Casey Anthony's Story Could be Auctioned to the Highest Bidder - East Idaho News
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Casey Anthony’s Story Could be Auctioned to the Highest Bidder

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Getty N 063011 CaseyAnthony1?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1363745378706Red Huber-Pool/Getty Images(TAMPA, Fla.) — The rights to the controversial life story of Casey Anthony could be auctioned to the highest bidder if a Florida judge approves a motion filed by the trustee overseeing Anthony’s bankruptcy plans.

The filing asks for the judge’s permission to sell “the exclusive worldwide rights in perpetuity to the commercialization of Anthony’s life story” and help pay off the $800,000 she owes to lawyers and other creditors. The motion was filed by Allan Watkins, an attorney for trustee Stephen Meininger.

“My job is to liquidate any potential assets for the benefit of her creditors,” Meininger told ABC News. “Whatever we’re able to get for it would be distributed to her creditors.”

Watkins said the sale can be made without Anthony’s consent since she filed for bankruptcy.

When asked if Anthony has consented or objected to the sale, Watkins told ABC News, “She hasn’t filed anything yet…I’m sure if she’s unhappy with it, she’ll raise it in court.”

Anthony’s life story, referred to as “the Property” throughout the document, includes her version and thoughts on her “childhood, the disappearance and death of her daughter, Caylee Anthony, her subsequent arrest, incarceration, trial, acquittal and withdrawal from society.”

The rights include those to movies, documentaries, live stage performances, Internet articles, merchandise and social media including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

Despite the public interest and media scrutiny, Anthony, 26, has not told her story since being acquitted in the murder of her daughter Caylee.

The motion says there has already been one written offer for the rights to Anthony’s story for $10,000 from someone named James M. Schober. He wants to buy the rights to prevent Anthony from selling her story, according to the filing.

“Mr. Schober’s stated intention is to acquire the Property in order to prevent Ms. Anthony or others from publishing or profiting from her story in the future, and therefore his offer is not subject to any contingency based upon the cooperation or promise of cooperation from Ms. Anthony,” the motion said.

The attorney wrote that “due to the intense public interest” in Anthony and her story, the trustee thinks others will be interested in buying her story.

Because of the expected interest, the trustee asked the judge for permission to set terms for bidding in order to “maximize the value for the Estate and its creditors.”

Anthony’s creditors are dozens of people to whom she owes money, including her parents and former attorney Jose Baez.

If no additional bids are received, the rights will go to Schober, the filing says. But, if more than one bid is received, “an auction will occur among bidders.” The money would go toward paying Anthony’s debts.

Anthony was forced to come out of seclusion and publicly answer questions for the first time on March 4 when she appeared in Florida bankruptcy court.

Anthony has been in hiding since 2011 when she was acquitted of murdering her toddler Caylee. She was the victim of a barrage of threats and was dubbed the most hated woman in America. Aside from a few stray photos, Anthony has succeeded in staying out of sight.

Anthony has been unemployed for the past four years and filed for bankruptcy in January. She’s almost $800,000 in debt and has less than $1,100 worth of assets, according to her bankruptcy filing.

She said at the meeting that she lives with friends. When a federal bankruptcy trustee asked her if she bought her own food, she said, “I try to contribute when I can.”

Anthony’s attorney Charles Greene was not immediately available for comment Tuesday, but has previously told ABC News that Anthony has a story to tell, but that telling it right now is “not even under consideration except to say no.”

“There will be no tell-all book, there is no tell-all movie,” he said. “Her ability to progress and to grow up and to even be at her normal age was thwarted by what’s happened to her in the last few years and what we believe happened to her in her earlier life, but that’s her story to tell one day.”

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