Casey Anthony to appear in public Monday for bankruptcy hearing - WESH

Casey Anthony to appear in public Monday for bankruptcy hearing
Judge orders Anthony to appear at hearing

UPDATED 7:49 AM EST Mar 03, 2013

TAMPA, Fla. —Casey Anthony will finally come out of hiding Monday after a federal judge ordered her to appear in court.

Anthony will attend a bankruptcy hearing with her creditors Monday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. in Tampa.

Last week, the judge denied a request to move the bankruptcy case to Orlando.

Attorneys for Zenaida Gonzalez and former meter reader Roy Kronk are both suing Anthony and asked for the move.

Anthony's bankruptcy filing effectively blocks the two lawsuits from moving forward.

WESH 2 News will be live in Tampa starting on WESH 2 News Sunrise and we’ll have the latest updates on WESH.com.

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Casey Anthony out of hiding Monday, faces questioning in bankruptcy
Casey Anthony required to attend creditor's meeting in Tampa

March 2, 2013
By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel

She's been living in hiding since her acquittal, the subject of tabloid reports, online leaks and rampant speculation.

But for the first time since her murder trial, the media and public on Monday afternoon will know exactly where Casey Anthony is: at a creditors meeting in Tampa for her recently filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

During under-oath questioning, Anthony could be forced to shed light on what she's been doing, and who's been supporting her, since her acquittal in her daughter's death in July 2011.

"She has to have food; she has to have shelter. Who's paying for that?" said Kenneth "Chip" Herron Jr., an Orlando bankruptcy attorney and former Chapter 7 trustee.

She could also have to answer a question trial-watchers have had since her murder case concluded: Does Anthony have any plans to profit from her story?

A bankruptcy trustee's primary function is to identify and sell nonexempt assets, the proceeds of which are distributed to creditors — the people owed money by the person filing for bankruptcy.

The attorneys interviewed for this story are not affiliated with Anthony's case. Her lawyers couldn't be reached for comment.

At a creditors meeting such as the one Monday, the trustee's job is "to question the debtor about assets that they have, and... about their financial activity in the recent past, looking back probably a couple years," said Peter Carratt, a Tampa-based bankruptcy lawyer and debt counselor.

Anthony's creditors, who include numerous people associated with her murder case, including her former attorney Jose Baez and her parents, are also welcome to attend and question her. How long such a meeting lasts, lawyers say, typically hinges on the quantity and complexity of a person's debt and assets, and whether creditors have questions.

Some take only a few minutes. Anthony's lawyers say she has no assets — the clothes, furniture and personal items she owns don't add up to enough to be sold off — which would usually make for an uneventful creditors meeting.

However, ambiguity in Anthony's bankruptcy paperwork could draw a trustee's eye: For example, she also indicated that she "may have relinquished rights to photographs" of herself to Baez. Their value is listed as "unknown."

Since her acquittal, many have speculated that Anthony's greatest asset may be her story. Reports of potential book or movie deals have come and gone frequently. If the trustee views her story as a potential asset, it, too, could potentially be sold.

"I would imagine that, potentially, she could write a book about her trials and tribulations," said Robert M. Geller, a Tampa Bay bankruptcy attorney. "That could have value ... a trustee could potentially take her rights to that."

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-03-02/news/os-casey-anthony-bankruptcy-meeting-20130302_1_casey-anthony-jose-baez-bankruptcy