Casey Anthony Movie: Actress Drops Out
The actress who was slated to play Casey Anthony in a Lifetime movie dropped out of the project and will be replaced by Virginia Welch.
Canadian actress Holly DeVeaux was originally cast to play the young Florida mother who was acquitted of first-degree murder last year after her 2-year-old daughter was found dead in the woods. But according to People magazine, DeVeaux left the production and the role in "Imperfect Justice" was recast.
"Imperfect Justice" is based on the book by the same name authored by prosecutor Jeff Ashton. According to the publisher, the book tells "the behind-the-scenes story of the investigation, the trial and the now-infamous verdict. Moving beyond the simple explanations, Ashton offers an in-depth look at the complex figure of Casey Anthony, a woman whose lies he spent three years trying to understand."
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Other names that were originally brought up for the role of Casey Anthony were Kristen Stewart, Alyssa Milano, and Jennifer Love Hewitt. But DeVeaux ended up getting the part until she dropped out.
The case of Anthony and her daughter, Caylee, captivated the nation last year as the mother was put on trial for six weeks.
Caylee was last seen on June 15, 2008, but she was reported missing a month later by her grandmother, Cindy Anthony. Casey had told police that her daughter was taken by a woman she claimed was the toddler's nanny. Detectives, however, never found alleged kidnapper Zenaida Gonzalez, or Zanny the nanny.
Friends of Casey testified during the trial that the young mother never showed signs of distress between June and July 2008. She seemed normal, they testified while revealing that Casey had told them Caylee was with "the nanny" each time they hung out.
The toddler's remains were found in the woods near the Anthony family home in December 2008, nearly six months after her disappearance. By that time, only dry bones were left, making the case difficult to solve for prosecutors who accused Anthony of suffocating her daughter with chloroform and duct tape, and dumping her in the nearby woods.
The defense, meanwhile, submitted that Caylee accidentally drowned in her grandparents' pool and that her grandfather, George, helped dispose the body after he and Casey found her in the pool.
Though she was acquitted of murder, aggravated child abuse and manslaughter - with the jurors saying there was not enough evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Casey murdered her daughter - many Americans believe the mother is guilty.
A USA Today/Gallup poll last year found that 64 percent of Americans believe Anthony definitely or probably murdered Caylee.
Ashton also "remains completely convinced of Anthony's guilt."
Also starring in the Lifetime movie are Rob Lowe – cast as Ashton – Elizabeth Mitchell, and Oscar Nunez.
