Rob Lowe and Elizabeth Mitchell in 'Prosecuting Casey Anthony.' Photo credit: Lifetime
The cases of Casey Anthony and George Zimmerman, two stories that gripped Central Florida and the world, will continue to make headlines in 2013.
The appeal of Anthony’s convictions of lying to law enforcement will receive TV coverage on Jan. 8. The case will be heard in the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach.
The movie “Prosecuting Casey Anthony” will premiere Jan. 19 on Lifetime. The film is based on Jeff Ashton’s book, and he will be played by Rob Lowe. I hear people calling for boycotts of the movie, but it cannot be seen as favorable to Anthony in any way.
Later in the year, Zenaida Gonzalez’s defamation suit against Anthony could go to trial.
Zimmerman’s shooting of Trayvon Martin will likely prompt two bursts of heavy media coverage in the coming year: at a stand your ground hearing scheduled for April and at the second-degree murder trial set for June.
How will it go? Fred Francis, a former NBC senior correspondent and founder of 15seconds.com, made a definite prediction Sunday on CNN’s “Reliable Sources.”
Zimmerman will be acquitted because it’s a weak case, Francis told host Howard Kurtz.
“I’m telling you, this is the weakest case I’ve ever seen get this kind of national publicity,” Francis said.
Of course, many people predicted that Anthony would be convicted of her daughter Caylee’s murder. And how did that work out?