By Arelis Hernandez, Hal Boedeker and Amy Pavuk, The Orlando Sentinel
ORLANDO, Fla. — A video of a woman who looks and sounds like Casey Anthony has surfaced online, in what she describes as her first video diary.
If it is Anthony, she is making her first public statements since she was acquitted in July of first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee.
It could not be immediately confirmed if it is Anthony, whose whereabouts remain publicly unknown. Her criminal and civil attorneys did not respond to requests for comment Thursday morning.
The woman, who said the video was shot Oct 13, discusses her enthusiasm about her newly acquired personal possessions and says she adopted a dog that she loves.
She doesn’t mention the murder trial in the video that was posted on a website called caseyanthonyisinnocent.com as well as YouTube.
A woman who posted the video on YouTube said she doesn’t know where it originated — she found several links to the clip on various Facebook pages and said she pulled the video from one of those links.
Anthony had long, dark hair during her high-profile murder trial. This woman has a blond bob and is wearing thick, wide-rimmed glasses along with a light-colored tank top that plunges down her chest to a necklace.
“So, this is my first video diary,” she said, adding that she is still trying to figure out her new computer. “I don’t know. I guess I’m liking it so far. It’s obviously a different ballgame for me because I’ve never used this before. So, I guess these will be as tedious as my audio recordings have been.”
Anthony remains on probation, under supervision by the Florida Department of Corrections, for check-fraud convictions — a sentence handed down before her first-degree murder trial.
She says she is extremely excited that she will be able to Skype, keep a video log and take pictures and that she finally has “something that I can call mine.”‘
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to call something mine and now I have something even, you know, as silly as saying that I have a computer, and a camera and a phone …” she said.
She also notes she “actually now paid for my own computer. The camera was a gift. But these are things that are mine — that I don’t have to — I don’t know — that I don’t have to give back.”
She doesn’t disclose her location. But says she’ll be there until February.
“It’s kind of nice finally to be able to say that I have some belongings that are mine that I will take with me after I leave here next year.”
She says things are “looking up” and she expects to post many more video updates in the future, even though she says she is uncomfortable on camera.
“It’s just a little surreal how much things have changed since July and how many things haven’t changed,” she said. “But the good thing is that things are starting to look up and things are starting to change — in a good way. I just hope they stay … that things stay good and that they only get better.”
Bill Sheaffer, who provided legal analysis for WFTV-TV in Orlando during the Anthony murder trial, called the video a “Casey Anthony classic.”
“I think she’s narcissistic, and that comes out in the video,” he said. “She talks about how she is doing and how her life is taking a turn and it’s all about her. It’s not anything about her parents, her dead child or the misery and pain that her actions caused a great number of people.”
He said he’s not surprised she selected the video-diary format.
“She doesn’t subject herself to any examination, even on a superficial level,” he said. “It’s out now for two reasons: First, (former prosecutor) Jeff Ashton’s book doesn’t paint a flattering picture of her. Second, she has always been a social person. She’s not a loner. This is the first step in putting herself out there and trying to find someone who doesn’t hate her and will socialize with her.”
Attorney Mark NeJame, who offered analysis for WKMG-TV during the trial, said he has “no doubt” it’s her.
“The content of what she said was so self-absorbed that it could hardly be anybody but her,” he said. “I think it’s orchestrated with the intent to gauge public opinion for future opportunities, and I hope the public is aware of that and rejects anything that allows her to be paid or profit for future appearances. Video diaries are intended to be released to the public. If she wanted to do a personal diary, she could have kept that to herself. This was designed to create a new image of Casey Anthony.”
