George Anthony

September 5, 1951

• George Anthony (Casey’s father) is Born in Ohio.

1970s-1980s:

• Works as a police officer and detective in Ohio before leaving law enforcement.

1981

• March 20, 1981, George and Cindy marry in Niles, Ohio, after meeting at a hospital where Cindy worked.

1982

• Their son Born – Lee Anthony

March 19,1986

• Casey Marie Anthony born
  

1989:

• Moved to Orlando, Florida, in 1989 with his wife Cindy and their two children, Casey (3 years old) and Lee (7 years old).
• Worked a variety of security jobs in Florida.
• Lived at Hopespring Drive with his wife Cindy and granddaughter Caylee Anthony.

August 9, 2005

• Caylee Marie Anthony was born.
• Initially, George and Cindy were excited about becoming grandparents, even though Casey had not clearly identified Caylee’s father.
• George believed Casey was employed at Universal Studios and that she was a working mother.
• Helps raise Caylee alongside Cindy at their Hopespring Drive home.

2008

June 15 (Father’s Day)

• Worked 3:00 PM – 11:00 PM shift.
• Cindy and Caylee visit Caylee’s great-grandfather.
• Cindy unknowingly takes the last photograph of Caylee.

June 16 (Last Day Caylee Was Seen by Anyone Other Than Casey)

• Had breakfast with Caylee at home.
• 12:50 PM – Saw Casey leave with Caylee, who was wearing a pink shirt, jean shorts, sunglasses, and a backpack.
• Kissed Caylee goodbye, never saw her again.

June 24 (Break-in at the Shed)

• Noticed that the lock on his shed was broken. Reported to Orange County Sheriff’s Office that gas cans were stolen.
• Later found out Casey had stolen the gas cans.
• That afternoon, Casey arrived home, and when George asked for his gas cans, she threw them at him angrily, cursing.

June 27 (Casey’s Car Abandoned at Amscot)

• Unaware that Casey abandons her white Pontiac Sunfire at an Amscot parking lot next to a dumpster.

July 15 (Day 30 – The Truth Begins to Unfold)

• Receives a letter from Johnson’s Wrecker about Casey’s abandoned car.
• Drives with Cindy to the tow yard to retrieve the Pontiac Sunfire.
• Overwhelming smell from the trunk.
• Tells Cindy: “Jesus, what died?”
• Drives the car home.

July 15 (Evening – 911 Calls)

• Casey refuses to tell Cindy where Caylee is.
• Cindy makes three 911 calls, initially about the car, then about a missing child.
• Police arrive and question Casey.
• Casey claims Caylee was kidnapped by “Zani the Nanny” (Zenaida Gonzalez).

July 16 – Investigation Begins

• Cadaver dogs alert to decomposition in Casey’s trunk.
• Another dog alerts to human decomposition in the backyard near Caylee’s playhouse.
• Casey is arrested for lying to police.

August 2008 – Forensic Testing on Casey’s Car

• Tests confirm human decomposition in Casey’s car.
• High levels of chloroform detected in the trunk.
• Computer searches from March 2008 reveal Casey searched:
• “How to make chloroform”
• “Neck breaking”
• “Household weapons”

October 14, 2008:

• Casey Anthony is indicted by a grand jury on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter, and providing false information to law enforcement. Her father, George Anthony, testified before the grand jury that indicted Casey.

December 11, 2008

• Caylee’s remains are found in a wooded area 0.3 miles from the Anthony home.
• The duct tape found on Caylee matches duct tape on George’s stolen gas cans.

2009

January 29, 2009

• George Anthony, grandfather of slain toddler Caylee Anthony, may have taken his own life today had authorities not located him as quickly as they did. Police found Anthony despondent and possibly under the influence of medication and alcohol early this morning in a Daytona Beach, Fla., hotel. Police also discovered a five-page suicide note in the hotel that Anthony had apparently penned. Police were able to track Anthony’s location through his cell phone, which he used to send a text messages to his family saying he did not “want to live anymore,” Police then invoked the Baker Act and took him to the hospital.
  

