Cookie and Muffin Plan A Road Trip- Continuing.....The Justice For Caylee Anthony Saga

During this chapter of Continuing .....The Justice For Caylee Anthony Saga..... Rather than focusing on the circumstances surrounding the 2008 disappearance (or kidnapping, if you believe Princess Casey's fairy tale) and death of  two year old Caylee Marie, or the efforts of law enforcement to solve Caylee's murder. We have an unusual opportunity to get to know a little more about how Caylee's mother (and accused killer) 24 year old Casey Anthony thinks.

Casey was arrested and charged with child abuse and  lying to law enforcement about the circumstances of Caylee's disappearance within 24 hours of Caylee being reported missing on the evening of July 15, 2008. ( 31 days after Caylee was "reportedly" last seen ) The day after that, Casey hired attorney Jose Baez and instead of  helping with the search for her missing daughter ( beyond the wild goose chase she had taken law enforcement through the day before ), she
decided to invoke her right to remain silent. Casey Anthony was in and out of Orange County Jail (OCJ )  several times for felony economic charges until a grand jury handed down a seven count indictment against her (including one count of !st degree murder) on October 14, 2008. Anthony has since been in protective custody at the OCJ on a "no bond" hold, awaiting her capital murder trial. The trial is scheduled to start on May 9, 2011.,

We've heard a lot about the Anthony family through TV ( news interviews and jailhouse visits ) as well as other forms of media released under the "Florida Sunshine Laws" ( such as depositions and interviews  by LE of Casey Anthony's family and friends and neighbors). A recent form of media that's been released as part of the discovery process are a group of letters Casey allegedly wrote to fellow OCJ inmate Robyn Adams and a  supplemental report from the Orange County Sheriff's Office (OCSO) about verbal discussions that Casey allegedly had with Robin Adams and Maya Derkovic while the three were incarcerated at the OCJ and an investigation into the alleged assistance with their communications by a corrections officer at the OCJ.(The pages in the report that deal with the investigation and interviews with Derkovic and Adams  are pages 1-8 and 160-268, respectively. The supplemental report includes interviews with other areas of investigation that I won't cover in this entry.)

You can read more of the background information of these "two friends" and the investigation that was conducted after Maya Derkovic approached law enforcement about her and Robyn Adam's communications with Casey Anthony in my last post on this case.

I have read all of the jailhouse letters, which to be quite honest is a somewhat tedious process.  These letters are at times funny, sometimes very sad, often confusing because they are all over the place, mostly they are unbelievable, but that's because of "who" wrote them more than what they say. In fairness, it will be up to the jury to decide what weight they give the letters and any of the statements alleged by Derkovic and Adams, should the state or the defense introduce them at trial. Here are a couple of random samples from the collection of letters:

One of Casey's Letters to Robyn

One of Robyn's Letters to Tracy

In this post, I want to talk about some of the things in the letters that made an impression on me; however, I'll do so as I address each of the 4 statements made in the defense response to Anthony's letters (numbered in the order I'll address them below).
Here we go......

At the indigency hearing on March 18, 2010,  Ninth Circuit Judge Stan Strickland unsealed the letters (sealed at state's request until the investigation was done) and allowed Casey Anthony's defense 15 days to decide whether they would seek to have the letters remain sealed. On April 5, 2010, the Anthony defense announced in the following statement in the press they wouldn't fight the release of the letters.

Liz Brown, of the DePaul Center for Justice in Capital Cases, released the following statement as the Defense Response to Anthony's letters:

"(1)The letters released today reflect the natural desire for companionship when isolated for 23 hours a day,  and (3) clearly demonstrate Casey's unconditional love for her daughter, Caylee. Despite these intentions, (2) it is obvious in the letters authored by Robyn Adams that her sole purpose and only goal in corresponding with Casey Anthony was to create 'leverage to get out of prison early.'  Furthermore,(4) despite numerous inaccurate media reports, the letters written by Casey Anthony do not contain a single reference to chloroform or any admissions of guilt. Casey Anthony maintains her innocence and looks forward to her day in court."

Outline of Katfish.....Ponders' Response to the Statements included in the Defense Response to the Jailhouse Letters, Followed by Discussion of the Content in the Letters 

(1)  CRAZY CONVICTED GIRLS GONE WILD

"The letters released today reflect the natural desire for companionship when isolated for 

 23 hours a day."

 I agree with Liz Brown that these letters reflect a natural desire for companionship that comes from being isolated for 23 hours a day. Though some of Ms. Anthony's isolation is self imposed, she would be allowed some visits and to make phone calls but has decided to refuse those privileges.  Any outside contact beyond her "Dream Team" and the prison Chaplain is refused, reportedly because these are the only visits that are exempt from the Sunshine Law. Although the defense doesn't acknowledge it, Robyn Adams was also in protective custody and most likely in need of companionship too when she and Casey began communicating. Although Casey destroyed Robyn's letters to her (* flusharooni* was the plan) you can figure out Robyn's side of some of their conversations by reading Casey's replies. I won't be delving too deeply into Robyn's side of the conversation because this entry will be long enough as it is.

