Casey Anthony's Parents Stand By Her

Casey Anthony's parents insist their daughter would never have hurt her daughter and their granddaughter, Caylee Anthony, who was two when she disappeared in June.

Caylee's body was found in December, and Casey, 23, has been charged with first-degree murder in her daughter's death.

In an exclusive interview with Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez Wednesday, Cindy and George Anthony said they don't think Casey should accept a plea deal, even though prosecutors just announced they're going to seek the death penalty in the case.

And George discussed a suicide attempt in the wake of all the developments surrounding his family.

Casey has pleaded not guilty. Her trial has been tentatively set for October. She was arrested last October.

Casey says she left Caylee with a baby sitter in June, but she didn't report Caylee missing for a month. Cindy was the first to call authorities, in July, to say that she hadn't seen Caylee for a month, and said her daughter's car smelled as if it had had a dead body in it.

A utility worker found Caylee's body last December in woods near where she lived with her mother and grandparents.

"We can't think about what's to come," in light of word the death penalty will be sought, Cindy told Rodriguez. "She hasn't even had her trial yet. Casey is presumed innocent, and, you know, we can't think about that right now."

"I don't really believe that her defense team is going to do anything to jeopardize anything in the future for her," George said. "So ... we have to wait and see what plays out. I don't believe that's going to happen with her."

Both answered with a firm "No" when asked if they'd encourage Casey to accept a plea deal.

"Absolutely not," Cindy said. "I don't think Casey will take a plea deal. Casey is not going to admit for something she hasn't done. We love our daughter. We stand behind her. We know what kind of mother she was."

"I don't think it's possible for my daughter to hurt anyone," George said, flat-out. "And she wouldn't definitely hurt her own child. I mean, my gosh, I've seen the love every single day that she had for her. She took care of her being with us. So, I mean, she wouldn't hurt her." He then got all choked up.

Why, Rodriguez wanted to know, did Cindy tell authorities Casey's car smelled like a dead body had been in it?

To that Cindy and George's lawyer replied, "Maggie, those are issues that are going to come up at trial. And they're anxiously awaiting that. And there's been so much pretrial publicity that's going to affect the ultimate outcome and her ability to get a fair trial. So the questions that have to do with the statements that they gave, they want to wait and tell the truth in front of a jury and let a jury decide."

"She's presumed innocent," Cindy pointed out. "I think the truth will come out at trial, and that's what we have to wait for. You know, the defense is going to do their job. We're confident that they're going to do their job. And, you know, they'll be able to see for themselves that it's -- there's more to it."

If Casey did commit the crime, how harsh should her punishment be?

"Again, you know, we want -- we want the truth," Cindy said, "but, again, we have to wait for everything to come out in trial."

Rodriguez gently said to George, "A little more than a month after (Caylee)was found dead, you had a very difficult moment. You almost took your own life. You ready to talk about that now?"

"I can talk some about it," he responded. "I mean, to try to keep your family together no matter what, to have so much put on you every single day, to be scrutinized, to be -- have people come at you at so many different directions like protesters at our house and stuff. All that weighs on you after awhile. I mean, to think how they tried to destroy my wife. Tried to destroy my son. Came after my daughter. Said negative things in such a way that I'm going to protect my family no matter what. And got to the point on that one day that there is just so much a person can take. I mean, sure that was the wrong direction to go in, and i know that. And i want to talk to more people about that kind of stuff. You can't give up, even though the days get very hard for you. There's other ways. There's people to talk to besides your own family. People you can reach out to and talk. They're going to be there for support to help you."

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LuvingChrist says:: How very sad this young girl is to still be lying to the police and to herself. she has lied so much she does not know the truth. she has many mental problems and so does the whole family. George needs to get a backbone and stand up to his wife, he knows the truth, but it is so painful for him and his wife to admit . Anyone who has ever had a child would not want to think they are capable of murdering their own child. Again i ask why did she need a nanny? She did not even have a job!; reply

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edna220 says:: The Anthonys tried really hard to undo the horrible behaviour they displayed during their depositions.......In an effort to gain sympathy, Cindy disclosed that she had written suicide letters in late July or early August. That statement says it all....either she had prior knowledge that Caylee was dead or else she never wrote those letters, during that time frame she was supposedly searching for the child, insisting that she was not dead. It is becoming more and more evident that the apple did not fall far from this dysfunctional tree.; reply

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shoozeyque2 says:: Let's hope that the prosecution gets it right in this case as opposed to how they fell flat on their faces in the OJ Simpson trial. They totally botched that one up. They got caught up in the media frenzy, as Bozo is doing in this defense.; reply

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shoozeyque2 says:: You say this case is circumstantial? There is a mountain of circumstantial evidence here. Maybe no witnesses here, blah, blah, just as in Scott Peterson's case and his case didn't even have close to the pile of circumstantial evidence than we have in Caylee's case. Well, think Scott Peterson - who had a very famous attorney representing him, Mark Geragos. Where do you think Scott Peterson is sitting right now? He had the same cold and calculating demeanor that our friend Casey has. Never had a concern whatsoever for his pregnant wife Laci, did he? No emotion whatsoever. He was too concerned with his little love next with his girl friend. Never went out to help look for Laci. Didn't keep him off death row either now, did it?; reply

