Gone are the “I love you’s” for CMA. Gone are the bright smiles towards Casey. When Lee took the stand, Casey smiled but brother Lee ignored her. How could he look at someone who literally ruined his life forever? How does he prove that he didn’t molest his sister? He will have to carry that burden for the rest of his life.
We have seen from Lee’s depo tape and from his pre trial behavior that he inappropriately laughs a lot when he is nervous or uncomfortable. That is why it is important to do a baseline analysis before you read a person’s body language to find out their particular body language quirks.
When Lee said that he came over to his mother’s house because she asked him to and then laughed as he said it, it was a passive aggressive way of saying “you do what Cindy says.” It was also odd that Cindy did not tell him that Casey was not saying where Caylee was .It showed that the communication between mother and son isn’t that great.
While Lee only laughed a handful of times out of nervousness, he certainly scratched himself a lot while he was on the stand.
He scratched his neck.
He scratched his right cheek.
He scratched the side of his nose.
He scratched his lower jaw.
He scratched the top of his head.
And he scratched the left side of his head.
When someone has a case of the itchy scratchies it usually means they are experiencing anxiety or nervousness. The autonomic nervous system causes more blood flow so there is often an accompanying itching sensation. Depending on the context of what is asked or said, it can also reflect deception. But in Lee’s case it appeared to be a signal of nervousness.
The bottom line was that Lee sounded credible and forthright when he spoke and has clearly broken his bond with his sister and will no longer protect her.
POLICE TESTIMONY SPOKE VOLUMES ABOUT GEORGE
Perhaps the most powerful aspect of today;s testimony in my view came from the police officers who came to the Anthony home as a result of Cindy calling 911. Cindy said it smelled like there was a dead body in the car and that is why the police showed up in the first place. Even though the lead officer smelled a strong foul odor from the open trunk, he did not order the CSI Unit to do an investigation on the car. Surely a senior officer would know how a dead body smelled. Did he slip up and make an error?
The other interesting thing was hearing both officers describe Cindy’s , George’s, and Casey’s demeanor. Cindy was understandably wild and angry and upset while both George and Casey were cool, calm and collected.
According to Lee, George didn’t even come into the room when Cindy and Lee were trying to get information out of Casey. He was distant and detached. That seems odd to me. It makes me wonder if he knew something. Did he know Casey was dead all along?
Here is a man who has proclaimed that Caylee was the love of his life and even had a tattoo put on his chest to honor her. How is it that he had not seen his grand daughter in 31 days, and now retreats? Apparently he had never been away from Caylee for a day and now she is gone 31 days and he doesn’t put in his two cents and ask one question of his daughter or insist on knowing Caylee’s whereabouts ?
Something doesn’t make sense to me here. I don’t buy it that he retreated because Cindy was loud and emotional and Lee was there . Why was he so uninvolved? Could this information about George’s uninvolved behavior create reasonable doubt with some of the jurors? Will they wonder if Jose Baez’ theory is true- that George knew about the drowning of Caylee? After all, this is an ex policeman. You would think that he would at least ask a question of his own daughter. Was he intimidated by his daughter? Did she have something over him like a sexual molestation secret? Will any of the jurors wonder about that? If I was on the jury I would be upset by Georges uninvolvement and lack of communication and his not trying to get to the bottom of Casey’s story.
The more a jury hears about everyone’s demeanor and body language, the easier it will be to reach a proper conclusion as to what really happened to Caylee. www.drlillianglass.com
Dr. Lillian Glass Body Language Blog 
Hello Dr. Glass,
I really enjoy reading ur analysis. I can see that the defense team has done their job. I can already feel you have a reasonable doubt after reading ur recent posts. I’m sure jury is feeling the same too.
So whether we like Baez or not, he seems to have implanted the seed!
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The seed has definately been planted as you say.