The content of the letters that reflect a need for companionship manifest in several ways, from talk of the  mundane aspects of their day to attempts at raising each other's spirit, getting to know each other and confiding to each other, as well as offering comfort and advice to one another. There are probably others but I'll stick with these...LOL!

When Casey and Robyn share the mundane aspects of their life it is often inter-sprinkled with attempts to cheer each other up. For instance, their fondness for muffins and cookies translated to nicknames for each other. Casey is "Muffin" and Robyn is "Cookie".

Just for the record, a few of the things Casey is sick of  is hot dogs and bologna and Ramen noodles, she craves a Snoopy Snow Cone maker, Smoothies and Chocolate- Swiss Cow Milk. and  some of the things she wishes she had in jail are basketball shorts, a comfy sports bra tank top, a pink hair removal pad she saw on a commercial (Adding, she may try and get her boys to order it for her, shock! Would that "Smooth Away" be considered contraband, like the letters from her parents or the blue pen Cookie gave her? I think so.)
 
When writing, Casey spends a great deal of her time focusing on the discomforts of jail, what she plans to do when she gets out. She talks about her past (as it pertains to how it effected her) and her aspirations for the future. Most of Robyn's focus seemed to be her legal situation, the affect on her kids and family and her own discomforts with being incarcerated, but she did play along a bit when they made plans for their future. Casey is very supportive of "Everything Cookie" in all of her letters.( She seemed to take immediately to the role of supportive little sister.) Did I mention they talk about God a lot and how good he thinks they are?

It seems both Cookie and Muffin enjoyed passing time fantasizing themselves on a 'Thelma and Louise' type RV trip, that, or an RV Ministry they'll call the 'Sisterhood of the Traveling RV'. They even have some bumper sticker ideas for their RV, ' Legal Partners in Crime' and ' Crazy Convicted Girls gone Wild' . Casey writes Robyn that RV pricing will be fun. The RV will be custom designed, all colorful and creative, adding she wonders what will happen when they put two Photographers / artists together in one RV? *sneeze* Oh, and did I mention they talk about God a lot and how good he thinks they are?
( I think I'll add a dose of reality here....what you get when 2 ex - cons go pricing an RV upon release from the slammer, will probably  look more like this  one below than what Casey has cooked up in her head.)

When Casey talked about their plans for the RV ministry, coming to a city near you she wrote, " We'll bank on the book, travel lots, set-up shop in a fine city in ye ole' US of A, maybe settle a sports bar and definitely a crafty, artsy fartsy place. Sold! Talk about stickers and crafts, I've been making stuff 4 EVER! " ( I hate to say this but it popped in my head....We are quite familiar with your artsy fartsy "sticker" work Casey.....does that explain the heart sticker on the duct tape? grrrrr) Will that be a Sports Bar for the Lord? Oh yeah, I almost forgot, the book that will bank the trip is a "cook book they'll write via different dishes savored while driving the nation". *sneeze* Did I mention they both talk about God a lot and how good he thinks they are? Moving along......


Things Casey says she wants when she is released are," I can't wait to get my teeth whitened and to use my regular toothbrush,toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner....I swear, I won't become obsessively girly! I still have no desire to wear heels unless the occasion calls for it. But Converse, boots and REAL flip flops....ah~ and hats, regular ball caps, sunglasses, and underwear that fits." Then she adds, " Is that vain? Should I not look forward to these things? No matter how little or how much money I have someday, all I want is to live comfortably, not worrying about bills, food or even a few clothes. Everything in moderation and modesty. I want to donate money to charities- leukemia research, breast cancer, cervical cancer (the former for yourself-in your honor) and the latter because of my family and my own physical health." *Sneeze*

This seems like a good spot to segue into Casey's health fears (bordering on hypochondria IMO). Casey writes, " I've been thinking about getting tested for breast cancer and having them check the cell count on the pre-cervical cancer ( crossed fingers that it's still inactive ) but I have a feeling that will constitute a trip to the hospital. No thanks. Not right now. It sucks not having any health insurance- mine expired at the end of the year." Hmmm....would that be insurance from her job at Universal? Right!

In several areas of the letters Casey talks about having seizures in her sleep. She says it started the first time she was bonded out of jail but has continued since she came back in. In her words to Robyn, " I bit my tongue two nights in a row in my sleep....and unfortunately that means something very unpleasant happened, again: seizures. That's the best and easiest way for me to know. Add waking up soaking wet from sweat and somewhat disoriented- definitely a seizure. I don't walk or talk in my sleep, and even if I did, more than likely I wouldn't almost bite my tongue off. I guess all of my headaches make sense too-they aren't all associated with my allergies. I need to tell Jose and see what I need to do about this. I don't care how stressed out someone gets , headaches and seizures don't sound very normal to me." I wonder what advice Dr. Baez gave her on that?