2011 – Casey Anthony Trial & Accusations Against George

May 24, 2011 – Trial Begins

• George testifies as a key prosecution witness.
• Denies any involvement in Caylee’s death.
• Defense attorney Jose Baez accuses George of sexually abusing Casey as a child.
• George strongly denies the allegations.

June 15, 2011: Casey Anthony’s father is fighting back

• after weeks of being accused by his daughter’s lawyers of sexually molesting Casey Anthony when she was a child and helping to hide the body of his dead granddaughter, 2-year-old Caylee Anthony. An angry statement issued by George Anthony’s lawyer refers to his daughter as “the Defendant Casey Anthony,” and insists he had nothing to do with her actions “established by the State of Florida in the presentation of their case.”

June 29, 2011

• George Anthony testified in the murder trial of his daughter Casey Anthony. The defense claims George Anthony found Caylee dead in the family swimming pool on June 16, 2008 and helped try to cover up the toddler’s death.
• During cross-examination, prosecutor Jeff Ashton asked George Anthony about his suicide note. George Anthony testified he wanted to be with Caylee, and he would be dead had law enforcement not intervened, reports the station.

George Anthony began to cry again as he discussed his suicide note on the stand.

“My emotional state, even through today, is very hard to accept that I don’t have a granddaughter anymore, but for that particular day, it just felt like the right time to go and be with Caylee,” he said, according to the station.

• George Anthony testified that while Casey Anthony was out of jail on bond in August 2008, he purchased a gun. He said that he was going to force people he believed had knowledge of Caylee’s whereabouts to give him information at gunpoint. The gun was seized by police because of the restrictions on his home when Casey Anthony was living there while out on bond. 
  

June 30, 2011

• the defense called Krystal Holloway, a volunteer in the search for Caylee, who stated that she had had an affair with George. According to Holloway, George had said that Caylee’s death was “an accident that snowballed out of control”. During cross-examination, prosecutors pointed to Holloway’s sworn police statement, in which she had said that George believed, rather than knew, it was an accident.
• When George was questioned about his alleged romance with Holloway, he said that he met her working at the command center but he denied having any romantic relationship with her. However, when police came to her home in February 2010, they found a text message from George that read, “Just thinking about you. I need you in my life.”
  

July 5, 2011 – Casey Anthony Acquitted

• Casey is found not guilty of murder but guilty of lying to police.
• George and Cindy are devastated.
• George distances himself from Casey.

Key Facts About George Anthony

• The last person (besides Casey) to see Caylee alive.
• First to notice the smell in Casey’s car.
• Denied involvement in Caylee’s disappearance.
• Was accused by Casey’s defense team, but never charged with any crime.

Post-Trial & Later Years (2011-Present)

• 2011-2017 – Struggles with the Aftermath
• Estranged from Casey.
• Struggles with mental health and public scrutiny.
• Still believes Casey knows what happened to Caylee.
• January 23, 2018 – George Attempts Suicide
• Found in his car with a suicide note.
• Survives and seeks therapy.

George Anthony, the father of Casey Anthony, drove off the road and flipped his car in a crash near Daytona Beach that left him incapacitated and the vehicle disabled, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Anthony told the responding trooper he did not remember what happened prior to the crash. The trooper’s report suggests Anthony was ill or fainted. Anthony, 67, was driving west on Interstate 4 east of State Road 44 just after 3 p.m. Saturday when he drove off the shoulder of the highway, the FHP report said.

When Anthony attempted to swerve left back onto the roadway he lost control of the vehicle and “began to overturn several times,” the report said. The vehicle, a green 1999 Toyota 4Runner 4D registered to his wife Cindy, finally came to a rest off the median shoulder on the other side of the road, the report said.

• 2020s – Private Life & Occasional Public Statements
• Remains mostly out of the public eye.
• Occasionally speaks about his love for Caylee and his belief that Casey was involved in her death.
• Still estranged from Casey.