What if everything you heard about Casey Anthony — the woman who was called “America’s most hated mom” after suspicions of killing her two-year-old daughter — was incorrect? That’s the plot of the three-part docuseries titled “Casey Anthony: Where the Truth Lies.” In the series, Anthony, who is now 36, gives her first interview since her acquittal in 2011.
While many people believe Anthony was to blame for her daughter’s death, director Alexandra Dean believes there’s a lot more to the story. Read on to know why Dean believes Anthony is being honest and what she hopes the audience will take away from the docuseries.
Casey’s motivation for speaking out
According to Alexandra Dean, Anthony had therapy for around ten years after the death of her daughter. It was during this time that she began to understand the things that had happened to her and her daughter. This was her motivation for wanting to get her side of the story out after more than a decade.
Dean revealed, “So far, everyone has heard one side of the story. So of course they believe that’s the only truth, and the outrage is understandable. I think when they watch the documentary and they hear the other side of the story, they’ll realize there are a lot of questions that haven’t been answered.”
Was the case not properly investigated?
Dean believes one of the biggest misses on the police’s part was that they did not look at Anthony’s father, George, as a potential suspect. Given this, they did not review his phone records for geolocations.
In the docuseries, Casey insists that she started lying as a way to cope with the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her father and brother. Anthony also stated that she believes her father was abusing her daughter and may have accidentally killed her.
Is Anthony speaking the truth?
Casey herself has acknowledged her habitual lying and manipulation, so how can viewers be certain that she is now speaking the truth? Director Alexandra Dean says she reviewed all the transcripts of conversations Casey had with psychologists and psychiatrists when in jail. Casey’s current story is consistent with what she told back then — this is why Alexandra believes Casey is being honest.
Dean also reveals that it is possible for someone who was a pathological liar to go through years of therapy and arrive at a point where they’re no longer a liar.
Challenges in making the docuseries
Director Alexandra Dean states that the biggest challenge for her was understanding how trauma affects the brain. When speaking to USA Today, she said, “It’s very complicated to understand how child abuse can alter the brain.”
She continued, “And I talked to a lot of experts who did try to explain to me that you can end up with a child who, like Casey, seems like a pathological liar because of the way child abuse affects the brain, and you can also end up with a person who can hold two realities in their mind.”
Takeaway from the docuseries
Casey Anthony’s father and brother did not speak in the documentary. This is, however, the first time Casey has revealed painful details about her life. Alexandra Dean says she hopes that people arrive at judgments a little less quickly after they watch this docuseries.
She reveals, “I want people to realize that the media can create a circus around a person or try to create a reality television villain or a hero out of somebody because it’s good television. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve heard the whole story of their life.”