Anthony's Caylee Story Similar to Fellow Inmate's

Prosecutors say she might have stolen tale of pool drowning
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 21, 2011 4:01 PM CDT
Casey Anthony Trial: Prosecutors Say Fellow Inmate Had Similar Story About Child's Drowning
Casey Anthony looks away as evidence photos showing the skull of her daughter are displayed during her murder trial Tuesday.   (AP Photo/Red Huber, Pool)

Casey Anthony's defense team surprised all when her trial began by declaring that Caylee wasn't murdered but drowned accidentally in the family pool. The prosecution had a surprise of its own today: It said that story bears an uncanny similarity to what happened to a fellow inmate in Anthony's prison, reports the Orlando Sentinel. Prosecutors suggested that Anthony may have stolen the story to use as her own and are investigating whether the two women ever spoke directly.

The other inmate is April Whalen, and her son drowned in the family pool in 2007. Her father found the child and called police. (In Anthony's story, her father, George Anthony, helped dispose of the body.) Whalen was an inmate in Anthony's prison dorm for five days in June 2009. Prosecutors say that even if the women never spoke to each other, Anthony could have heard the story indirectly. (Whalen's father thinks they did speak to each other, notes ABC.) The prosecution notified the judge of the investigation while the jurors were on break. (More Casey Anthony trial stories.)

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