Casey Anthony marked her 'beautiful life' with a 'Bella Vita' tattoo when her daughter Caylee was missing, and now she's covered it
Casey Anthony got a "Bella Vita" tattoo on her left shoulder at a time when her two-year-old daughter, Caylee, was missing in July 2008. She reportedly walked into a tattoo parlor in Orlando 10 years ago and made small talk with the tattoo artist, whom she had known for years, and told him that her daughter was with her nanny.
However, it was later revealed that Casey was not with her nanny. The two-year-old who had been missing for weeks in July was later found dead, and her mother was the prime suspect of her murder. The tattoo artist, Bobby Williams, said Casey appeared upbeat and happy about her tattoo appointment at the time according to PEOPLE. She chose the words “bella vita,” which is Italian for “beautiful life.”
Casey was arrested and tried for first-degree murder in her daughter's death and was eventually acquitted in 2011 after pleading not guilty.
On July 15, 2008, Casey's mother Cindy reported that her granddaughter was missing after not seeing her for 31 days and suspected that her daughter Casey had murdered Caylee. She informed the authorities that her daughter's car trunk was smelling like a dead body had been there. Caylee's body was discovered in December that year not far away from the couple's home and was found wrapped in a blanket and put inside a trash bag.
Casey was found not guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and aggravated manslaughter of a child, however, she was found guilty of four misdemeanor counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer. With her due term served, she was released on July 17, 2011, and was met with public outrage and media trials.
During her trial, Casey's tattoo became a focal point as prosecutors told jury that she was bar-hopping and getting tattoos, which suggested that she was not looking for her missing daughter but was enjoying her "bella vita" life instead, according to reports. The defense, however, argued that the tattoo was Casey's way of commemorating her daughter.
It has been 10 years since the incident and the tattoo has now been covered up with multiple designs.
"The tattoo was a constant reminder of a difficult time in her life. She’s always been meaning to get it covered up, but she didn’t know what she wanted. She finally had the money to do it, and decided on a pretty design that would cover it up," a source close to Casey told PEOPLE. "[Covering] the tattoo was one more step in her moving forward. Now it’s gone," the insider added.
Reports state that ever since the incident — one of the country's most notorious unsolved murder mysteries — Casey has been attempting to distance herself from her past.
Casey and her mother had started wearing matching necklaces in 2012 which contained Caylee's ashes in small vials, however, Casey does not wear it anymore, according to reports.
"Oh, I haven’t seen it in years. Her mother gave her the necklace and she wore it some back in 2012 and 2013, but I haven’t seen it since. I don’t know whatever became of it. It always stood out when she wore it, but I literally can’t remember seeing it for a very long time," the insider added.
Casey, last year, had broken her silence on the case ever since her acquittal and had told the Associated Press that she doesn't care what people think about her anymore.
"I don’t give a s— about what anyone thinks about me, I never will. Based off what was in the media, I understand the reasons people feel about me. I understand why people have the opinions that they do. I’m okay with myself. I sleep pretty good at night," she added.
Casey, now 32, lives in South Florida and works in legal investigation for her private investigator, Pat McKenna.