Casey Anthony case: Family says it will continue to support her but is "clearly in shock" yet "hopeful," WESH reports

How did the Anthony family react when the state decided to seek the death penalty for Casey Anthony?

WKMG-Channel 6 read a statement this afternoon that Brad Conway, the attorney for George and Cindy Anthony, had e-mailed to media:

"The state's decision to seek the death penalty will not change the support and love the Anthonys have for Casey. Casey Anthony, like all other defendants, is entitled to the presumption of innocence. If the state can overcome that presumption before a jury of 12 of Casey's peers, the Anthonys will then begin to to deal with the potential sentence."

Casey Anthony is charged with the murder of her daughter, Caylee.

WESH-Channel 2's Bob Kealing talked to "a number of people" in the Anthony camp.

"The family's clearly in shock but they're not completely surprised," Kealing said. "They're resigned to seeing this process through to the finish. The Anthony family is also hopeful that even if Casey is convicted, which is not at all a certainty, that the death penalty will not be imposed."


Kealing talked to Thomas Luka, attorney for Lee Anthony. "He is probably in shock and horror, as well as the rest of his family, that the state is actually pursuing this case to this level," Luka said.

The state's pursuit of the death penalty suggests prosecutors must have stronger evidence, Luka speculated.


George, Cindy and Lee Anthony are at the top of the prosecution's witness list, Kealing noted. Luka, a former prosecutor, told WESH that Lee will continue to cooperate with the state to avoid criminal contempt charges and jail time.

WKMG's Mike DeForest also tried to ask questions of private investigator Dominic Casey. DeForest had no success, but traced the man's past: work in construction and consulting since the 1980s, incorporation of his investigative business five months before Caylee disappeared.

The private eye once worked for Jose Baez, who is representing Casey Anthony. Baez's spokeswoman said the defense team hasn't paid the private eye. Another private eye, Jim Hoover, said Baez and Dominic Casey had a falling-out.


Dominic Casey now works for George and Cindy Anthony, although George said they haven't paid the detective, either. Anthony attorney Conway defended the the private investigator and said the family didn't question his motives.

Dominic Casey is facing foreclosure on his home, DeForest reported. The Baez spokeswoman said the Anthony case has attracted "characters, charlatans and good-hearted people," but DeForest said she wouldn't say which Dominic Casey is.