West Palm Beach — It's been almost nine years since Casey Anthony's daughter, Caylee, went missing in Orlando. It's been six since the circus-like murder trial that ended in Anthony's acquittal.
Anthony is now 30 and living in the home of Patrick McKenna, the lead private investigator on her defense team. Much of her life, like the circumstances surrounding her daughter's death, has been a mystery.
But during five interviews with The Associated Press over a week-long period, Anthony said she lives a normal life.
Her job
Anthony says she loves her job. In addition to living in McKenna's home, she works for him. She does online social media searches and other investigative work. She says that someday she'd like to get her private investigator's license. She believes she was tried and convicted in the court of public opinion before trial, and says that makes her work harder for her clients.
Casey Anthony poses next to artwork made by her daughter Caylee during an interview in her West Palm Beach, Florida, home. Photo: Joshua Replogle/AP
"If they are guilty or innocent, it doesn't matter," she said. "They deserve to have their day in court; they deserve to have the actual facts laid out to the potential jury."
Casey's fascination with the O.J. Simpson case
She's captivated by the trial of O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted of killing his wife and her friend. Her boss, McKenna, also worked on his case. Anthony says she can empathize with Simpson, who is in prison on unrelated charges.
"We were both two high-profile cases where there were a lot of distorted facts," she says. "I've gone through the files and can say independently without just being biased, the timeline doesn't make sense."
Casey Anthony, 30, opens up for the first time on-the-record about the death of her daughter in 2008. Photo: Joshua Replogle/AP
Hobbies
Anthony enjoys taking photos of nature, especially squirrels. Last year, she incorporated a photography business in Florida.
She reads: In her bedroom, Anthony has two stacks of books on a white bureau. Among them: "Alibis" by Andre Aciman, (a series of essays about time, place, identity, and art); "Barbara the Slut and Other People" by Lauren Holmes (a collection of short stories about relationships and sex); and "The Andy Warhol Diaries." She also has a few classics: "1984" by George Orwell, "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, and two versions of "The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe."
Social life
Anthony has friends - some in the legal field and the media, she says - and they occasionally go out to bars and clubs in the West Palm Beach area. Anthony says she is not, and never has ever been, a partier, despite rumors during trial centered on Facebook photos of her drinking and clubbing. But she does likes Fat Tire beer.
Casey Anthony takes photos at the Morikami Gardens in Delray Beach, Florida. Anthony knows that much of the world believes she killed her 2-year-old daughter, despite her acquittal. Photo: Joshua Replogle/AP
She occasionally chats with men while out and allows some to buy her a drink, but generally her reputation follows her. People point, stare and take photos. That's when she'll leave the bar. "I don't give a s--- about what anyone thinks about me," she says. "I'm OK with myself, I sleep pretty good at night."
Remembering Caylee
In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Casey Anthony claims the last time she saw Caylee she “believed that she was alive and that she was going to be OK.” Photo: Joshua Replogle/AP
Reminders of her daughter are everywhere. Photos of Caylee, with and without her mom, are placed around her room, as are colorful pictures painted by the little girl in the months before her death. Anthony also has framed sonogram photos she says are from her pregnancy.