We have looked at the apparent severity of the three “toxic traits” of the Dark Triad, psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism, as exhibited in Casey’s behavior and treatment of others. What we have found on this cursory review is, to intentionally understate it, she is not lacking in any of the three traits. So, borrowing heavily from Marilee Strong’s work in Erased, we will look at what Casey’s Dark Triad means from a criminal profile standpoint applying Strong’s observations of the male eraser killer to the theorized female eraser killer to see if we have a fit.
Strong states about the eraser killer’s appearance in life to others:
Unlike most other murderers, he very often has no criminal record and sometimes no history of violence whatsoever.
He is also someone who has always been a fabricator of reality. He is not your harmless garden-variety fibber but a compulsive, pathological liar whose lies are meant to get a reaction out of other; to inspire their admiration, to evoke their sympathy, to get him exactly what he wants. He makes up stories big and small, often lying about things for no readily apparent reason. But he is especially practiced at deceiving others about who he really is.
The expertise at lying and manipulation that is needed to successfully lead a double life is indicative of a high degree of Machiavellian thinking and behavior.
We see in Casey’s life that for at least 2 years prior to Caylee’s murder Casey was living a double life. One life being that of a diploma-less, uneducated, jobless, aimless, irresponsible mother who spent her days God knows where and doing God knows what, dragging her child in tow through environs we only have a small glimpse into (random boyfriends’ apartments, parties, etc.), living with her parents and lending no real support to the financial responsibilities of her child, and stealing from parents, grandparents and friends. The other life was based completely on lies and was projected by Casey to her family and friends. She was an event coordinator at Universal who was involved in the exciting world of concerts, major events, possessing the dream job where she had flexible hours, the ability to network from home, had a nanny that doted lovingly over her child and allowed her freedom to live a cosmopolitan life, had over $10,000 in savings, and was about to purchase a home.
When the delusional life was threatened by those who questioned her lies (George, Lauren Gibbs, etc.) she either walked away from them, as in the case of Lauren, or manipulated the situation with anger and the enlistment of her number one enabler, Cindy. Cindy was always there to stop those (particularly George) who threatened to “look behind the veil”. But the enabler couldn’t keep all from seeing the reality of the situation. Sean Daly, allegedly one of Casey’s closest friends, stated in his interview with OCSO that Casey had been a liar since way back in high school.
In reference to the “erasure” of their victims, Strong states:
…a form of intimate partner (or domestic) homicide that is committed…in a carefully planned manner, often through bloodless means known as a “soft kill” (such as smothering, suffocating, or strangling) so as to leave behind as little evidence as possible or with the crime scene thoroughly cleaned up. To further cover his tracks, the eraser killer disposes of his victim’s body by some means meant to ensure that it will never be found, or erases anything that links him to the death by “staging” the murder as something completely different – an accident, a suicide, or a crime committed by a total stranger…
Casey took the following eraser steps: she covered her tracks well, primarily by staying away from all people who could question her statements of where Caylee was for 30 days; and she disposed of the body in a place she knew it would be hard to locate. Dumped in a swampy, overgrown patch of land on a dead-end street, with nothing very close in proximity but a school that was out for the summer, the placement of Caylee’s body allowed Casey ample time to wait out the destruction of evidence. That the body was so close to the Anthony home can be explained by the effect Casey’s high level of psychopathy can have. While her Mach tendencies would have her diabolically address the issue that the body should be disposed far from home, her psychopathic tendencies would introduce “sloppy work” into the disposal of the body. The psychopath Casey couldn’t be bothered with spending that much time to drive the body to a distant location. And then, lastly, while the imaginary “Zanny”, as far as Casey tells it, was no total stranger, she was a total stranger to everyone else in Caylee’s life. It is the classic SODDI (Some Other Dude Did It) presentation.
Eraser killers have been known to use more brutal and bloody means of murder than the listed “soft kill” techniques, but at the same time, when we bring the Mach tendencies of the eraser killer, it defaults to trying to commit the crime in an expedient manner. With expedient being defined both during the kill as well as what has to be dealt with after the kill. With the current theory of the manner of death, as presented by Mr. Ashton, we see the proposed technique of smothering/suffocating via the application of duct tape.
Strong goes on to state:
Eraser killers often go to extraordinary lengths not just to manipulate a crime scene or make a [victim] disappear but also to manipulate the police, the courts, and justice itself as part of their high-stakes game. This manipulation, I believe, is something that is also key to the nature of the eraser killer and becomes almost an end in itself – an enjoyable battle of wits in which he is sure he will always come out on top.
Murder is harder to prove when the killer takes pains to leave no physical evidence behind. Someone clever enough to make sure his victim’s body remains hidden stands a good chance of never being charged with murder, much less convicted.
Althought he may actively participate in the search for a missing loved one, he will be using his full array of skills to direct any inquiries or police investigation toward fictious threats and other suspects and away from himself.
In these particular statements we see reference to what we have observed of Casey in her interviews with OCSO and her refusal to cooperate further in the investigation into the disappearance of Caylee. Casey was attempting to “buy time” as her daughter’s body lay decaying, and she was successful in that effort. Her successful delay and diversion of the investigation led to the total skeletonization of Caylee’s remains and the elimination of almost all evidence of how Caylee was murdered. But in addition, we see that Casey ENJOYED the way she manipulated the investigation. We can see this in her statements in the jailhouse visits with her parents and Lee. She talks of the investigators as if they are incompetent, and that they can’t understand “the clues” she has given them – in other words, as if they can’t understand “Casey-bonics”.