Casey also comments through-out her letters about skin rashes, but  she seems to pretty much accept they aren't serious. I can reassure her on that, it looked like good ole acne to me when they showed her back in the tattoo picture. There is one more symptom Casey mentions through-out her letters.....an intermittent sneeze. Don't worry though, these aren't health related sneezes, they are signals from God affirming or denying thoughts or words. (Yep, confirm that with another *sneeze*) It seems obvious Casey is very immature and narcissistic, but like it or not, I think this girl is troubled beyond that.
As I mentioned above, Casey also shared some of her past  and aspirations for her future with Robyn. I'll start with the past because that is where the "meat" is. Keep in mind, Casey is a pathological liar when reading about her past. (There is even some things in her past that she admits she isn't certain happened.)

Anthony stated in the letters that she's an emotional wreck and said she was sexually abused."I woke up night after night with my sports bra lifted over my chest or if I had a regular bra, it would be unhooked," Anthony wrote. Anthony claimed her brother would walk into her room at night and feel her breasts."This went on for over three years before I finally stood up to Lee and told him if he ever came in my room again, I'd kill him," Anthony wrote.

Anthony said she informed her mother about the incidents, but that Cindy Anthony turned on her."When I told my mom about it two years ago, she made excuses, saying that he was sleepwalking. Not only did she say I was lying, but when I explained everything, her reaction was literally like a knife in my chest: 'So that's why you're a whore?"  Casey claimed she sought help from a doctor on her own when she was 18. Anthony said she has since forgiven her brother."That's why we're more friends than brother and sister, but even with openly forgiving him, part of that pain will always live in me."Anthony wrote.

Anthony also claimed she thought her father, George Anthony, did the same things to her when she was much younger. She wrote," Over the past few months, I've been having really vivid dreams, and it's obvious that they are dreams of things that have already happened. I think my dad used to do the same thing to me. I can see him in my room, exactly the way it was when I was in elementary school and everything gets fuzzy. But I wake up feeling both sore and sick to my stomach, the way I used to feel growing up. Maybe that's part of the reason I have so much anxiety with my parents."

Brad Conway, the attorney for the Anthony family, said, "The Anthony family denies that there was any improper sexual behavior in their family, nor was there ever a time when Casey told them of inappropriate conduct by her brother or father."

Another area of the past Anthony shared was getting pregnant with "Cays". (You can try and read for yourself in the sample letter above page # 13649 "You and me, Two Peas in a pod.") She seems to confirm Caylee's father is a guy she slept with at the end of November 2004, named Erik from Kentucky although she doesn't 100% rule out Jessie, they slept together in January 2005.. (She expressed some doubt to the accuracy of the paternity test Jesse had done because it took a long time to get the results. She said Jose Baez tried to confirm the results, but Jessie refused to give him DNA.) 
~ A great blogger named Snoopysleuth left a comment below to let us know that Eric James Baker moved to Kentucky and got killed in a motor vehicle accident there in the spring of 2007. I moved it up here for those who may skip the comments. Thanks for the details Snoopy!~

 Anthony also wrote about the search for her daughter, Caylee Anthony. She wrote," You want to know something, I know that Caylee's nanny, the "real" Zenaida, the girl that'd been my friend for 4 years, I know in my heart that she's not responsible but I don't blame her for not showing her face. Would you want to be sitting here with me for something you didn't do?" Casey then added," Considering the circumstances, you technically are and it sucks....And I know this goes without saying,, but outside of my self and my legal team, not a soul knows this..........Casey said she asked Zenaida Gonzalez to watch Caylee so she could prepare to move away with her daughter."Unfortunately, my plans got beyond tangled when Zany wouldn't tell me where she and Caylee were. I had asked her to take Cays for a few days, so I could put the rest of our stuff together, money I had saved, new clothes, new everything," Anthony wrote. "That's why I waited to report her missing, because she was and wasn't. I would give anything to go back to that day and to have not let Caylee out of my sight"
(Is it just me or does her last sentence seem out of place with the circumstances she describes???)


Hmmm......Anthony reported on her first application for indigency on July 16, 2008,  that she had $1200 in savings. I never have heard if that was verified, but if so, where did she earn or steal that? (I mentioned in an earlier entry, Casey also wrote in $1400 bi- weekly for earnings and then thought other-wise and crossed it out $1400 bi-weekly earnings. I thought that was kind of funny, you lie long enough you start to believe the lie?) Why did she need to steal from Amy if she had money in savings? We saw Casey buy clothes at Target with Amy's checkbook, but she definitely didn't buy anything for Caylee.