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I hear what you are saying, Dr. Lillian, about George, however…I noticed a similiar behavior of GA in the video that was recently put out by the press of Caylee’s 2nd birthday. The “party” was out on the patio, by the pool, and if you look at it, GA is standing quite a bit back from the group. That caught my attention when I first saw that video. With the strong personality of both Cindy and Casey, I would imagine GA HAS to take a back-seat and is used to everyone Else leading that family.
In addition, I too always found Lee’s laughing to be odd–you make a good point about the baseline–Thanks!
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In order to survive in a family that is this dysfunctional, everyone must play their part; George was simply “playing” his part.
I would bet this wasn’t the first time that GA left it to C and L to get information out of Casey relating to a big mess SHE had created. George’s part would be to come in afterward and sweep up the mess, i.e. pay money back, repair physical or emotional damage by replacing property or offering apologies, etc.
My older sister is just like Casey and I’ve played my part in the chaos she would create; all nine siblings did. I know the hell of living in a family like this. Fortunately, I haven’t seen any of them in over 20 years. I needed those years to get therapy and grow myself up into a healthy and HAPPY adult. THAT was MY responsibility.
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My dad is exactly the kind of guy who ‘shuts down’ and detaches rather than confront any of his daughters. I’m not sure if that’s what George was doing here, but if Cindy and Casey really are the strong personalities they seem to be, it would make sense if George instinctively ‘lays low’ when those two are fired up.
My father also detaches the same way when something is too horrible to be believed.
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But George DID confront Casey. When she was home on bail he got in that fight with her that all the news crews across the street heard. He was yelling at her to stop lying and to tell him where his granddaughter was. Cindy threw him out of the house until he cooled down.
They said when he came back later, he was hardly speaking to Casey.
It doesn’t fit that George had anything to do with this. I think he simply sees where confronting Casey goes, it strains his and Cindy’s already strained marriage further, and he gets thrown out of the house.
If the defense brings River into it she can also testify for the prosecution about his remark that Casey was “cold” had “ice water in her veins.”
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Yes, but then we have George’s lies/misstatements that aren’t don’t make seem to protect Casey but may be protecting him.
http://www.thehinkymeter.com/2010/06/05/the-anthony-encycliepedia-george-comes-home/
I’m starting to agree with the good Dr. here that George knows more than he’s let on.
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I agree ,George and Lee are use to Cindy & Casey going at it. Cindy has a very strong personality and her daughter is her match.
George comes off as a passive and maybe tired of the the fighting over the two women trying to control who was a better parent to Baby Caylee. I do not for a moment think that Casey killed her daughter to get back at her mother ,however over medicating her and leaving her in a heated car may have be the factor in this child death.
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I agree with your insight. I think that Cindy is the dominant personality, but Casey is the Drama Queen.
It is odd to me how everyone talks about Casey like she is a 12 yr old and unable to move out and live on her own, instead of her parents being nice enough to provide a place for her and her daughter to live. If she didn’t like the rules in their home, she was free to leave. She was adult enough to be out having sex with various young men….yet she acted as though her parents owed her a roof over her head and a vehicle to drive….I think she’s a spoiled/entitled brat. Why is Cindy a bad mother for expecting more out of her daughter?
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I suspect George’s staying out of the initial confrontation involving Casey and Cindy was partially due to his accustomed role in the family, but also due to his fear that Casey had killed Caylee (the clue being the stench in the car). He didn’t want to confirm that was the truth if Casey were to confess to him. These parents and her brother have a very strong ability to refuse to face facts. I think they’ve finally faced reality.
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ITA~
I don’t think his passive involvement on that one night means he is guilty of anything. He just stepped back and let the LE do their job. He got home from work just at the time the officers arrived leaving him little time to ask Casey questions.
