Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez/ Before
Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez/ After
FROM THE SEPT. 25
A woman caught up in the disappearance of Caylee Anthony filed suit Wednesday against the missing 3-year-old's mother, saying the parent's statements to investigators have ruined her reputation.
Zenaida Gonzalez, 37, of Kissimmee, contends she never met Casey Anthony, the girl's mother, who told investigators that a woman by that name took the child in June. Detectives have since said they do not believe Anthony's story.
Since news of the case broke, Gonzalez has been questioned about whether she killed, kidnapped or sold the missing girl. She's been threatened as well, said her attorney, John Morgan of Orlando. T-shirts proclaim, "The Nanny Did It," he said.
"Zenaida Gonzalez did not ask for her name to be put into this mess, but Casey Anthony made the mistake of her life by making her [Gonzalez] the person she decided to pull out of a hat," Morgan said.
A spokesman for Jos Baez, Casey Anthony's attorney, did not return a call for comment. Gonzalez referred all questions to Morgan.
Morgan said he thinks the lawsuit may unravel the highly publicized mystery. He hopes to subpoena the missing girl's grandparents and possibly force them to reveal more about what Casey Anthony told them about the child's whereabouts.
"Zenaida Gonzalez is going to prove who's behind this case," Morgan said. "What Zenaida Gonzalez wants, what America wants, is the truth."
Anthony, 22, was arrested July 16 after her mother -- Caylee's grandmother -- called authorities to report the child missing. She told detectives that she left the child with her baby sitter at an apartment complex. No one named Zenaida Gonzalez lived there, but a woman by that name had inquired about an apartment, investigators said.
Caylee has not been found. Her mother, meanwhile, is facing charges that include child neglect and giving false information to law enforcement.
The lawsuit, filed in Orange-Osceola Circuit Court, alleges that Casey Anthony knew what she told Orange County deputy sheriffs about Gonzalez was false.
"The conduct of defendant, Casey Anthony, exceeded the bounds of decency in a civilized society and was such that a person of normal sensibility upon hearing what she did would exclaim 'outrageous,' " the complaint states.
Gonzalez is asking for unspecified damages exceeding $15,000.
Casey Anthony knew the names of Gonzalez's two children and gave a description of her vehicle. Morgan said he thinks Anthony obtained personal information that Gonzalez left while visiting an apartment complex as a potential renter.