Casey's letters also told Robyn she suffered a miscarriage in 2007, something she said," only a handful of friends knew about." For some reason she felt the need to add,"I made the mistake of telling Lee, and the week of my 21st birthday, he told my Mom. Lovely! I may have a big mouth, but I can keep a secret" Obviously, most people aren't that loyal. Oh well. We live and learn, stumble and fall, and we dust ourselves off and keep moving forward." Casey acknowledges in her normal way (as in how Robyn's struggles effects her) that Robyn must have shared some of her own struggles in a previous note, she wrote, " It's a comfort to know other people have BS too."

I don't know about you but, to be honest all these Casey fables are kind of wearing on me so I'll share one more and then move on. I thought this one was a perfect analogy of how Casey thinks.....this is what she wrote, " Baby talk.....I always wanted to adopt a baby or child from another country - is it selfish to want one from Ireland? Accent and all? If I do someday, I'll adopt local - US wise."

UMMMM, Yeah right....that's going to happen.
  
(2) FRIENDSHIP WITH A SILVER LINING or A GET OUT OF JAIL EARLY CARD? 

 "It is obvious in the letters authored by Robyn Adams that her sole purpose and only goal in corresponding with Casey Anthony was to create 'leverage to get out of prison early."

I think it's important to point out  that while Adam's letters to her friend, Tracy,  do question the possibility of benefiting from keeping the letters, the fact remains, she is not the one who approached law enforcement (LE) and the transcript of her interviews show that she reluctantly agreed to turn the letters over and take part in the investigation..

Robyn entered into a plea deal (10 years in a Federal prison  for drug conspiracy charges and weapons charges) at the end of September 2008, but wasn't formally sentenced until January 2009 and then stayed at OCJ for another six months or so. Maya accepted a plea deal (30 years in state prison for murder). Katfish...ponders hasn't found evidence that Derkovic or Adams benefited in any way by coming forward, if they have and they testify you can be sure it will come out in court. There have also been media reports that Adams tried to sell the letters before she was approached by LE, I don't know if that's true, but even if it was, the letters are now public record so no one will have need to pay for them.

                   (3) MOMMY, MOMMY, MOMMY DO YOU LOVE ME?

 " The letters clearly demonstrate Casey's unconditional love for her daughter, Caylee."

 I've went over these letters and even though she does talk about Caylee, somewhat, I can't seem to find where these letters clearly demonstrate Casey's unconditional love for her daughter, Caylee. Anthony said she loved her daughter and believed she was a good mother in search of some freedom."I don't know one single mom who doesn't try to get their freedom regardless of how old they are. That's one of the biggest things that truly cuts me when I hear them talk about me as a mother. I was a great mom. And I love my daughter with everything that I have. I would give my life to have her back even for five minutes," Anthony wrote.

 Anthony wrote that she continues to talk to Caylee every day. (in her letters, she refers to Caylee as Cays)
"When I tell Cays how much I love her, I've always ended it with 'forever and always.' I still do to this day. I talk to her throughout the day, as I do daddy , and it brings a sense of peace to my heart," Anthony wrote. "Thinking about it brings tears to my eyes and a smile to my face. I'm an emotional wreck." Have I mentioned lately Casey and Robyn both talk about God aka "daddy" a lot and how good he thinks they are?

I would normally not be skeptical about the comfort anyone receives from God, but I just have to say.... All of the religious banter, citing of scriptures, and talk of their love for God just comes off as disingenuous to me. Before jail, Robyn grew pot and sold it on a large scale, she stole prescriptions from her employer and she and her husband were both sentenced as addicts. Casey was a liar, a thief and a big ole party girl before Caylee went missing. Where was the concern for their children and their God when they were free to live as they chose? I could be wrong but it seems more like a convenience more than a belief.
                                  
(4)  SOMETIMES YOU WONDER, WHO CAN YOU  TRUST?

"Furthermore, despite numerous inaccurate media reports, the letters written by Casey Anthony do not contain a single reference to chloroform or any admissions of guilt. Casey Anthony maintains her innocence and looks forward to her day in court."

 I agree with the defense on this statement. It was wrongly reported that these letters contains references to using chloroform to sedate Caylee. Even though we don't know the cause of  Caylee's death or exactly how the state alleges Caylee died, we have heard about traces of chloroform found in the trunk of Casey's car and computer searches for chloroform. Inaccurate reports that said Casey wrote she had used chloroform to sedate Caylee could be interpreted as an admission of guilt. The OCSO Supplemental Report does include statements from Derkovic and Adam's alleging Casey made these statements and others that "could be deemed incriminating" to them. I say "could be deemed incriminating" because there is a HUGE difference between statements in Casey's own hand writing and those alleged to have been made verbally to a  fellow inmate. Just saying. There is plenty of evidence out there without inaccurate reports.

