Forensic Linguist Expert Breaks Down Casey Anthony’s Statements To Police

During night one of Oxygen’s limited series “The Case of: Caylee Anthony,” forensic linguist James Fitzgerald analyzed video footage of Casey Anthony following her arrest for the murder of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. Casey was acquitted on charges of both first-degree murder and manslaughter.

Along with former FBI supervisory special agent Jim Clemente and former New Scotland Yard criminal behavioral analyst Laura Richards, Fitzgerald examined Casey’s behavior to see how she reacted to the charges brought against her.

The surveillance video from the sheriff’s office captures Casey chatting with officers while she waits for her defense attorney Jose Baez to arrive to the station.

While discussing the case’s media exposure with Casey, FBI agent Scott Bolin tells her that without the media “we don’t find a quarter of the kids …”

“Oh, I agree, it helps,” Casey said. “The exposure has helped bring in so many tips for my daughter.”

Richards observed that though Casey refers to Caylee as “my daughter,” the way she speaks about the investigation seems detached.

“You get distance from it; you don’t get a connection from it,” said Richards. “It’s almost like she’s talking about somebody else. It’s not her reality.”

In part one of “The Case of: Casey Anthony,” Fitzgerald narrowed in on Casey’s use of the words “my daughter” during her initial written statement to police.

“I counted eight separate times through this 700-word statement where she used the phrase ‘my daughter,’” explained Fitzgerald. “She almost like has to prove to whoever is going to be reading this that, ‘Oh by the way, this is my daughter, I want to remind you. And of course, if it’s my daughter, I would never do anything to harm her.’”  

In the video footage, Richards also indicated Casey was “incredibly polite. [...] She’s very conscious of her interaction with everybody.”

“It’s all just inherent to her personality,” said Fitzgerald.

To find out more about the case, watch “The Case of: Caylee Anthony,” airing Saturday, May 19, Sunday, May 20 and Monday, May 21 at 8/7c.

[Photo: Getty Images]