Acquittal prompts different reactions

By Ed Runyan

and robert guttersohn

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

The unexpected Casey Anthony acquittal left the family with a “mixed bag” of reactions, according to Chuck Eddy, brother-in-law to the Anthony family.

“At least the one piece [of the case] is they don’t have to deal with their daughter being lethally injected,” Eddy said in a phone interview from Orlando, where the trial took place.

The verdict surprised the family — especially after such a quick deliberation, said Eddy, of Canfield, whose car dealership is in Austintown.

“I’m thankful for the family,” said Eddy, whose wife is the sister of George Anthony, Casey’s father. “Casey must use the grace ... properly.”

Some things Casey Anthony did in relation to her daughter’s death are very upsetting, but the American legal system demands more proof than prosecutors delivered during the murder trial in Orlando, local trial watchers said Tuesday.

“I think she did it, but they didn’t have enough evidence to convict her, so legally it’s acceptable, but from a moral viewpoint it’s pretty questionable,” said Brooke Anderson, 20, of Niles.

Casey Anthony, 25, was acquitted Tuesday of murdering her 2-year-old daughter in a case that became a national sensation. The jury took less than 11 hours to find Anthony not guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter and aggravated child abuse. She was convicted of four misdemeanor counts of lying to investigators who were looking into the June 2008 disappearance of her daughter.

Casey Anthony lived with her parents, George and Cindy Anthony, in Howland Township until the family moved to Florida when Casey was 2.

Prosecutors hoped to build a case against Casey Anthony by showing the lies she told and showing photos of her partying in the weeks after her daughter went missing.

“I definitely think she did it, but if I were a juror, I don’t think I could convict her,” Anderson said.

“It kind of makes you question the justice system, but you can’t prove everything,” she added. “I don’t think there are many people who think she didn’t do it.”

“I guess I’m disappointed. I thought she was guilty,” Mary Russell of Bainbridge, Ohio, said while sitting in the Mocha House restaurant in Warren.

“The media portrayed her as guilty. At the very least, she was not a good mom,” Russell said.

“I think it’s kind of ridiculous,” Cassie Savage of Warren, manager of the Mocha House, said of the verdict.

“I realize there wasn’t any real hard evidence that she did it, but I think there was a lot of information that, hey, she probably did it. I think it should have gone the other way.”

Earl Godney of Warren, another Mocha House employee who is a big “CSI” television show fan, said without fingerprints or some other physical evidence, there wasn’t enough proof of her guilt.

Godney said he was bothered by the testimony of Casey’s father, whom the defense team accused of being abusive toward Casey. Godney said he thinks George Anthony’s testimony made jurors suspect he was involved and could have raised doubts about Casey Anthony’s guilt.

“I think the father was involved. He’s a cop, and they know how to cover things up,” Godney said. “He was always evasive and never answered questions directly.”

For now, the family still seeks closure in the death of Caylee.

“God’s in control of the ordeal right now,” Eddy said. “Justice may move slowly, but God is in control.”