OCALA, Fla. — A young woman who was one of Casey Anthony's jailhouse friends spoke exclusively to WFTV on Friday in her first one-on-one interview. She said Casey described how she used to knock her daughter Caylee out with chloroform.
FRIEND TALKS: Part 1 | Part 2 | Images VIDEO REPORT: Casey's Jail Friend Talks
"She would pour it on, like, a rag, like, a wash rag, and put it on the baby's face," 21-year-old Maya Derkovic told WFTV reporter Kathi Belich.
Derkovic is a convicted killer. She said she met Casey in the Orange County jail. Derkovic reported details of her whispered conversations with Casey to detectives; the two used to talk in the jail through an air vent.
Maya Derkovic Interview BLURBY 041610 See Images From Interview Derkovic told WFTV detectives only got part of the story. She told WFTV brand new information during an exclusive interview Friday morning.
Derkovic turned herself in and got 30 years instead of the death penalty for murdering another teenager four years ago. Derkovic and others at the jail thought she would have the best chance of convincing Casey to come clean.
Derkovic talked with Kathi Belich at the Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala for an hour and a half and she answered questions about her communication with accused killer Casey Anthony.
"She said she used to knock the baby out so she could go party and she would put her to sleep. When she'd come back, the baby would still be asleep," Derkovic said.
She told investigators she didn't know how Casey knocked out Caylee, but Belich asked her.
"Did she say what she used to knock her out?" she asked.
"I can't pronounce it. Chlorofoam?" Derkovic said.
She said she doesn't know where Casey got it, but knows how she used it.
"She would pour it on, like, a rag, a washrag, and put it over the baby's face so she'd inhale it and that would knock her out," Derkovic said.
Belich asked Derkovic why she hadn't mentioned chloroform to investigators.
"I just want to be clear. Do you remember telling them that?" Belich asked.
"Probably not. Because, like I said, I can barely pronounce the name. I know it's drugs," she said.
Derkovic described Casey's resentment about the attention her mother shifted to Caylee, once she was born, as being like sibling rivalry.
"She would say, ‘What's so special about Caylee? Why didn't she care about me like that?' Stuff like that," Derkovic said.
Derkovic said Casey was jealous of the relationship between Cindy and Caylee.
"When Caylee was born, Caylee was the center of attention, ‘cause she was the baby. It's kind of like siblings. When the new one comes along, the older ones feel left out," Derkovic said.
Derkovic said Casey was happy-go-lucky in jail and always smiling.
"Did she ever say she was upset in the jail and she couldn't look for Caylee or nobody was doing enough to find Caylee?" Belich asked. "Or anything like that?"
"No, Derkovic said.
Derkovic said she turned herself in because it was the right thing to do and tried to get Casey to open up about what happened to Caylee.
"Nothing I ever said to her really registered," Derkovic said.
"But when you would do that, she didn't say, ‘I didn't do it'?" Belich asked.
"No, she didn't say that either. She wouldn't say, like, ‘It's not me. It's somebody else. I need to get out of here and find them.' She never said that. Not once," Derkovic said.
Derkovic said she called investigators around Thanksgiving last year, because "it was the right thing to do" concerning the murder of a child. She insists she has no intention of asking for time off her 30-year sentence.
MOTION FILED TO HAVE JUDGE REMOVED IN CASEY CASE
Casey Anthony's defense filed a motion Friday to have Judge Stan Strickland removed from the case.
Jose Baez claims that Strickland should be removed because he has had contact with a blogger, who covers the Casey case, named Dave Knechel, otherwise known as Marinade Dave.
MOTION: To Remove Judge From Case
The blogger claims he told defense investigators on April 11 that he received a phone call from Judge Strickland when Knechel was sick, wishing him well.
Casey's defense team claims Knechel developed a personal relationship with Strickland.
CASEY DEFENSE WANTS BUDGET AMOUNT
Meanwhile, Casey's defense team filed a new motion asking how much tax dollars they'll get to help defend Casey.
Last month, Judge Stan Strickland declared Casey indigent, meaning taxpayers will pay for experts, investigators and other costs, which her new lawyer J. Cheney Mason said could amount to about $200,000.
Thursday, attorney Jose Baez asked the court to set a hearing to determine exactly what their budget will be.
CASEY'S PEN PAL TRIED TO SELL LETTERS
The inmate Casey Anthony wrote to behind bars tried to sell Casey's letters months ago, but was unsuccessful, WFTV learned. The State Attorney's Office released the letters last week (read them).
VIDEO REPORT: Pen Pal Wanted To Sell Letters CASEY JAIL LETTERS (explicit): Read Them All TRANSCRIPT: Investigators Interview Robyn Adams
It's hard to believe Robyn Adams couldn't sell intimate letters from one of the nation's most notorious inmates, but WFTV learned Adams might have thought she could make seven figures by selling the letters, even though there's no confession, and there might have been questions about their authenticity.
Casey Anthony often left her letters to inmate Robyn Adams in the jail library hidden in the book "Let's Do Away With August," which happens to be the month her daughter Caylee was born. Now, WFTV has learned Adams tried to sell Casey's letters to People Magazine and another media operation and that her lawyer insinuated the letters could be worth millions.
"One could certainly conclude that Robyn Adams was more interested in advancing her financial position than she was advancing the ends of justice," WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said.
There's no indication Adams tried to use the letters to get a lighter federal drug sentence. Still, Sheaffer says shopping the letters could raise questions about Adams' credibility.
The letters speak for themselves, but when investigators found out about the letters from someone else and questioned Adams, she made highly incriminating statements that Casey talked about using chloroform to put Caylee to sleep when she wanted to go out.
In the letters, Casey made what Sheaffer calls "clumsy" attempts to present herself as a concerned mother. Casey's lawyer, Jose Baez, has been complaining for months that jail employees might be eavesdropping on her. Which begs the questions: Was Adams playing Casey? Was Casey playing Adams?
"As Aretha Franklin said, ‘Who's zoomin' who?" Sheaffer said.
There's no way to tell whether the jail guard, who's under investigation for helping Casey and Adams communicate, was also looking to capitalize on the case. And, Sheaffer said, it's not too late for Adams to get a break on her sentence if she testifies against Casey.
The book, "Let's Do Away With August," that Casey used to trade notes could have represented a nod to Caylee's birthday.
The book itself is a collection of columns written by Nashville Tennessean journalist Elmer Hinton, whose weekly "Down To Earth" country narratives entertained readers for nearly 30 years. Hinton complained August was nature at her worst, doling out heat and stinging insects.
Previous Stories: April 12, 2010: Casey's Pen Pal Tried To Sell Jail Letters April 9, 2010: Casey's Pen Pal: "Praying For Her Every Day" April 8, 2010: Judge Grants Prosecution Request In Casey Case April 7, 2010: Casey's Pen Pal Could Get Reduced Sentence April 7, 2010: Bombshell Revelation In Casey Case A Bust April 7, 2010: Inmate: Chloroform Was Used To Put Caylee To Sleep April 5, 2010: Motion Denied After Tempers Flare During Casey Hearing April 1, 2010: Casey's Defense Accused Of Wasting Tax Money
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