Tweet
Casey Anthony Admirers Sending Cash to Jailhouse Bank Account
Casey Anthony may be attracting death threats following her acquittal for murder, but she is also receiving checks in the mail from sympathetic admirers so that she has money to spend on cosmetics and snacks while in jail.
Most of the strangers sending her money are men, but several women have also sent her cash.
Since May, at least 17 people have sent money orders to Anthony, according to jailhouse records from the Orange County Corrections Department. Strangers are showering her with more money than her parents. George and Cindy Anthony haven't sent their daughter a cent since May 8, more than two weeks before her trial began.
The donations have increased since Anthony was acquitted in the death of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee last week, the records show.
As of today, Anthony has $472.18 in her bank account, nearly $200 more than what was in her account the day she received the verdict. One stranger donated $100 this week.
The average balance in an Orange County jail inmate's account is $36.30.
Men Send Casey Anthony Money in Jail; She Doesn't Send Thank You Notes
The donors range in age from men as young as 19, to middle aged women, and to men in their late fifties. Some are bankers and others have criminal pasts including charges of aggravated assault and sex offenses. The donations have come from across the country and from Canada. Some donors have deposited multiple money orders over the past few months.
One donor even offered Anthony a place to stay when she leaves jail on Sunday.
"If she ever did contact me and wanted to live in the middle of nowhere I have three houses out here...I'm scared for her," Gary Bradfield told ABCNews.com.
Bradfield, a 44-year-old man who lives on a ranch in Texas, donated $99.40 to Anthony in February 2011 so she'd have money to celebrate her birthday in March.
"I know she was probably segregated from everybody else. I was like hell, she's got $32 in there. I'll send her a little bit of something," Bradfield said. "I believe that we're all innocent until proven guilty."
Anthony, who does not appear to have sent any thank you notes, has spent the money on things like shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, eyeliner, ponytail holders as well as snacks like premium chicken breasts, jalapeno nacho cheese dip and spicy peanuts.
A phone call to the mother of one male donor was greeted with a scream of "He did what?" A former landlord of another male donor said his former tenant frequently writes to pen pals in jail. A donor from North Carolina said that his decision was a "private matter."
Others replied via Facebook with a simple "no thanks" when asked why they sent money to Casey Anthony.
One of her more generous male donors, a man in his twenties, asked that his name be withheld. He defended his decision to reach out to the 25-year-old Florida woman.
"I do not know Casey personally, nor am I supporting her as a person, nor am I anything like the people sending her love letters and asking her to marry them," he said. "However, what I am supporting is the jury's decision to acquit based on lack of evidence failing to overcome the reasonable doubt standard."
The man said that part of his decision to send was based on his disgust with what he viewed as an encroachment into Anthony's privacy. Investigators testified during the trial about the extensive searches into Anthony's computer and cell phone records which this donor felt infringed on her constitutional freedoms.
The man went on to say that he was also appalled with the "witch hunt" that has followed Anthony since the acquittal.
"It's wrong to continue the character assassination on someone who was acquitted of a crime," he said.
David R. Fulton said he deposited $25 on June 3 in the name of his company, David R. Fulton Computer Repair, hoping that the donation might catch the public eye and generate clients.
Fulton added, "I think she's innocent."
Bradfield, the Texas man who gave Anthony money in February before her trial began, said he felt a connection to Anthony. Having spent time in jail in the early 1990s, he said it was important for an inmate to have money in their account.
"She's just been sitting there accused and couldn't get out and is indigent...can't go to the store and get you a bag of chips and everybody else can and that's really demoralizing and she hadn't even had her day in court, you know," Bradfield said.
The married father said his wife is fully aware he sent the money order to Anthony.
She responded to the money order by asking, "Why did you do that?" Bradfield said his wife had already prejudged Anthony.
Christy Davis, a 56 year old Florida woman, donated $20 to Anthony in June and sent another $20 money order on Monday.
"I feel a little bit of a kindred spirit with Casey Anthony…I'm a regular person who saw the story through a different set of eyes," she said.
Davis has followed the case closely since Caylee was first reported missing in July 2008.
"The day that the story broke. … I said the baby got in the swimming pool," Davis said. Anthony's defense team claims that Caylee accidentally drowned in the family pool.
Davis said HLN host Nancy Grace's harsh words about Anthony also prompted her decision to send Anthony a check.
"What this case turned into was a pure nation of hysteria and that bothered me and I think that jury did what they were supposed to do. They followed the law," Davis said.
Davis, who is on disability, said that she hopes Anthony does whatever she wants with the money.
"Twenty-three hours in a little cell. There's not much and something like the luxury of real shampoo, candy bars...I don't want her to feel alone," Davis said.
Davis said she has never met Anthony or received a thank you from Anthony.
"She's a little busy," Davis said.
Anthony will take what's left in her account with her when she is freed on Sunday.
Source: ABCNews.com