Although Maya Derkovic and Casey had talked a bit through the ventilation system, Maya was only in the Lima dorm for a short time before transferring to a state prison. For this reason, I'm not going to spend time going  into claims that Derkovic made about things that Casey Anthony told her. I have seen nothing that shows they talked beyond the "vent". I just don't think Casey would make any significant admissions into a vent that anyone could hear, especially to someone she didn't feel she knew well.

Robyn and Casey's rooms (cells) were never close enough to have vent talk, but it didn't take them long to work out ways to communicate by letter and signal to each other at their windows and eventually convince Sylvia Hernandez to break jail rules and allow them to talk through the 'bean hole' in Casey's door regularly and a occasionally Robyn was allowed to enter Casey's cell. Anthony and Adams were the only stationary (being held in protective custody long term) inmates in dorm L. The harassment both Anthony and Adams received from the other prisoners seems to be a catalyst to their friendship as well as their mutual disgust with the vent talkers. (It seems vent talk is  mostly "sex talk", " fighting" and "howling at the moon").

According to the investigator's report included in the OCSO Supplemental report, Adams and Anthony had conversations in reference to the discovery of Caylee Anthony's body. Adams recalled seeing a story on the news in which it was being reported that divers had located a "bag of bones" in the river at Blanchard Park. That night, Adams went to Anthony to talk to her about it. Anthony told Adams that it was not her daughter. Adams recalled Anthony giggling about the story as if Anthony knew it wasn't her daughter.

When Anthony was told that authorities had found human remains in the woods by her mother's house, she became nervous and scared. This was the first time Adams saw fear in Anthony. Anthony told Adams they found "remains" and were taking it to have "DNA done". Anthony also told Adams that the remains were found in a black garbage bag with a baby blanket. This conversation took place shortly after Anthony was notified of the discovery by the prison Chaplain. Due to Anthony's differing reaction when hearing of the Blanchard Park discovery and the discovery of the bag by Anthony's mother's house, Adams felt as if the discovery in the woods was in fact Caylee and that Casey knew that as well. According to Adams, Anthony did not show any remorse.

 Investigators said in their report, Adams told them that Anthony would give Caylee "stuff" to make her sleep.Anthony and Adams discussed chloroform, and Anthony told Adams she would give the toddler "antihistamines or something" to make her sleep. Caylee would have a hard time taking naps, because she was afraid of "missing out on something". Adams said that Casey used the phrase "knock her out" in reference to medicating Caylee to help her sleep. "Casey Anthony liked to have her days free."

 Like I said above, it remains to be seen whether the state or the defense choose to use any of the information from the letters or the "alleged" statements by Casey Anthony to Robyn Adams and Maya Derkovic. I heard today that the prosecution has sent the letters to the FBI to be analyzed along with a letter Casey had written to the Orange County Sheriff shortly after she was indicted. The jury will decide what weight they will place on this evidence as they determine the guilt or innocence of Casey Anthony for the murder of Caylee Anthony.
*sneeze* (that's mine)

For your convenience, a partial  index for:
 "Casey's Jailhouse Letters"
Casey's letters- pages 1-11,15-16.19-24,29-31,35-46, 47-54, 59-61,63-67, 69,
                                     96-98,103-106,111-113,118-119, 132, 140-145,148-150,
                                          153-160, 163, 167-170, 174-175, 178-180, 182-186, 188-198

Robyn's letters to Tracy - pages 18, 25, 56-57, 92-95,114-115,165-166, 205-206, 211

 The pages through 211 that are not listed are envelopes and cutout, jokes, cards beyond that it's duplications as far as I can see.

 OSCO Supplemental Report
    The pages in the report that deal with the investigation of the letters and 

interviews with Derkovic and Adams  are pages 1-8 and 160-268, respectively. There are also interviews with Linda Tinnelli, Krystal Holloway,
Cecilia Benhaida and Rozzi Franco in this report

wesh

Sphere: Related Content

Jailhouse Connections And Investigations - Continuing.... The Justice For Caylee Anthony Saga -

Casey Marie Anthony  is a 24 year old Orlando, FL woman who has been held without bond at the Orange County Florida Jail since October 14, 2008 when an Orange County Grand Jury handed down a seven count Bill of Indictment . The charges brought in the indictment against Anthony  in relation to the Death Investigation of her 2 year old daughter, Caylee Marie Anthony  are as follows :

CMA #08049710

  

1 count - First-Degree murder

1 count - Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child

1 count - Aggravated Child abuse

4 counts- Providing False Information to a Law Enforcement Officer

The first degree murder charge is a capital offense and the possible penalty is Life In Prison Without Parole (LWOP) or the Death Penalty.

