Casey Anthony, in her first interview in five and a half years, says that she feels for O.J. Simpson because of the similarities in their cases.
Both were acquitted of grisly murders which became sensational national stories – and which many people believe they really committed.
Anthony was found not guilty of murder charges in the suspicious death of her two-year-old daughter, Caylee, in a July 2011 verdict.
In an interview with the AP, Casey Anthony says she didn’t do it, has no idea who did, and sleeps well at night, thank you very much.
The Florida resident, 30, said that there are “a lot of parallels” with O.J.’s case in that both were presumed guilty instead of innocent.
In 1995, the former NFL star, now 69, was found not guilty of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman.
“I can empathize with his situation,” Anthony told the AP.
By that, Anthony says that like O.J., “my sentence was doled out long before there was a verdict. Sentence first, and verdict afterward.”
“People found me guilty long before I had my day in court,” she adds. “I don’t give a s–t about what anyone thinks about me, I never will.”
(In 2008, Simpson was found guilty of armed robbery, kidnapping and other felonies, and is serving 33 years at a Nevada state prison.)
Anthony does not reside in prison, but in the home of Patrick McKenna, the lead investigator of the defense team that won her freedom.
Incredibly, McKenna also served as the lead investigator on Simpson’s defense team when he was accused of killing his ex and Goldman.
She may sleep well these days, nearly nine years after her toddler first disappeared, but it’s safe to say that Casey’s parents do not.
Cindy and George Anthony said, following the release of the AP interview, that their daughter is dragging them back to a tragic period.
Casey’s parents said in a statement this week:
“After years of silence, Casey Anthony has decided to complete an interview and has once again pointed to George Anthony, her father.”
George, the statement says, is implicitly being suggested as a “suspect in the disappearance and death of his granddaughter, Caylee.”
“George, who has continued to try and move forward from this tragedy and who was vindicated on multiple occasions,” can not do so.
Instead, he “is once again forced to relive the hints, rumors, lies and allegations that are being made by Casey Anthony,” they said.
As a result, “His heart hurts even more now.”
Casey’s relationship with her family is tumultuous; Anthony’s lawyers accused George of molesting her when she was eight years old.
He angrily denied that on the stand, along with claims that he covered up the fact (or theory, as it were) that Caylee accidentally drowned.
George was never charged with a crime.
Asked about this by the AP, Casey said, “Everyone has their theories, I don’t know … as I stand here today I can’t tell you one way or another.”
“The last time I saw my daughter,” she says, “I believed she was alive and was going to be okay, and that’s what was told to me.”
The prosecution contended that Casey Anthony dumped Caylee’s body in the woods so that she could resume a life of partying.
