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Casey Anthony questioned about nanny, Caylee in deposition

Caylee Anthony.
Caylee Anthony.

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 26 (UPI) -- A deposition revealed heated exchanges between Florida mother Casey Anthony and attorneys, but little about the death of Anthony's daughter, a review indicated.

In the transcript of the Jan. 23 deposition in a bankruptcy hearing was filed in federal court Tuesday, Anthony refused to answer many questions, prompting lawyers for Zenaida Gonzalez, who is suing Anthony for defamation, to ask a judge to compel responses, the Orlando Sentinel said

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A hearing on that motion is set for next week.

Anthony, who has been living out of sight since she was acquitted in 2011 of her toddler daughter's disappearance and death just weeks before her third birthday. Anthony filed for bankruptcy in 2013, claiming nearly $800,000 in debts and only about $1,000 in assets.

In the deposition, Anthony asserted Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez, the nanny she claimed had kidnapped her daughter in 2008, was a real person.

Keith Mitnik, an attorney for Zenaida Gonzalez, expressed doubt about Anthony's claim about the existence of the nanny, who Anthony's defense attorney Jose Baez acknowledged was fictional at trial, the Sentinel said.

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"Now, is there any way in the world that you could suggest to me that I might find this person to see if she ever existed?" Mitnik asked Anthony.

"I don't know if you could or not, sir," she replied.

The deposition was part of a legal proceeding involving Anthony's Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Gonzalez's attorney is arguing her lawsuit should survive the bankruptcy because Anthony was "willful and malicious" in damaging her reputation, the Sentinel said.

Anthony said the nanny she spoke of didn't actually kidnap Caylee and neither did the woman who is suing her for defamation.

Some of Mitnik's questioning drew objections from Anthony defense lawyer Cheney Mason, who at times invoked his client's rights against self-incrimination.

"So at the time you were making up the entire story [about] Zenaida having Caylee, where was Caylee?" Mitnik asked.

"At the advice of counsel, I decline to answer any questions about my daughter," Anthony replied. "If you ask me again I will walk out of this room."

Mitnik also asked Anthony why she fabricated a story rather than tell police the truth about Caylee's whereabouts.

"That was my personal choice," Anthony responded, later saying, "I'm not going to answer that question."

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