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I think George learned a long time ago to stay out of the way of Cindy/Casey. He has a kind streak IMO. He loved to pull Caylee down the sidewalk in her wagon and dance to Spongebob with her. I think George and Caylee were probably very close. I don’t believe for a second George molested Casey. She wrote in a jail house letter that Lee molested her and she may have dreamed her father did the same. No 13 yr old girl would ever forget her father putting his penis in her mouth. She is lying. In her mind all men want her, bleecchh! Even Caylee was scared of Cindy as evidenced by Caylee’s non-reaction when Cindy rips the toy from her hands in the recent video. Also during the nursing home visit when Caylee pulls the table cloth over her face, she then peeks out and looking directly at Cindy says “I’m scared of you” chilling!
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I so agree Marianne..you never see Caylee smile or giggle in any of her pictures..she just copies the same smile her mother makes..showing all her teeth..I find it very odd.
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Are you certain Caylee wasn’t saying, “I’m scaring you?”
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I don’t believe that George had anything to do with Caylee or any prior knowledge. I think Cindy just wears the pants in the family.
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Yep, I agree Heather! George seems like an ethical person and a strong man. But is this family and at this time, he is a beaten and battered man. He and Cindy were in the midst of planning for divorced when all this happened and he’d been caught cheating. I would certainly be listening in the next room too. Dr. Glass, I love this blog and agree will 96% of everything you say, but I respectfully disagree this on about George.
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but *in* this family
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Totally agree with you on George. I’m a woman and NO WAY would I want to live day in and day out between Cindy and Casey’s rantings! I’d pack up and leave, knowing no good could come of the situation w/o professional intervention!
IMHO, Casey terrorized the household. She never owned up to her irresponsible ways. Casey felt entitled to have everything given to her. A narcissist must be the center of attention and if that means creating continuous “storms” so be it! And how dare anyone love someone more than the narcissist. After all everything is about them.
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Dr. Glass,
What was your take on Casey’s behavior while Lee was testifying. I thought she looked very, very scared when Lee brought up the “spiteful bitch” remark and Cindy giving her a hard time about being an unfit mother. I think Casey knew they were getting very close to the true motive behind Caylee’s murder.
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Dr Glass, IMO..one parent like Cindy would of been plenty to pounce on Casey. I am pretty sure he was in control sitting back and letting Cindy and Lee handle Casey. I think his role has always been laid back and in second place to Cindy! George could of been in trauma about the whole mess. He adored Caylee. There was a lot going on in the home from what the police have said..perhaps he is the listener and not the actor!
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I think Lee did his best to protect his sister in the only way he had left to do without being dishonest; he “forgot” everything and had to be reminded by looking back at his own testimony. It was not believable that he would forget every detail of things that were life-changing for him (and that have most likely replayed in his mind over and over again for the last 3 years) and it was irritating how it slowed down and impeded the proceedings.
I would guess that George Anthony knew that Caylee was dead as soon as he smelled the car and put 2 and 2 together. He is a realist. He knew Casey whereas Cindy was every hopeful and defensive. The fact that he was calm doesn’t tell me that much. He could have been resigned. Defeated. And he is no doubt used to taking the quiet role as opposed to Cindy’s histrionic role. So, we will see.
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ps. Did anyone else catch Lee’s snarky micro-expression when asked if Casey had ever mentioned having a nanny to him before? It was as if to say “Casey- a NANNY? Yeah, right!”
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I think George has a back-seat personality. If he weren’t like that, he would’ve never married control-freak Cindy. The state needs to put someone on the stand to testify of what George is like on an everyday basis. I find it appalling that the jury will only see his personality from the defenses’s point of view. Jury should have some behaviour to compare with. How can we judge what he’s doing during the “crisis” without knowing how he has behaved during other situations the family has been through?
And I agree that he’s being dishonest, but I think he’s trying to protect his daughter.
Reasonable doubt? Lots!
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I also find ridiculous the defense’s comparisons between Cindy’s reactions and George’s reactions. First one is a man, another a woman. What did they want? Did they want him to start screaming and sobbing like Cindy? Lee didn’t do that. Why would George?
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Great point…Lee didn’t act as Cindy did, no one draws attention to that!
