Casey and Casey alone is responsible for the murder of her daughter, Caylee. From a legal perspective, Casey is solely responsible for the death of Caylee.
George and Cindy, as Casey's parents, are responsible for raising a child to adulthood who lies, steals, and is totally irresponsible.
As parents, it's our duty to instill in our children the qualities that make a good person as an adult.......the concept of right and wrong, honesty, responsibility, integrity, respect, law-abiding, making good decisions, etc. Children need discipline - punishment for wrong-doing and rewards for good behavior. They need structure and guidance from both parents. They need goals. Both parents need to work at raising children as a team.
Although we don't know much about Casey as a young child and teen, we do know that she didn't complete high school, she worked in a Kodak kiosk for about two years. She became pregnant, and at 7 months into her pregnancy, Cindy was denying the pregnancy to family members when it was only too obvious she was pregnant. Two months later, Caylee was born. We know that Casey lied to everyone about having a job, having a nanny, and lied to her parents often about where she was and what she was doing. Some of her lies were very elaborate. At the same time, Casey was stealing from friends and family. We know that Cindy and George made excuses for Casey's lies and thefts.
Casey's behavior did not happen overnight. It's more than likely that there were behavior problems with Casey, even as a young child. There is no indication that George and Cindy ever attempted to curb Casey's behavior as a normal parent would do. To the contrary, we have Cindy stating that it's not a crime to lie, and calling lies "mistruths" as if this is somehow a softer, gentler, term for lying. We know that Cindy never did anything about Casey's thefts. George never took the initiative to do anything.
If Casey is truly a sociopath, then nothing is going to change her. A sociopath is a personality disorder and cannot be "cured." But, I've read that a sociopath's behavior can be modified with discipline and structure.
George and Cindy failed miserably in raising Casey. Just from what we've seen in the past almost two and a half years, I strongly doubt George and Cindy made any attempts to give Casey the discipline and structure she needed to become a responsible adult.
If Casey is truly a sociopath (and I think she is) would it make a difference if she had the discipline and structure as a child and teen? That's something we'll never know. But, it's obvious that because Cindy and George never challenged the adult Casey's lies and didn't make her take responsibility for her thefts, Casey was comfortable with telling more lies and continued stealing.
Had Cindy and George reported her thefts and allowed Casey to go through the experience of being arrested, charged, spending a few months in jail, and having to pay fines and restitution, that might have brought Casey's thefts to a halt. If Cindy was serious about obtaining custody of Caylee, that would have been the grounds for obtaining custody right there.........the child's mother is in jail for theft.
I believe there's one other dynamic at work here too. I don't think Cindy wanted Casey to succeed. If Casey became a responsible adult, had a good job and was earning enough to support herself and Caylee, she would eventually be able to move into an apartment and become independent of her parents. I think Cindy's goal was to keep Casey dependent on her.
So, while Casey is solely responsible for the murder of Caylee, her parents bear responsibility for raising Casey to believe that lying and stealing are acceptable. George and Cindy are responsible for their lack of parenting.
