Anthony keeps low profile: Elaborate strategy put in place to protect her

  • Posted: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 12:01 a.m.
    UPDATED: Sunday, March 18, 2012 4:00 p.m.
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ORLANDO, Fla. -- Casey Anthony's whereabouts for her first week of freedom were a closely guarded secret Monday, known only to a select few as she tries to start a new life after being acquitted of killing her daughter. One of her lawyers says an elaborate plan was made to protect her from people with "the lynch-mob mentality."

Her options for starting a new life could be limited by lawsuits pending against her, the scorn of multitudes who think she was guilty of the killing and a criminal record from her convictions for lying to police. She walked out of jail on Sunday, shortly after midnight.

Her attorney Cheney Mason told NBC's "Today Show" on Monday that he's confident in Anthony's safety, but declined to answer questions about where she was.

"She's gone, she's safe and elaborate plans had to be made to keep the people away from her," Mason said. "Her life is going to be very difficult for a very long time as long as there are so many people of the lynch-mob mentality."

Asked about how Anthony was paying for her fresh start, Mason replied that many volunteers have offered their help.

Her notoriety also could help her earn money. Experts who have helped other notorious defendants through rough times say she will have opportunities, but it won't be easy for the 25-year-old, who was found not guilty of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, but convicted of lying to investigators.

In response to a question about whether Anthony planned to cash in on her fame, her lead attorney Jose Baez told Fox News Channel late Sunday that she has "certain rights as an individual in this country." Attorneys planned to handle Anthony's affairs in a "dignified manner," he said.

"If she decides she wants to speak publicly about it, she'll make that decision," he said.

Baez and other attorneys didn't respond Sunday to email and phone messages left by The Associated Press, nor did a lawyer representing her father and mother. And in the Fox News interview, Baez declined to talk about his client's whereabouts or state of mind.

Another former Anthony lawyer, Terry Lenamon, said he had no clue where she was headed, and that probably only a few people close to her knew. "I wouldn't want anyone to know," he said. "I think she needs to go underground and I think she needs to spend some time to get her life back together."

Anthony's July 5 acquittal shocked and enraged many around the country who had been following the case since Caylee's 2008 disappearance.

Mock retrial

A church service in Ohio has included a mock retrial of Casey Anthony.

WJW-TV reports Sunday's exercise at the In Touch With Christ Christian Center in Cleveland was led by the Rev. Una Keenon, a retired municipal court judge in the community of East Cleveland.

She asked the 12 church members who acted as jurors to consider whether it would be right to send Anthony to death row if she did not kill her child.

The church jury was hung, with eight voting guilty and four voting not guilty.

Bishop Prince Moultry, the church's pastor, said the important lesson from the service was to protect children in Cleveland from the same fate as little Caylee Anthony.