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shoozeyque2 says:: You say the public should know nothing of the facts before trial. Well, blame the laws in Florida for that. Once the LE turns over the evidence to the defense, then from what I understand, after that, it becomes public information. That being the case, the public has a right to know. I'm boggled by these laws too - (I live in upstate New York) but that's how the Florida laws work apparently. So, legally, these documents and other evidence are allowed to be put out there for public consumption. And so, here we are, voicing our opinions in public, which I guess, the last time I checked we still have freedom of speech.; reply

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shoozeyque2 says:: I don't think putting the liars in front of Nancy Grace would do any good. Nancy tiptoes around Cindy's name and goes into protective Cindy mode. Look at how LP acts whenever she poses a question to him about ma and pa Anthony. The name "Cindy" can't pass through his lips without her going psycho on him and so he walks on eggshells with her. She thinks the Anthonys walk on water I guess. Watch how she behaves whenever a caller or somebody criticizes Cindy. Absolutely no response. She dances around the issue. She doesn't think they enable Casey. She things they do no wrong.; reply

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shoozeyque2 says:: I don't know how accurate this is, but I believe I read somewhere that Cindy and George's attorney is not being paid. That this is pro bono for the exposure. If I'm wrong, I stand corrected, bu I believe I did read it someplace.; reply

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shoozeyque2 says:: I have always thought George's suicide attempt was fake. If he really wanted to do himself in, he would have done it. He would have tossed his phone elsewhere. He knew that he would be tracked down and followed by authorities by tracing the pinging of his cell phone. He had beer and pills on him. He was missing for what, a few hours. That was long enough to do himself in if he had really wanted to. Yet, he had the presence of mind to write a very long suicide note, some sites say 5 pages, others say up to 7 or 8 pages. Nevertheless, who writes a multi page suicide note? People write a quick note and then do what they set out to do. I'm not buying it at all. It was not an attempted suicide in my opinion. He was hospitalized for a bit. Amazing isn't it how quickly he recovered from that, and after witnessing his and Cindy's appalling behavior at their depos, no, absolutely not, do I think he ever meant to do harm to himself. It was only a ploy for public sympathy, and Cindy's remark at how she also contemplated suicide last summer while everybody else was out looking for Caylee. How can that be? Why would you think of suicide when you supposedly did not even know at that time, whether Caylee was dead dor alive? Get real Cindy. Nobody's buying this lie either.; reply

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shoozeyque2 says:: I think their behavior of these publicity seeking dogs (ma and pa Anthony) in their depos exposed them for who and what they really are. George behaved appallingly (as did Cindy). They sat there spewing lies and they knew full well that what they were saying was nothing but lies. What was that all about, the pronunciation and spelling of "zany." He was arrogant, smug and most of all, came out looking like a total jacka$$. What did he think he accomplished by behaving that way? And just because the interviewer, as he was asking a question about Caylee's "remains" he had to go psycho on them? "If you say that word one more time, I'm going to walk out of here. " The interviewer said nothing wrong. Then he went psycho when the attorney was adjusting his glasses, and accused him of using his middle finger, and the attorney said "just to make you feel better, I'll adjust my glasses with my pinkie finger." Both of the Anthony's went into their depos looking and itching for a fight. Well, they got it. Well, Zenaida Gonzales had the right to sue them for defamation because their lovely little psychotic daughter whom they've enabled all their life, dragged this poor woman through the mud using her name, and why should she have to wait years until the criminal trial is over with to bring her defamation suit. She lost her home, she lost her job because of this nightmare she was put in the middle of. And to the lawyers, and all those other people out there on the tv shows who say she should have waited until after the trial to bring her suit, why??? Why should she have to wait years to clear her name. Look at what this has done to her!!! This whole case is sickening.; reply

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shoozeyque2 says:: I am sick of these lying Anthony's. I won't watch them on any show. I didn't watch them on your show. I may have seen a clip or so. They had nothing more to add except their deceptiveness and lies. I applaud Oprah for pulling the plug on these people. They are not victims. I don't believe this child was ever kidnapped, nor have I ever believed that there was ever a nanny, and to watch these despicable people, namely, Cindy try to throw other innocent people, who had the misfortune of crossing paths with Casey, under the bus, and point the finger at them for the murder of little Caylee, and now they are trying to make the talk show circuits and backpeddle from their original instincts and stories, is just plain outrageous and callous. Casey had really great role models didn't she? The behavior of these people from the start of this whole thing up to now is nothing short of crazy. They have absolutely no credibility left. They should stay home, lock the doors, draw the curtains, and stay out of the limelight and shut their lying mouths. No one wants to hear any more of their lies. Maybe people might have more empathy if they helped to go out looking for their grandchild when she was missing, instead of yelling at the public and LE to get off their a$$es and go look for their grandchild, or make any kind of an effort to try to find this so-called nanny (of which there is no such thing), but if they believed their daughter like they said they do, then that's what they should have been doing, turning over every stone and rock, at least make an effort. They did no such thing.; reply