9 Things You Didn't Know About Casey Anthony
Casey Anthony and her life of lies and loss has been in the headlines since her daughter disappeared in 2008.
It's hard to believe that with all that coverage of her, her parents, her boyfriends and her trial that there are elements of her life that people don't know.
But the court released 447 pages of depositions by two psychiatrists Wednesday who had interviewed Anthony to determine whether she was competent for trial. The pages showed events and details of Anthony's life that before had been kept secret or ignored.
Here are nine of those details.
1. Why She Got the "La Bella Vita" Tattoo
On July 3, 2008, while Caylee was missing, Anthony got a tattoo on her left shoulder that read, "La bella vita," Italian for "the beautiful life."
While many construed the tattoo to be an expression of her newfound freedom without a child, Anthony told one of the psychiatrists, Dr. William Weitz, that was not the case.
"You talk about the beauty in life, but if you look at it backwards it creates an irony in terms of how my life has turned out," Weitz recalled Anthony telling him.
"There was an ironic shift, a sudden shift in the course of her whole life," Weitz said.
2. She Has Three Tattoos
Though her "La Bella Vita" tattoo was highly publicized, the conversations with doctors revealed that Anthony had two other tattoos, a shamrock and three cherry blossoms. One was on her back and the other was on her right hip.
3. How She Chose Caylee's Name
Anthony was very excited when she found out she was pregnant with a little girl and put a lot of thought into what she should name her.
"She wanted to name [the baby] after herself with a similar meaning. She said she wanted to give it…the Irish lineage," Weitz said. "She said she considered Riley, but she had passed on that because she still wanted to have the CMA initials. Of course, her mother has it and she has it…and she wanted to pass it on to her daughter."
4. She Loved Three Men
Weitz said there were "only three people that she talked about loving in her life." They were Jesse Grund, Ryan Paisley and Keith Drew Piersky. Grund and Piersky were high school boyfriends and Paisley was an elementary school friend she really trusted.
"She always had a man in her life, I think, for protection and security, more emotional," Weitz said. "My thinking was that she was always had a male replacement, a boyfriend, when she ended a relationship."
5. She Carried an Extra Car Key
Weitz said that Casey Anthony seemed to be a "devoted and good mother to the child."
He noted that she used to carry an extra key for the car in case Caylee were to somehow get locked in.
The other psychiatrist, Dr. Jeffery Danziger, also talked to Anthony about the "healthy food and vegetables" she cooked for Caylee's meals.
6. Her Friends Called Her "Mom"
Anthony's apparent maternal instincts extended to her friends, she said.
"Her friends called her 'Mom.' She was the one who got everybody home," Danziger said.
"[She] didn't smoke cigarettes and didn't like friends to smoke around the child," the doctor said.
7. She Won a Citizenship Award
In school, Anthony played volleyball, soccer and ran track. Her favorite subjects were math and physical education, but she struggled with science.
"She was an excellent student for most of the time, and she was multiskilled in both academic and sports and very well liked," Weitz said.
Anthony won an award for "best helper" in school and another for exemplary citizenship.
"She's liked by her school teachers, principals and peers. She wins the citizenship awards. She wins Junior Achievement awards," Weitz said. "Basically, there is no history of violence, aggression, any commitment of any behavior that would be antithetical to rules and regulations of schools, of churches, of the legal system."
8. She Was a Shutterbug
"She loves photography. She took lots of pictures of Caylee, and I saw lots of pictures," Weitz said. She said that taking photos had been a passion since childhood.
Anthony told Weitz that she was "good at what I do," in regards to photography. She told him she worked with Universal Studios following high school.
In an allegedly leaked video of Anthony that surfaced earlier this month, she mentions her excitement at now having a camera, computer and cell phone. The next day, a series of self-portraits also surfaced online.
9. She Was a Tomboy
Anthony underwent an MMPI, a personality test frequently used in mental health assessments. Danziger said that she had "an entirely normal profile" in all areas, except one.
"The only one that was elevated was the MF for male/female scale, which would suggest she's a bit of a tomboy…or that she has interests that are stereotypically male," Danziger said.
Weitz made a similar observation. "I mentioned she was a pal gal," he said. "She liked guys better than girls."
