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The parents of the “most hated mother in America” want to clear her name.
George and Cindy Anthony, whose daughter Casey Anthony is from Florida, agreed to take a lie detector test for the two-hour special “Casey Anthony's Parents: The Lie Detector Test.”
The special, which airs on both A&E and Lifetime, delves into the death of her granddaughter Caylee Anthony in 2008. The case made international headlines and led to a bitter split within the family. Casey, 37, was charged and later acquitted in the 2011 death of the two-year-old.
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George and Cindy Anthony agreed to take a lie detector test on camera to answer lingering questions about George's alleged involvement in Caylee Anthony's death. (©️2023 A&E Television Networks LLC/Mary Beth Koeth)
The polygraph examination was conducted by retired FBI Special Agent George Olivo, who has conducted thousands of polygraph examinations over more than 20 years. He was not allowed to share the results with Fox News Digital. Olivo also hasn't seen the special before it airs on January 4th, in which George and Cindy react to each other's answers and the polygraph results.
“When I met them, they were soon separated and I tested George first,” Olivo told Fox News Digital. “I didn’t really notice anything. On the surface, they seem like a normal couple who have been together for a long time.”
Olivo said that although critics insisted the special could be a publicity stunt by the Anthonys, their motive for coming forward was the real deal.
Caylee Anthony died in 2008. She was 2 years old. (Orlando Sentinel/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service)
“Your daughter is accusing you of some pretty terrible things,” he said. “When they claim they didn't do anything, it's like an old saying: You're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't. If you don't say anything, those same critics will say, 'Well, yeah.' , let's go. They didn't say anything, so they must be guilty.' And when they speak up and say, “I want to respond to that publicly in the same way.” [my daughter] “If she has made her allegations public,” critics will say, “they are trying to capitalize on it.”
“You can’t win either way,” Olivo added.
In 2022, Casey participated in the Peacock docuseries Casey Anthony: Where the Truth Lies. It was the first time Casey had appeared on camera since she was found guilty not of Caylee's murder but of lying to law enforcement.
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In 2022, Casey Anthony, shown at her trial in 2011, participated in the Peacock special “Casey Anthony: Where the Truth Lies”. (Joe Burbank/Pool)
While Casey didn't stop in the docuseries by claiming that her father intentionally killed Caylee, she vehemently accused him of being involved in some way.
Casey was arrested in 2008 for Caylee's disappearance. While the child was reportedly last seen on June 16, 2008, she was first reported missing on July 15 by Casey's mother. Casey told police that Caylee had disappeared with a babysitter.
For nearly six months, volunteers conducted a nationwide search for the toddler, following up on hundreds of leads. On December 11, a utility employee working in a wooded area near Casey's Florida home found skeletal remains later identified as Caylee. Experts would testify that air samples indicated there were decomposing human remains in Casey's torso.
A memorial to Caylee Anthony is displayed where the two-year-old's remains were found in Orlando, Florida. Caylee's mother, Casey Anthony, was acquitted of murder in connection with the child's death. (Joe Raedle)
Casey was charged with murder and her trial in 2011 was a media spectacle. The prosecution proved that Casey was a liar, but did not convince the jury otherwise. The government couldn't figure out how Caylee died, and they couldn't find her mother's DNA on the duct tape that was allegedly used to suffocate her.
Lead attorney Jose Baez of Casey's defense team argued that Caylee drowned accidentally and that her death was covered up, although Casey said she did not believe her daughter drowned in the family's above-ground pool. Meanwhile, prosecutors argued that Casey smothered the girl with chloroform and then covered the toddler's mouth with duct tape.
George and Cindy Anthony are interviewed for the TV special. (©️2023 A&E Television Networks LLC Photo/Mary Beth Koeth)
After a trial that lasted more than a month, the jury took less than 11 hours to find Casey not guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter and aggravated child abuse. Casey was convicted of four counts of lying to police (although two counts were later dropped) and was given credit for the three years she spent in prison while awaiting trial.
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Casey Anthony reacts to being found not guilty of murder at the Orange County Courthouse on July 5, 2011 in Orlando, Florida. On the left is defender Jose Baez. (Red Huber/Pool/Getty Images)
Casey did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. A source told The Messenger that Casey “couldn't give a damn” that her parents wanted to take a lie detector test.
“She says she knows the truth and so do her parents,” the source told the outlet. “A lie detector won’t change the truth.”
According to Olivo, a correctly administered lie detector is “85 to 90% accurate.” It is expected there will be pointed questions about whether George abused Casey and whether he had anything to do with Caylee's death or the hiding of her body.
George Olivo has conducted thousands of lie detector exams for the FBI. He has helped solve problems related to bank robberies, murder, missing persons, crimes against children, fraud and extortion, among others. (©️2023 A&E Television Networks LLC/Mary Beth Koeth)
According to Olivo, 19 states allow polygraph results to be admitted in court through an agreement, meaning both parties agree on the admissibility of polygraph results and who will administer the test. He said that while lie detector tests can be used before and after trial to negotiate a verdict or even try a case out of court before a district attorney files charges, the Supreme Court has ruled that lie detector tests should not be used before a jury.
Cindy Anthony (©️2023 A&E Television Networks LLC/Mary Beth Koeth)
“The Supreme Court – and I agree with them – wants the jury to be the final court [arbiter] the truth,” Olivo said.
Olivo also said that according to FBI studies, 75% of guilty people would agree to a polygraph examination if properly asked.
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George and Cindy Anthony agreed to a lie detector test after their daughter Casey made allegations on their 2022 television show. (©️2023 A&E Television Networks LLC/Mary Beth Koeth)
“I have taught investigators and agents how to ask someone to take a lie detector exam, not in a challenging way, but in a more collaborative way,” Olivo said. “For example: ‘I believe you. Let's take a lie detector exam to verify your statement. This way you can put all this behind you.'”
“Guilty people have two strategies. If they think they can get away with it, they always seem cooperative. Otherwise, you'll look guilty if you don't take the test. “I'm pretty nervous” or “I heard these things don't really work. They're not allowed, are they?” They'll start getting all their ducks in a row because they're already anticipating that it might not go well.
This photo of Casey Anthony and her daughter Caylee is shown on a court monitor at the Orange County Courthouse on May 26, 2011. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service)
Olivo also said that a participant in a legitimate lie detector knows the questions they will be asked in advance. There should be no “zinger” or “gotcha” moments. The aim of the test is not to surprise the participant, but to collect all physiological data.
George Anthony (©️2023 A&E Television Networks LLC/Mary Beth Koeth)
“A legitimate lie detector test must be repeated,” Olivo said. “We ask the same questions several times. An honest person may be nervous at first, but he will get used to it after a while. She will show patterns of truthfulness. A deceitful person becomes more anxious every time he has to lie. They feel like they stick their neck out further every time they have to lie. We see the opposite: a cheating person will not get used to it.”
Caylee Anthony (Orlando Sentinel/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service)
Olivo is confident that there will be some sort of closure regardless of the outcome.
“At the end of the day, this is still a family,” he said. “…But some wounds are just too deep. I hope they can pick up the pieces somehow. There are still a lot of scattered pieces on the ground.”
Casey Anthony's Parents: The Lie Detector Test airs January 4th at 9pm on A&E. Stephanie Pagones of Fox News Digital and The Associated Press contributed to this report.