We are given a second look at how Casey seems to be enjoying the confusion she has created in the investigation through two incidences share by Tracey McLaughlin. The first occurred on the evening of the first day Casey was out on bond. Tracey tells of Casey glibbly stating “they don’t even have the timeline right” for when she used the shovel. The timeline confusion can only be assigned to Casey and the Anthonys since they are the ones that could not produce the last time any of them saw Caylee within a one week period. The second occurrence happened when they were all watching the news report that a hair that matched DNA from either Casey or Caylee had been found in the trunk and showed signs of coming from a decomposing body. Tracey states Casey announced something to the effect of “Well, I’m still alive!”
Strong continues with:
Once they made the decision to kill, they began purging all traces of the victim’s existence in their lives. Many began getting rid of the woman’s possessions within days of her disppearance, pulling up stakes, changing their lifestyles dramatically.
While we have no evidence Casey started giving any of Caylee’s things away, we do see an abandonment of things that should have held sentimental value to Casey – such as the mama doll left in the abandoned car and the Winnie the Pooh blanket left with the remains. If we accept Cindy’s statement at face value, we have a contrary instance where Casey is alleged to have taken Caylee’s teddy bear with her to Tony’s apartment…indicating she gathered something of Caylee to her instead of eliminating it from her life. One thing we have ample evidence of is Casey’s almost immediate change in lifestyle. She moved in full-time with Tony, began partying sometimes several nights a week, took on the role of “shot-girl” at Fusion, and got a tattoo memorializing her beautiful life. If we are to believe prior friends’ statements, Casey went from not engaging in recreational drug use to smoking pot, maybe even taking other drugs, and drinking excessively and frequently.
In reference to the planning of the erasure, Strong state:
Many put an extraordinary amount of thought into their crimes, researching methods of killing and means of body disposal, and boning up on investigatory and forensic techniques.
Because these [killers] premeditate and plan their killings with inordinate stealth and cunning, because they are fearless and expert at manipulating and deceiving those around them, because they hold nearly everything that is true about them in complete secrecy, the [victims] in their lives often have no idea they are in mortal danger until it is too late.
We have the circumstantial evidence of Google searches on the Anthony desktop for such things as chloroform and how to make it, shovels, and neck breaking. We have the forensics from the computer showing that some one in the Anthony home had been reading about, and had even signed up for alerts on missing children cases. And we have the mysterious situation where Casey began using the name of the person she would ultimately blame the kidnapping, and by default the murder, of Caylee on up to a year and half before Caylee’s murder. It appears Casey had long considered erasing Caylee.
In this case the victim would have been unawares no matter what kind of profile Casey was assigned. Caylee was an innocent child, trusting and unconditionally loving her mother no matter what type of care she was being given, or not given. But the stealth involved in the eraser killer profile would lead to those around Casey and Caylee being unaware of the impending danger to Caylee until it was too late. We can see in multiple statements from friends and family where there is disbelief expressed that Casey would have ever done anything to Caylee. She is described as being a “good mother” (although that statement coming from partying young people with no children of their own must be qualified). Casey presented the image of an attentive mother. But in the statements made by Amy, and Maria Kish, we see that this was just a facade.
Amy tells of Casey dragging Caylee to parties and putting her down on the couch in the middle of a party where Caylee would sleep through the activities of the night. Marie Kissh, Clint House’s girlfriend, expressed concerns in her interview over the lack of care and attention she saw Casey giving Caylee. She tells of Caylee being left in a room full of strangers while Casey went in the bedroom for a romp with Tony. Maria also tells of an incident where Caylee is left unattended on the balcony of Tony’s apartment.
In regards to the callous nature of the eraser killer, Strong has this to share:
The cardinal feature of all three syndromes, which plays into all the individual characteristics of Dark Triad disorders, is the absence of empathy. The ability to empathize with others, to “feel their pain”, is a core part of what makes us human. People with this ugly contellation of traits can lie, cheat, use, manipulate, hurt, and kill with impunity because they are completely indifferent to the suffering of others. The utter callousness displayed by eraser killers is all the more astonishing, considering that their victims are supposedly their “loved” ones.
The eraser killer will exhibit neither mourning nor real signs of emotional loss, and will almost always exhibit strangely inappropriate behavior and speech after the mysterious death of his [loved one].
Again, this is the facet of Casey’s behavior that causes us observers to suffer the most distress. Her callous, self-centered and unemotional words during a situation she, herself, has described as having her daughter kidnapped and missing for 30 days, in a location she has no knowledge of, and whose well-being she cannot confirm leaves us speechless and unable to grasp what we are hearing. When confronted in her first phone call from jail by her friend Kristina Chester beginning to break down and sob while she states she doesn’t know what she’ll do if something has happened to Caylee, Casey’s response is, “Calling you guys…a waste, a huge waste.” Just days after what should have been her daughter’s 3rd birthday, we hear Casey in a jailhouse visit with her parents whine and voice resentment over the fact they all ate chili without her. We’ve seen her make the appearance of crying but a few times, and each of those have been connected to statements made about her – not Caylee.
Strong shares this information on eraser killers:
Numerous scientific studies have measured the actual autonomic response in individuals exposed to a series of distressing images, such as a photograph of a crying child…In all the studies, psychopaths showed markedly less distress about the suffering of other people than control subjects.
How many mothers take a picture like this of their child?
Valhall.
Reference:
Strong, Marilee. (2008). Erased: missing women murdered wives. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Related posts:
- Casey’s Profile – Part 1: An Introduction
- Casey’s Profile – Part 6: Her Motive
- Casey’s Profile – Part 2: Her Psychopathy
- Casey’s Profile – Part 7: Her Resemblance
- The Dark Side of Caylee’s Life
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