Seventeen men and women from Pinellas County were brought to Orange County for six weeks under strict sequestration to determine if Casey Anthony was guilty of killing her daughter, but what they did outside the courtroom has been a mystery -- until now.Court spokeswoman Karen Levey gave insight Friday into how the jurors spent their time, after Judge Belvin Perry dropped little hints during the trial, referencing food requests from the jurors and planned activities.
Court watchers first heard a glimpse of the activities of jurors within the first weeks of the trial. A discussion of 'pretzels' was held in open court. Just before court's recess that day, which came an hour and a half earlier than most days, watchers learned the sequestered jurors would be enjoying the Tampa Bay Lightning's Stanley Cup playoff game. This activity for the jurors was made possible by BrightHouse who coordinated and arranged the viewing, ensuring that no mention of Casey Anthony would cross their ears or eyes during the game. If you care, the Lightning lost that game.
Levey said all 17 jurors were booked into the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort under a fake group name - "The Rosen Transfer Students Conference."
The court paid $112 per room per night for the stay. The jurors were referred to as "Rosen Student No. 1," and so on.From the week before Memorial Day, until the day after Independence Day, jurors were never alone outside of time in their hotel rooms.
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| Rosen Shingle Creek Resort (poolside at night) |
"There was never a time when a juror could travel without an Orange County Deputy with him or her."
At first, jurors were allowed to watch a few dozen TV stations, but that dwindled to two shopping networks, and eventually, 10 days before the verdict, they were not allowed to watch any TV at all.
"Somewhere along the line, stations started to cover the trial gavel-to-gavel. And Brighthouse Networks started cross-promoting," Levey said.
"It started happening on the SyFy Channel, Cartoon Network, stations you would never ever think would do a promo for the Casey Anthony trial."
The jurors racked up nearly $25,000 in food bills, mostly at the hotel, but they did have some nights out.
Those special meals included one at the private University Club and a lunch at the Citrus Club, both in downtown Orlando.
"The dinners were eaten at the hotels, or at some restaurants that had private dining facilities, like Olive Garden, Houlihans (oddly enough, once where Casey Anthony's BFF, Amy Huizenga, once worked), and Tony Romas, places that had rooms that could be secured and deputies could be there," Levey said.
Deputies went to the movies with the jurors as well. They saw "The Green Lantern," "The Hangover 2," and "Super 8."
The cost to house, feed and transport the jurors added up to more than $160,000.The original cost estimate was $360,000, but that included Orange County Sheriff's Office expenses, which have not yet been added.
Levey said when the jurors were split up for deliberations on July 4, they were all offered to watch the fireworks over Lake Eola from the courthouse, but only the five alternates accepted.
Just over ten hours of deliberations, the twelve jurors returned their not guilty verdict the following afternoon.
Three years ago, women and mothers alike began to closely follow this case. Three years before it was the 'social event' of the Summer. Women and mothers were mesmerized by the huge dark brown eyes of a beautiful little girl and we became instantly engrossed in the disappearance of this little girl. A little girl that could have very well been our own. Now, we same women and mothers sit, mesmerized, that a fellow 'mother' by definition only, will soon walk free, with total disregard to her daughter. The little girl with the huge brown eyes that could have very well been our own.
Casey Anthony is due to be released from the Orange County Jail on Sunday, July 17, 2011. This comes three years to the day she was first arrested and held on child neglect charges. Three years since her mother, Cindy Anthony contacted 911 to report her granddaughter Caylee Marie had been missing for thirty one days. The same 911 call that spawned a massive search involving thousands of volunteers alongside a renowned missing persons search team, two subsequent arrests, a plea to check fraud and forgery resulting in a total of six felonies, almost 26,000 pages of evidence documents, a seven week trial, and finally, a not guilty verdict.
Casey Anthony will be released on 'time served' for what we women and mothers, the true jury of her peers, based on evidence provided to us, have determined Casey Anthony to be guilty in the homicide of Caylee, disposal of Caylee's remains and the cover up of said homicide of her daughter, Caylee Marie.
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