COMMENTARY | It is as yet unknown what types of deals Casey Anthony will be making concerning books, movie rights, or interviews to various print, web, or televised media outlets, but it is believed that she will shortly cash in on her notoriety even if only to pay off the exorbitant attorneys fees that will accumulate while she fights what looks to be several lawsuits leveled against her in the wake of her "not guilty" verdict. But even if book deals and interviews are still part of Anthony's future, others making money off of her story has continued unabated. Not only is the media still running non-stop storylines on the Caylee Anthony case, Casey Anthony's trial, speculations regarding her future plans, her Sunday release, and her suspected whereabouts, Nancy Grace reported on her HLN show Monday evening that first photos of Anthony at her hideaway could garner the photographer at least $250,000.
In fact, Nancy Grace, who has followed the Caylee and Casey Anthony story from its onset in July 2008 (and some say sensationalized it far beyond its merits), was reporting on Anthony's presumed whereabouts, showing the flight path of a private plane that left Orlando shortly after Anthony was released from the Orange County Jail early Sunday morning, when she let drop the information that photos of Casey Anthony in her new residence could be worth a considerable sum.
"There you see her escape route," Grace said. "Tot mom in hiding -- the first shot of her in hiding, expected to go for nearly a quarter million dollars."
Speculation as to where the 25-year-old Anthony would end up after her three-year jailing has been rampant, mostly due to the amount of anger the general public has shown toward the "not guilty" verdict -- Anthony had been on trial for the 2008 murder of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee -- and not a few death threats that have been directed Anthony's way (according to her attorneys; the Orange County Jail said they received no threats against Anthony). As soon as she was hustled out of the Orange County Jail a little past midnight on July 17, the media has run with wild with guesses -- some based on credible prior knowledge of certain conditions.
HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell before Anthony's release that she might go to Puerto Rico (her lawyer, Jose Baez, owns a house there).
Others have speculated that she might head to Ohio, the birth state of her parents and where an aunt and uncle live. Those assumptions were given some credence shortly after Anthony left the jail when a plane bound for Ohio left Orlando in the early morning hours. However, airport sources maintained that the only people on the Ohio flight were returning vacationing golfers.
As for the private jet scenario, Anthony very well could be in Prescott, Arizona, or Carlsbad, California. The jet that the "Nancy Grace" show tracked belonged to a one-time Anthony defense team lawyer, Todd Macaluso, who operates out of San Diego. He has stated he does not know the whereabouts of Anthony. But when asked if he would have been willing to fly Anthony out of Orlando, Macaluso told an NBC affiliate in San Diego, "What do I look like, a charter pilot?"
There are those who will most likely note that Macaluso's words were not a denial...
Still, Anthony does not have to be anywhere until October. A judge ruled last week that a deposition in the "Zanny the Nanny" civil lawsuit case against Anthony could wait until October. Anthony is being sued for defamation by Zenaida Gonzalez, who was arrested and questioned for days by Orange County investigators when they believed she may have kidnapped Anthony's 2-year-old daughter. During the murder trial, Anthony's defense said Caylee had drowned in her grandparents' pool and that the statements she made to authorities, including those about the child's kidnapping and being missing, were elaborate lies.
At present, nobody seems to know where Casey Anthony might be. She could still be in Florida. Regardless, her whereabouts are a closely guarded secret. Given the national sense of outrage that flooded the Internet and talk radio and television shows afterward, it would probably be in her best interest to remain hiding (at least for a while) and keep her location an unknown. But her story will undoubtedly remain of interest and if someone -- anyone -- discovers her whereabouts, a quick picture could net the photographer $250,000 -- more, if they want to start a bidding war among media outlets.
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