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George, like most men, suppress and hide their emotions. It is not socially acceptable for a man to be “emotional.” If he had cried and carried on, people would say that was an act and fake.
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The defense is partly believable but I think that Casey either accidentally or deliberately killed Cayley and then tried to stage her drowning in the family pool–hence the six phone calls to Cindy. However, if George came home he would have realized immediately that this was a fake drowning because of the state of Caylee’s body. So he helped Casey stage an apparent ‘murder by a stranger’ with duct tape. The body was briefly in the sand box while they worked this out. Casey (or George) took too long to dispose of the body hence the decomp odor. Cindy was in denial and so believed Casey’s lies until very recently. George was shocked when Casey accused him of sexual abuse so he cannot help her further.
Lee is the most ‘normal’ person in the whole family whether you like him or not.
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I think Casey had been told by Cindy that she would no longer babysit and that Casey would have to be home every night. Cindy was really pissed about the nursing home account theft. Casey wanting to be with Tony that night tried furiously to get Cindy to answer her phone, when she didn’t, I think that’s when a spiteful Casey said to herself “Ok, I’ll take care of this problem myself”.
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I remember what Richard Grund said when they asked him about the Anthony’s and he said that “Cindy is the one that runs the show, whatever Cindy says goes and everyone else has to do what she wants.” (paraphase)
George did try to choke KC when she was out on bond because he yelled at her “Tell me where my grandaughter is.”
Cindy asked George’s friend who was there at the time to help her with George, and at the same time KC yelled at George, “Be a father for once in your life.”
Also when Tim Miller was helping search for Caylee he wanted KC to help find her by placing an “X” and George told KC to draw the “X”, Cindy overheard this and said NO and that was the end of that.
Cindy runs the show and George follows no matter what the circumstance is period.
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I think Cindy did ‘run the show’ but the show was a circus.
I don’t think this family bonded without drama. I think they needed turmoil (Caylee) to join forces and come together. I think this was a loveless marriage and a family devoid of a healthy loving foundation.
CA and GA never should’ve had children.
I see a lot of immaturity on both parts and a chip on the shoulders of each.
Usually happy-go-lucky-people (such as Casey) have anything BUT that sort of life style at home. So they over compensate when they’re away from that environment.
I don’t know much about CA/GA’s past but I would wager a bet, it wasn’t that great.
We do know George put his own father through a plate glass window (which ended their partnership in the business) and I also read, George was married before Cindy (not that that has much to do with things unless of course, Casey has half-siblings).
Casey didn’t just wake up and become this cold person. This was a work in progress.
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From my own perspective, Cindy and Casey are strong-willed women who pick compliant/weak men as partners. George’s mom was probably the same way and he learned early on that it’s easier to let the women fight it out and then step in afterwards to “fix” things. No doubt emasculating George was part of the daily routine in the household. Not surprising that he went off and had an affair – it must have made him feel more “manly” – not to mention appreciated.
Just because he was a cop doesn’t mean he is a strong, forceful personality. Like others have said, he probably listens very well and analyzes the pieces before confronting.
I really doubt that George had anything to do with the murder of Caylee. I don’t believe for one second that-faced with jail time and the possibility of a death sentence- that Casey wouldn’t have thrown him under the bus IMMEDIATELY if that were the case. That girl is all about protecting herself.
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I am surprised you are leaning toward George knowing something and him being calm. His wife was hysterical, he had to stay calm. Lots of people are calm in a crisis because someone has to be calm and then they break down in private.
also, in the 3rd 911 call, cindy says, “I’m on the phone with them” assuming someone asked if she called the police. Casey didn’t ask that, Lee was with Casey and I think he knew Cindy was calling 911 so that leaves George, I just think we don’t hear it in the call. George asks about calling 911 and Cindy says, I’m on the phone with them.
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1. George called Lee on July 15, 2008 sometime after he went to work and asked Lee to go over to HopeSpring Drive because his mother needed his assistance.