Casey Anthony is housed in what the Orange County Florida jail calls Level 1 protective-custody in Dorm L. When Casey was arrested for the murder of her daughter Caylee, the Orange County Sheriffs Office (OCSO) decided that she needed additional protection above and beyond what other prisoners that are housed there require. Most prisoners in a high profile case are held in protective custody, but  no doubt the public's hostility towards Casey Anthony after learning most everything she told law enforcement about Caylee's disappearance was a  lie and that she didn't report her daughter missing for a month  factored into her Level 1 Protective Custody status.

We have been told when it comes to protective custody, few people are guarded as closely as Casey Anthony. She resides in her jail cell for most of the day and is not allowed contact with any other prisoners. She is also not allowed to watch TV in her cell, but she is allowed one small transistor radio, which she bought at the jail commissary. The short time each day prisoners in protective custody are allowed out of their cell  is to shower, get books, make phone calls, or watch TV in a "community" day room  for individual use by those in protective custody (other than visits with their lawyer or court hearings). There is also scheduled visitation time (once or twice a week?) but Casey refuses all visitors.


While no contact with other prisoners is an important part of protective custody, in all of the cases I have followed ( not just in the OCJ ), prisoners find a way to break the rules and communicate. Let's face it, all they have is time to try and figure ways around the rules. This case is no exception.

During a pretrial hearing on March 18, 2010, Ninth Judicial Circuit Judge Stan Strickland unsealed an
  IN CAMERA SEALED MOTION TO DELAY DISCLOSURE   that he has allowed the State to keep under wraps for the previous month while they conducted an investigation.Judge Strickland unsealed the motion because he said that the investigation into this information has almost concluded.

The State's motion (link provided above) advised the court that the State had been informed the defendant, Casey Anthony has made a few friendships while in jail and had written and passed 50 letters to one of the inmates against jail rules, possibly with a guard's help. The State's Attorney Office (SAO) said the letters are not a confession, but appear to contain relevant statements of the Defendant. The motion also advised that based upon the past history of this case and in anticipation of accusations of misconduct by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the State Attorney requested that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (F.D.L.E.) take over the investigation of the communications between the Defendant and these witnesses.

Under the FL Sunshine Law, once the state turns over discovery to the defense, the discovery becomes public documents, unless ordered sealed by the judge ( for example: the video in the jail medical clinic of Casey's reaction to Caylee's remains being found has been withheld ). Judge Strickland gave the defense 15 days to look over the letters and decide if they would seek to have them remain under seal.
Anthony's defense chose not to fight the release of the documents. I'll discuss what's in the jailhouse letters and my thoughts on the contents of the letters in my next post that will be titled "Muffin and Cookie Plan A Road Trip".

In the rest of this post I'd like to give you a better understanding of the physical layout of Dorm L where Casey has been bunking for most of the last two years.  I did some research so that I can give you a more complete introduction to Casey's jailhouse friends and also got some of the legal documents involved in Robyn Adams case which I have linked in this post  It also seems important we cover some of the background of the F.D.L.E.'s investigation.  Most of the information about the investigation can be found in the OCSO Supplemental Report to Jailhouse Letter


~The Investigation~

A Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation found that Casey Anthony, Maya Derkovic and Robyn Adams became friends while they were in protective custody in the female detention center, Dorm L, which is where jail guard Silva Hernandez worked.  Here is a copy of the floor plan for Dorm L :

Orange County Jail, Woman's Detention Center, Dorm L

The dorm consists of a control center at one end of the dorm and facing the communal day room that resembles a classroom. The inmates cells are lined around the day room and consist of two levels. Inmates that are in close proximity to each other are able to communicate through the ventilation system. Robyn Adams explained it is possible for communication through the vents between any of the cells but the further away you are the louder you had to speak, so she and Casey didn't communicate "via the vents ".

 Casey Anthony was originally arrested and placed in protective custody on July 17, when she was arrested for lying to law enforcement  in the days after Caylee was reported missing. Adams was arrested on July 21 and placed into protective custody because her husband was a police officer.( I'll tell you more of the details of Adam's arrest in a bit.) Anthony remained in jail for about a month until California bounty hunter, Leonard Padilla assisted in getting her released on August 20, 2008. This is the first time when Adams and Anthony were in Dorm L together, but didn't form a relationship beyond a wave. ( For the sake of being thorough I should tell you
Anthony was arrested again, this time on economics charges on August 29 and bonded out on September 5. Anthony was arrested for more economic charges September 15 but was out the next day.) Adams wouldn't see Anthony again until she was arrested on October 14. During the time Anthony was out, Adams decided to agree to a plea deal in her case on September 25, 2008. Adams was sentenced in January 2009 and moved to a federal prison in August of 2009. Maya Derkovic was housed in the Orange County Jail with Casey Anthony during the latter parts of 2008 to the beginning of 2009.

