suspect questions. The strategy is to try to get recorded statements that can be used in court. Or, at the very least, the police department gets more publicity for a big arrest.
So the cops handcuffed her and walked her out. In front of the one camera crew that appeared, Casey didn’t answer a single question. Casey wore a light blue hoodie with the number 82 in bright yellow. The news crew had no idea that the B-roll it had just shot would be replayed and broadcast across the country for the next three-and-a-half years.
You might wonder why the cops arrested her so quickly. According to Melich, the reason they did so was what occurred in the Melinda Duckett case. Duckett was a young woman from Lake County, Florida, who had a missing child. After going on the Nancy Grace show, where Nancy Grace attacked her repeatedly, Duckett came home and took her own life. She shot herself in her grandparents’ home on September 8, 2006. Melich said they didn’t want a repeat of what happened to Duckett. But this case was different. Casey had shown no signs of depression. What was their hurry?
I have always believed that at this crucial moment in the investigation, the police made a horrible decision. They should have stopped and realized, Wait a minute, we’re not dealing with someone who’s playing with a full deck here . How much more evidence did the police need to see that this girl was taking them on a wild goose chase? Rather than thinking, This is a guilty person who’s a horrible liar , why didn’t they consider, This is a person who has built some kind of fantasy world, someone who lives within a mythical reality ?
I just can’t fathom that after going down to Universal and watching her make up names of coworkers and a fictitious office, saying she worked there when she didn’t, why the cops wouldn’t say, Wait a minute. Maybe we should have a psychologist come in and talk to her and see what we’re dealing with here.
That moment at Universal Studios was the time and place to confront this girl in a different manner. It was the time to bring in a mental health professional and say, We’re dealing with something beyond our comprehension . Instead, they went old school with a good cop/bad cop routine and mounted an accusatory interrogation.
They slapped the cuffs on her. They thought they were going to pull the truth out of her and that after a night in jail she’d break down and tell them everything. If they had just let her remain free, they could have bugged her phones, watched her movements, followed her, and perhaps would have gotten a better idea of the extent of her involvement in Caylee’s disappearance. But within twenty-four hours they arrested her and made her a suspect. She immediately got herself a lawyer (yours truly), which meant they had no more access to her. I’d have to say that was a really stupid move on their part.
The police took Casey to the Orange County jail, and the next morning she had what is called a first appearance. The judge read the police report. He told her, “You’re not cooperating. We need to know where Caylee is.”
Casey said nothing, and despite being held for child neglect and lying—minor crimes—the judge held her without bond, which was odd. Casey had a public defender at this point (she hadn’t yet hired me), so I can’t answer why this wasn’t fought more vociferously.
Several hours later I came to see her, and my life would never be the same.
CHAPTER 2
THE PHONE RINGS
I N THE SUMMER OF 2008, our little firm was growing. We were really rocking and rolling. I had moved my practice from Orlando to Kissimmee,
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