2. George was at work and knew the situation was serious. 3. Cindy had Casey in the car and she was not forthcoming about the whereabouts of Caylee.
4. When Lee arrived at the home he did not see anyone but went up to the garage, opened the door and saw the Pontiac with hood up and windows opened. He smelled the offensive odor, walked away from the car and stood in the driveway. 5. Within 5 minutes Cindy and Casey arrived home and Casey jumped out and went directly to her room.
6. It was at that point that Cindy asked Lee to go into the room and try to get Casey to tell him where Caylee was.
7. There is adequate evidence which supports the fact that both mother and son communicate.
Prior to July 15, 2008
8. When Lee was asked to contact Casey on June 3, 2008 he did so with the assistance of a close friend.
9. He gathered information for Cindy and reported back his findings to her.
10. Once Casey told Cindy “I need my space” Cindy told Lee she would not need him to track her down as she knew where Casey was.
11. When Lee came to the home on July 15, 2008 he spoke with Casey and when his “brain was fried” he told his mother that Casey told him “Caylee was kidnapped”.
12. After the police arrived Lee complied with his mother’s request to go over to Tony L. apt and pick up Casey’s belongings.
13.He returned with Casey belongings, computer,etc., and worked tirelessly to help investigators in the initial hours of the investigation.
14. He did go “round and round” with Casey during all of his jailhouse phone conversations but as everyone now knows Casey was more interested in calling Tony and retaining Mr Baez to give much thought to why she was in jail. Her goal was to get out-obviously not to help anyone find Caylee.
Further clarification:
*The evidence does not suggest for a milisecond that Lee Anthony knew Caylee was dead.
*When the first responder went to the home it is clear from the evidence that he “did not slip up and make an error”. *The officer knocked on the front door and could not smell or see the car.
*They were not dispatched because of a missing child but because of a “stolen car and theft committed by an adult daughter.”
The only member of the Anthony family that does not communicate is Casey.
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Agree. Let’s face it Mothers and Sons are generally not super chatty. Lee doesn’t seem to be totally out of the loop and was helpful in whatever his mother asked him to do.
To expect a 25 year old, young man who doesn’t live at home to know everything that is happening with his family is not a sign of dysfunction! I would guess that Tony L. doesn’t know what his mother had for supper last night either! LOL
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I’ve seen first hand how people can react completely differently to trauma. When I had to tell my twins that their father had died in an ATV accident, my son was hysterical (crying & hitting the couch) and my daughter was pretty calm (or shocked). They both love their dad and miss him greatly, but their reactions were completely opposite. I think George might have been in shock or hadn’t completely processed all of the information since the police were there within minutes of his arrival. Cindy had been trying to pry information from Casey for hours and this was the result of being stonewalled and then finding out the ‘truth’. JIMO.
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my brother is a retired major in the police department… his demeanor is very similar to GA’s… he has always been calm and quiet (not much to say), stands back from the crowd, observes–to the point of people thinking he’s standoffish or having a grim manner (not the truth at all!)… i have always taken this to be a typical cop demeanor… when i hear this about GA, i think about this ‘cop demeanor’… i don’t think too much should be made of this
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This is the father of a daughter who diappeared for 31 days with his beoved granddaughter who made him very emotional publicly, so this is why I cannot embrace the fact that he was an ex cop. He had not been a cop for 30 years and was only one for a short time.
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people react differently
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They do indeed and their tells reveal certain behaviors.
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I believe George was in shock during these initial days. How many of us would believe that our daughter had killed our granddaughter??
I think he knew something had happened that was not good (vs. Cindy who was still waiting for an answer) but was still processing it. I have three brothers – none would have reacted hysterical or been yelling etc… if faced with these circumstances.
And though George hadn’t been a cop for a long period of time, that training does reinforce a calmness during pressure. Just like my brother who was a paramedic and since some horrorfic things – you don’t go off the deep end.
Later during the one-on-one interviews with the police I think is when he realized the depths of Casey’s lying and it sunk in then that Caylee was gone.