   ~ Friends Made In Jail, May Turn Out To Be "Friends From Hell"~

Maya Derkovic mugshot

Maya Derkovic, then 18, was originally arrested on January 28, 2007 for armed carjacking. Derkovic identified herself as a full member of the 3rd World Rolling Sixties gang (a spin off of the West Coast Crips ) within minutes of her arrest.You can read more here about her arrest for the armed carjacking and how she came to be involved in and charged for the death of a 15 year old girl, who Derkovic admitted she choked
while two fellow gang members held the victim's arms in an act of crude gang justice.. "Maya is a pretty established member of this group and has been for long time," said sheriff's homicide Detective Brian Cross of the lanky, 6-feet-2 teenager with a "Daddy P" tattoo on her neck, a souvenir of her time as a prostitute in Miami. Derkovic first joined a street gang several years ago when her family lived in South Florida. Born in Bosnia, she went by the nickname "Luda," which means "Crazy" in her native language,
Derkovic's mother, who did not want to be named to protect her younger children's identity, has visited the jail regularly since her daughter's arrest. After years of trying to control her daughter's misbehavior, she said her daughter must accept responsibility for her actions, whatever they were and whatever punishment faces her. " Taking somebody's life is something I cannot imagine any child of mine doing. I can't imagine what that other girl's mother is feeling," she said. "For my child it is too late. If she did it, she's going to have to deal with herself. Someone else may learn from what happens to her."  (Hmmmmm, no comment!)
Derkovic, 21, is serving a 30-year sentence at Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala, FL for murdering 15 year old  Jackie "Angel" Curtis three years ago.

Robyn Adams mugshot

Robyn Adams and her husband Clay were arrested on federal drug and gun trafficking charges on July 22, 2008.Clay Adams lived two lives: one as an Altamonte Springs cop of nine years, the other as a painkiller-addicted, marijuana grow-house operator who was scheming to kill a former supervisor.

That's how authorities described it when Adams, 36, and his wife, Robyn, 32, were hauled into federal court in Orlando on drug and weapons charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rob Bodnar sought to have the couple  (who could face up to life in prison if convicted on all charges) held without bond, noting both made threats to a police informant and others.

The 35-page Criminal Complaint describes in detail how investigators say the Adams' stockpiled weapons, sold drugs and gave sensitive police secrets to criminals.

According to the complaint,  Robyn Adams used her position at an orthopedic surgeon's office to get Oxycontin which was then sold across the state. The complaint also detailed how Adams approached an informant to partner in a marijuana-growing operation. That person tipped off City-County Investigative Bureau (CCIB) agents, who brought the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and ATF into the case. After the informant rented a home for the operation, Adams and his wife set up hydroponic equipment in the residence and provided marijuana seeds.Adams provided the informant with drivers-license photos, undercover aliases and real names of drug agents and CCIB officers, along with the descriptions of their vehicles. Adams also supplied weapons and prescription drugs to the informant, a convicted felon.
Gunning wrote, Adams told the informant that he joined CCIB earlier this year to learn investigative methods on how to detect marijuana-growing operations.

When Clay Adams was  removed from a position on an undercover unit, investigators say he snapped. Adams advised [the informant] that he will let the issue cool off for a couple of months and then 'take [the supervisor] out' when he least expects it, utilizing a .308-caliber rifle equipped with a silencer," Gunning wrote.
Both husband and wife confessed and entered into plea agreements.He pleaded guilty to five federal charges, including conspiring with his wife to grow 2,200 pounds of marijuana. Robyn Adams pleaded guilty to two charges: conspiracy and a weapons count. The pair were sentenced on January 9, 2009. She is now serving an eight year sentence at a Federal prison in Tallahassee, FL and will be on supervised release for ten years after. Clay Adams was sentenced to seventeen 1/2 years and is serving his time in a Texas federal prison.

 More Of The Investigation~

It was Derkovic who first approached law enforcement about her and Adam's contact with Casey Anthony.
In Derkovic's sworn statement, she told authorities she and Anthony would talk through the ventilation system. (I haven't been able to determine exactly which cell Derkovic was in from the floor plan, but her cell was on the same side as Anthony.) I won't go too far into Derkovic's claims about those vent talks in this post, mainly because I'm not sure I believe her and really want to devote more space to Adams and Anthony, and just how their relationship developed.


Adams told the F.D.L.E. investigator her cell (#19) was across from Anthony (#12) and they would smile,  wave and give hand signals through the window on their cell doors, or when one was out in the day room. She said it was just a way of offering support to each other. They would signal if they were ok or not, that they were praying for each other, that sort of thing was the extent of their communication at the time. Adams said that she felt Anthony came to trust her because she smiled and didn't yell taunts at Casey like the other inmates did.

