What does acquitted mean? Casey Anthony case revisited amid TikTok Legal Advocate announcement

Casey Anthony was an infamous name known all across the U.S. after being accused of murdering her two-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony. In 2011, a twelve-member jury controversially acquitted her of the murder of her daughter, meaning she was found not guilty of the murder charges.

Since her acquittal, Casey Anthony has largely remained out of the public eye, until now. According to the three-minute video posted on TikTok, she is now working as a legal advocate and seeks to bring justice for her daughter's death.

In a video posted on March 1 on TikTok, Anthony is seen relaying a long message. She says:

“I am a legal advocate, I am a researcher, I’ve been in the legal field since 2011 and in this capacity, I feel that it’s necessary, if I’m going to continue to operate appropriately as a legal advocate, that I start to advocate for myself and also advocate for my daughter.”

She further added:

“As a proponent for the LGBTQ community, for legal community, women’s rights, I feel that it’s important that I use this platform that was thrust upon me and now look at as a blessing, as opposed to the curse that it has been since 2008."

Back in 2011, she had accused her parents of being involved in her daughter's death.

"This is not about them. This is not in response to anything that they have said or done. That’s not to say that I’m not going to respond at some point to some of the things that they have said and done. The whole point of this is for me to begin to reintroduce myself,” she said in her video.

Although she was once dubbed "America's most hated mom," she has managed to gain 28,000 followers on TikTok.

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Everything about the Casey Anthony case explored

The Casey Anthony case began in July 2008, when the two-year-old Caylee Anthony was reported missing by her maternal grandmother, Cindy Anthony. She alleged that her daughter, Casey, had taken her Caylee and not returned. In her frantic 911 call, she can be heard saying:

"I’ve found out that my granddaughter has been taken. She has been missing for a month. Her mother had finally admitted that she had been missing. There is something wrong. I found my daughter’s car today and it smells like there’s been a dead body in the damn car.”

The initial investigation into Casey's phone records provided Google searches for "how to make chloroform." Additionally, traces of human decomposition were found in the back of her car. In October 2008, Casey Anthony was arrested and indicted for the murder of her daughter. Two months later, in December of the same year, Caylee Anthony's remains were discovered in a heavily wooded area close to the Anthony family home, with duct tape stuck to her skull.

Casey Anthony has long maintained her innocence while shifting blame on various people or circumstances regarding her daughter's death. After three years of evidence gathering, the trial began on May 24, 2011. During the proceedings, her defense attorney, Jose Baez, alleged that Caylee had drowned in the family swimming pool and accused Casey's parents of covering up the incident.

"Caylee was never missing. On June 16, 2008, she drowned in the family swimming pool. It was a horrible tragedy. A common tragedy.”

He also alleged that Casey was a lifelong victim of s**ual harrasment at the hands of her father, George Anthony.

"It all began when Casey was eight years old and her father came into her room and began to touch her inappropriately."

He also attacked the police department for failing to do their work.

"You'll find that professional police work took a backseat in this case. We were more concerned about the public than doing their jobs."

Despite overwhelming evidence against Casey Anthony, on July 5, 2011, the then 25-year-old Casey Anthony was found not guilty of manslaughter, first-degree murder, and child abuse. Instead, she was convicted on four counts of lying to the police. She was sentenced to four years in prison sentence but was released just days later, having already spent over three years in prison awaiting trial.

The case received widespread media coverage, garnering widespread attention from all quarters. In 2022, Casey Anthony appeared in the documentary Casey Anthony: Where The Truth Lies, which was released on Peacock, to explain her side of the story.