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I grew up being an “observer” for the most part. Certain situations I could not handle, like a grisly car wreck! We need those who can “stay cool” and think rationally. I thank the good Lord for EMT’s, cops, investigators, military personnel, etc. who can maintain a clear mind in crisis situations and not lose it.
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Again….Casey was/is a grown woman who had brought so much trouble to this family. They probably enjoyed having her out of their house, at least in the beginning of those 31 days, until they started to miss their granddaughter more than they enjoyed having Casey out of the house.
Cindy and George should have been enjoying their life together, and enjoying the fact they had raised their children to adulthood…NOT raising their spoilt daughter beyond adulthood.
If Casey didn’t like her mother being the boss…why did she stay there?
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Also….isn’t it odd that Casey spent so much of her mother’s money, but she never bought anything for Caylee, only for herself.
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Dr Lillian- couldn’t disagree more on your analysis of George. George has obviously been emasculated by Cindy. It is no suprise that he makes no comment. And Lee is the test book parentified child so of course he acts just as one would expect. Thanks for the ongoing analysis, it is always enjoyable to read and usually we agree spot on except on this point,
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FYI
When Cindy and George were first married (c.1980) Mr Anthony was a police officer with the Niles, Ohio Police Department, then as a deputy in Trumbell County Sheriff’s Office. He was a detective in the Homicide Division. Before, during and after Casey’s birth (1986) Cindy pressured George to leave the Sheriff’s Office to make more money working for his father. He resigned his position and went to work in the family business (car dealership).That did not work out and in very short order the business failed. The business was sold. Mr and Mrs Anthony filed for bankrupsy, left Ohio and went to Florida where to meet up with the Cuzas’ and the Anthonys’ now lived.
Mr Anthony applied for and was offered a job with the OCPD. Cindy did not want him to return to LE and he declined the offer. For the past 20 years he has meandered through positions as a security guard. He is clearly underemployed but has never looked for jobs outside his skill set and experience.
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And clearly has long term experience with LE. And would most likely react with calmness during times of pressure due to his training.
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Interesting….. as to whether or not George has any guilt in Caylee’s death. I hope one day we know for sure.
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To be quite honest I wouldn’t want to get in Cindy’s way either. Before jumping to conclusions consider the family dynamics here and a hysterical Cindy. Also, he could have gone into cop mode trying to assess the situation. I’m still on the sidelines with George, he may have been involved after the fact but not to the extent that Casey is saying imo. I do not believe in the molestation one bit AND what does that have to do with murdering your child anyway? PLeas out and take lwop and save the state some $ Baez. We know you read these. 😉
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How do you know what George was thinking?
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The police cleary show up while Casey is till on the 911 call. The entire family has stated that they were immediately separated once police showed up. So I do believe that George did not go to Casey’s room to question her himself because of this occurance.
That said, George is also a trained police officer, who are trained to “get the facts” in a calm mannor. So I also think that is a reasonable asumption to why George was “calm” other then the “well he must have known” theory.
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First I would like to mention I think you missed one of Lee’s scratches…. He scratched his chest area ( over heart area I believe ) …I noticed that one big time..
Also I think the reason George stayed back & didnt say alot is because Cindy rules him ! Previously when he would try to do something about Casey’s theft, lies etc , Cindy would tell him to stay out of it… Cindy says jump & George says how high ? !
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One of the most shameful experiences for men is to be emasculated by women. Very painful. Cindy obviously likes to be in control of others.
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According to what we know NOW, George had TRIED to take Casey in hand, but Cindy didn’t like the way he handled her, so told him to ‘stay out of it’, saying he was ‘too negative’.
ALSO according to what we know now, CINDY wore the pants in that family, and George did as Cindy instructed him, even leaving the house at one point, after Ciny told him he needed to leave and stop badgering Casey.
You have to have more information than just body language to be able to know what’s really going on, Dr. Glass.
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