Shortly after they began their communication, Adams was moved to another cell (#27) on the same side of the dorm as Casey but on the upper level. Shortly after the move, Anthony signaled to Adams (from the day room) that she would leave her a note in a green hardback book called, " Do Away With August", from then on they used that book to pass notes (same type of stuff as they had communicated by hand signals before) and eventually the letters.
.

When asked by the investigators to elaborate on how her communication with Casey evolved into talking to each other, Robyn Adams explained that the even number cells took their turns coming out for showers, day room / TV time, etc. during the day and the odd numbers were let out night. She said after a while she started helping the guards out a bit, cleaning showers, fold laundry, whatever and as much as the guards would allow her to do. When Adams was folding laundry in the day room they were able to " kinda lip talk" and hand signal as they had before, but in closer proximity.

Adams says she started asking "Shannon", (this was the name she and Casey assigned Sylvia Hernandez because her uniform said," S. Hernandez" ) " Hey, can I go give her a book? Can I, can I just go over there you know talk to her through the glass?" Adams said after a while this just became a routine when "Shannon" was working. I would say, "Hey, I can't hear her, can I just go see what she's saying? Can I go closer, that type of thing."

Adams said it never got to the point that she just took it for granted she could approach Casey's cell, and "Shannon" did not receive any type of compensation for allowing the communication between the two. There was no gain in it for her, she just treated us as "people". People in confinement for a long period of time who needed human interaction. When asked point blank if there was any type of sexual relationship between any of the three (Anthony, Adams, Hernandez) Adams replied, "I strongly believe it was strictly that she just felt bad. She felt bad. There was nothing for her to gain from it except for being human and having someone to talk to." ( I guess that means no sex. LOL)

Next the investigators asked Adams how frequently she and Anthony were allowed to spend time together, how long were they allowed to talk, and were there times you were allowed in the same cell together? Adams told them the contact with Anthony took place after the other inmates were done showering and placed in "lock". The contact took place every night that Hernandez was on shift (4-5 nights a week) and they were allowed to talk anywhere from a few minutes to hours. Their contact ranged from speaking through the bean hole (food tray slot) in the cell door to spending time in the same cell. (Hernandez allowed Adams to cut Casey's hair on one occasion. WTF?)

On March 9, 2010 F.D.L.E. conducted an interview of Sylvia Hernandez about the communication between Casey Anthony and Robyn Adams. This interview was independent of any investigation being conducted by OCSO. Hernandez told investigators she hired on with Orange County Corrections in January of 2008 and worked the "B" two shift (6pm-6am) with the standard law enforcement rotation of 3 days on 2 days off in the Female Detention Center (FDC) Lima Dorm (Dorm L).

Hernandez explained that Lima Dorm is basically a confinement dorm where you have inmates for disciplinary, protective custody, special management (medical or pregnancy), psychological  inmates for evaluation counseling and suicide precautions.There were usually 30-35 inmates in Lima dorm while Adams and Anthony were both in custody there, although they were the only two who were in protective custody status. Most inmates came and went , but Adams and Anthony as protective custody, were stationary.

Hernandez admitted she was aware of written communication between Anthony and Adams, but made no attempt to stop the communication.Hernandez also allowed Adams and Anthony to have face to face contact at Anthony's cell door, but denied allowing them to spend time together in the same cell. Hernandez admitted she allowed Adams to cut Anthony's hair on one occasion.

When Hernandez was questioned about having a relationship (sexual) she denied that but admitted she had written to Adams after she was sent to Tallahassee. She also admitted she attempted to assist Adams in retaining counsel for her case by providing her with names of local attorneys and on one occasion approached Anthony's counsel on behalf of Adams.

Hernandez told investigators that she spoke to Anthony "a few times" about her case. One conversation took place when it was being reported that Caylee's bones may have been found in the water at Blanchard park, but turned out it wasn't Caylee. According to Hernandez, Anthony told her investigators were "not looking in the right place" and it's right in their face but they're"not looking in the right place".

At the end of the report F.D.L.E.Investigators stated they thought Robyn Adams seemed to be truthful and forthright about her involvement with Casey and her role in creating and maintaining the evidence in question. Adams showed a great deal of emotion associated with her current sentence, her friendship with Anthony, the loss of Anthony's child and the moral dilemma of providing information pertaining to Sylvia Hernandez, because they had formed a friendship. The information was also consistent with the information in the letters between her and Anthony. The investigators stated in their report they think Hernandez was less than truthful during her interview but her actions didn't rise to the level of violation of Florida statutes. Wonder which one if any of them the State will use in the trial?

When Casey Anthony was arrested on July 16, 2008, little did she know even though her daughter was gone forever that she would soon have a " new sister". A sister who she could share (most) all of her confidences with and not be judged because in her own words, “We have so very much in common , both the good and the bad”.
Check back and we'll talk more about the information in the letters and the conversations between Casey Anthony and Robyn Adams, there is a LOT to talk about.
 :)
wesh
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