George and Cindy Anthony did not hold back in a new interview with Elizabeth Vargas for the A&E special Casey Anthony’s Parents Speak.
Five minutes into the two-hour special on Monday George was in tears while speaking about the death off his granddaughter Caylee, while Cindy said that she was tired of people looking at the couple as ‘the Anthony who raised Casey, a monster’.
Later in the program the two were asked if there were any signs that suggested Caylee might in danger, with Cindy saying she got no indication at the time that her granddaughter was at risk while George told a much different story.
‘Part of me wishes I would have seen signs, especially in the last six months,’ stated Cindy.
‘Casey was good at covering her tracks, which we found out later. There was subtle sign looking back now but I didn’t realize it in the middle of it.’
Tough talk: Casey Anthony’s parents George and Cindy appearED in a A&E special Monday night on the tenth anniversary of their granddaughter’s death (George and Cindy above)
Cindy reported Caylee (pictured with mom Casey above) missing on July 15 of 2008, saying it had been 31 days since she last saw her granddaughter
When Vargas asked Cindy for more details, she added: ‘Just little things. George started wondering about her hours working and things.’
At that point George shared a story he has told before about going to see Casey at a Sports Authority where she claimed to be working only to learn that she did not have a job.
Vargas again pressed the couple, asking if they ever confronted Casey about this job.
When George said he did Vargas asked what Casey’s response was to that question, and having been caught it in a lie.
‘That it’s none of my business,’ said George.
Things then got tense between the two when George began to reveal other signs of trouble, saying he would return home from his afternoon shift at midnight or later some nights only to find that Casey and his granddaughter, who was just 2, were not yet home.
Things then got tense between the two during the interview when George began to reveal other signs of trouble, saying he would return home from his afternoon shift at midnight or later some nights only to find that Casey and his granddaughter, who was just 2, were not yet home
He then claimed that the two would some times be missing for two to three days at a time, an allegation that riles up Cindy who fiercely denied that her granddaughter ever slept at another person’s home let alone was gone for days.
‘Most times, but a few times she wasn’t,’ said George.
‘Because that was a night she was supposedly going to spend a night with nanny or one of her friends.’
That nanny, who Casey named Zanny, was made up, and later pegged by the mother as the woman who was last seen with her missing daughter and thus the presumed kidnapper.
Cindy, who acknowledged how anxious she felt about sitting down for the interview throughout the special, started to get flustered at that point, declaring: ‘George, as far as Caylee goes, I know when that child was not here.’
George responded by saying he did not disagree, but did find it alarming that when Casey was gone with Caylee it would be for days.
’Not at that time,’ said Cindy.
‘About six months before we saw a couple different times where she’d be gone for a couple of days,’ said George.
‘No,’ said Cindy.
‘Casey and Caylee did not stay out for two or three days, I know that for a fact. Caylee was always here.’
Hard truth: George has stated in the past that he believes Casey was involved in the death of Caylee and has no desire to see his daughter ever again
Vargas jumped in at that point, giving Cindy a incredulous look as she asked: ’So Caylee never spent the night somewhere else?’
That forced Cindy to pause a second before replying: ‘Maybe one or two times, cause I wouldn’t go to bed unless I knew Caylee was tucked in.’
George meanwhile could be seen looking off into the distance, conflicted about whether to tell his version of events and risk hurting his wife or keep quiet.
‘Listen I don’t want to get upset with you, I don’t want to upset anyone any more but I just now what I witnessed…,’ said George.
Cindy continued to deny his claims while Vargas eventually cut through the noise and said: ‘You feel differently, don’t you George.’
That is when he said that he saw some things ‘differently from Cindy,’ and mentioned as an example things that went missing in their house that he was blamed for link money that was taken out of his wife’s wallet.
At the time he was dealing with a gambling addiction so it was not out-of-character for Cindy to assume her husband was the culprit, but George claims it was Casey.
He then offered up evidence to back up that claim, pointing out to his wife that Casey had stolen money out of a savings account they set up for Caylee.
Cindy was quick to defend their daughter once more, saying: ‘But George, Casey learned by example.’
That line prompted Vargas to call for a break, despite the fact that George managed to keep his cool in that moment as his wife stormed off set.
This information all came out for the first time after ten years because of Vargas, who in her first interview since being ousted from 20/20 did a remarkable job of forcing the Anthonys to address the reality of their situation. George is seen above
‘No, but I’m telling you, you lied to me for several years and that’s where our daughter got it,’ said Cindy as she walked out of frame.
George simply replied: ‘Don’t deny it.’
He showed a similar lack of awareness earlier in the interview when Vargas asked about who fathered Caylee.
George not only said he did not know, but also that he never even asked his daughter.
‘I was so excited, I didn’t really bombard her with any questions,’ said the former police officer.
‘I didn’t ask her about the father, I didn’t ask her about any of that stuff.’
Family ties: Cindy and baby Casey (left) and George with his granddaughter Caylee (right)
This information all came out for the first time after ten years because of Vargas, who in her first interview since being ousted from 20/20 did a remarkable job of forcing the Anthonys to address the reality of their situation.
It was all the more impressive considering the fact that the couple sits down for a similar interview on an annual basis, with Vargas’ dogged nature paying off big time for viewers as she refused to let tot mom’s parents half-answer some questions and flippantly dismiss others as happened in the past.
That is how the two came to confess that their half-aware nature during the months after Caylee’s birth was likely due to the fact that they were in the process of getting divorced when they learned that their daughter was pregnant.
Caylee was born in 2005, and over the next few years the estranged couple slowly began to grow close again, with George moving home just before his granddaughter’s first birthday.
Less than two years later she was gone.
Cindy reported Caylee missing on July 15 of 2008, saying it had been 31 days since she last saw her granddaughter.
Her body was eventually discovered that December not far from the home, having been wrapped in a blanket and put into a trash bag.
A cross marks Caylee’s resting place. This interview could be the last time that the two are ever seen in the house where they last saw their granddaughter
In an interview last year the two said the birth of their grandson in 2013, the child of their son Lee, saved them when they needed it most.
This interview could be the last time that the two are ever seen in the house where they last saw their granddaughter.
A non-jury trial has been set for August to determine what will happen to the home after the pair failed to make their monthly mortgage payment.
This is now the third time since 2010 that the couple has gone into foreclosure proceedings on the Orlando home.
It is US Bank National Association who filed this latest case against the couple, claiming in court documents filed in Florida’s Ninth Circuit Court that the Anthonys never made a single payment on the promissory note signed by Cynthia in 2010 after she received $121,160.
Part of that money may have been used to settle up with Bank of America, which that same year filed a foreclosure notice on the home which was later withdrawn.
Casey is seen above in Palm Beach, where she now lives
Cynthia owed $115,315.01 at the time according to legal documents and had not made a mortgage payment since the previous year.
The Anthonys ultimately avoided foreclosure, but they were put in the same predicament just a few years later in 2013 when another company came after them for money.
NationStar Mortgage stated in court papers that the couple owed $128,852.06 to the company and had not made a payment in years.
That case was dismissed just before the final hearing when a settlement was reached between both sides.
This could be the case once again for the couple, who no longer reside in the Orlando home.
The home is worth just $200,000 according to online real estate sites.
This A&E interview comes just one year after the couple’s last sit-down in 2017 with Investigation Discovery, who aired the two-episode special ‘Casey Anthony: An American Murder Mystery.’
That special took at look at Casey’s lawyer Jose Baez’s decision to state in his opening statement that George sexually molested his daughter and helped her hide the body of her dead daughter Caylee after she drowned in a pool.
A disgusted George denied both of those allegations, and said of Casey: ‘My daughter could come right in front of me right now and say, “Dad this is what really happened,” and I wouldn’t believe her.’
He also broke down as he read the suicide note he wrote three weeks after Caylee’s body was discovered near his home in Orlando, Florida.
Boiling point: ‘No, but I’m telling you, you lied to me for several years and that’s where our daughter got it,’ states Cindy (above)
Tearful admissions: It may be the last time the two ever appear together in the home, which is in foreclosure
In the special George was asked explicitly asked by the production team if he ever molested Casey.
‘Definitely not. Definitely not would I do anything like that to my daughter,’ said George.
He then grew enraged and began to clench his fist as he said: ‘I sat in that courtroom that day, and to hear that opening statement from that attorney [Baez], you don’t know how much I wanted to get up and just, do something to him.’
In his opening statement in the case, Baez immediately went after George, saying that he began sexually abusing his daughter when she was just eight-years-old.
‘She could have her father’s penis in her mouth and go to school and play with the other kids like nothing was wrong,’ claimed Baez.
Search: Caylee’s body was found six months after she went missing just down the street from the Anthonys home
He went on to claim that George was the one who found Caylee dead in a pool after the toddler drowned, and that he ran to Casey holding the body and screamed: ‘Look what you’ve done. Your mother will never forgive you. You’ll go to jail for the rest of your life.’
Baez then continued his attack on George when he was the first witness called to the stand after opening remarks, a last second move by the prosecution after learning that the defense would be making the defendant’s father a target.
He did not ask George about the molestation or the discovery of Caylee’s body, but rather made him recount a suicide attempt he made in early 2009.
George spoke about that difficult time during the special while fighting back tears.
‘I could not function after Caylee was found. I could not function,’ said George.
‘I drove as far as Daytona Beach, Florida to the most rattiest hotel. I took about 70 pills, I drank as much beer as I could, because I … I didn’t know what anymore to do.’
Housing crisis: The Anthonys home, which will soon be foreclosed on if they cannot reach a deal
He then read parts of the lengthy note aloud, saying: ‘I want to hold her again, I miss her, I will always love us… I love you, Cynthia Marie – Caylee, here I come.’
Cindy spoke about what an amazing daughter Casey had been in her younger years, and the joy Caylee had brought to her life.
‘Casey was just a very spirited child. She had a lot of energy, she was just the light of our lives,’ said Cindy.
‘She made people smile. Casey was very popular. She had tons of friends and lots of little boyfriends.’
She went on to speak about their bond, revealing: ‘Casey and I were inseparable. I mean we shopped together, we did crafts together, we went on walks. We were very close.’
Things got even more exciting revealed Cindy when she learned that a baby was on the way.
‘I remember one day she came up to my office, and she had just come from the doctor, and she said that she was pregnant and she was worried that I would be upset with her,’ said Cindy.
‘And I just hugged her and said,”I’m gonna be a grandma. That’s awesome.” And I hugged her and said, “You’re gonna be a wonderful mom.”‘
The day the baby arrived was the happiest of Cindy’s life.
‘I was the first one to hold her and I felt kind of guilty doing that, but oh my gosh I just melted when she handed me Caylee,’ said Cindy.
‘Caylee reminded me a lot of Casey and I think that’s where my attachment to her was, it was just like reliving having Casey again.’