As we wrote yesterday, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction in the case of the Florida 6-month-old baby boy reported missing by his parents who claimed their nanny hadn’t returned him Christmas Eve, and the eery similarities to the Casey-Caylee Anthony case.

Miami police arrested Meagan McCormic today and charged her with giving false information after a frantic two day search for her 6-month-old son, Riley. Police determined that the whole thing was a hoax.

McCormic had lured John Buchness, a former boyfriend, to Miami, claiming that she had had his son, Riley Archer. McCormic purportedly miscarried a baby. She then claimed that the fake 6-month-old baby had “disappeared” with a nanny named Camille on Tuesday. Police then issued an Amber Alert.

We pointed out in our first story, Caylee Anthony Case: Another Florida Couple Claim Nanny Took Baby Boy the eery similarity to the Caylee Anthony case: both “nannys” were mysterious. The now infamous Zenaida Gonzales, the woman who purportedly abducted, then murdered little 2-yr-old Caylee Anthony, versus the new “nanny” kidnapper on the block, the “French” speaking “Camille” with no last name or address.

We wrote that even if the story given by the couple were true, the police would be looking at them with a jaundiced eye. Especially after the 5 1/2 month ordeal relating to the disappearance of Caylee Anthony, which ended on December 11 when a meter reader discovered what looked like human remains less than a 1/4 mile from Casey Anthony’s home.

We also pointed out that if the story were true, that a baby boy had indeed been absconded by his nanny, Casey Anthony’s attorneys would latch onto it like rats in a sinking ship as proof their client was telling the “truth”, that Caylee’s nanny had taken her.

Today we learned that the newest so-called “nanny” caper had even more parallels to the Caylee Anthony case: both Casey Anthony and Megan McCormic have been charged with giving false information to the police regarding missing children. While Caylee Anthony was an all too real child, Megan McMormic’s “Riley” was made up.

The Nanny Took My Baby!

The police spent two days looking for the fake Riley, even issuing an Amber Alert. The police spent 5 1/2 months searching for Caylee. Anthony, charged with First Degree murder before Caylee’s remains were found, still claims a nanny named Zenaida Gonzales took Caylee. McCormic claimed a mysterious nanny named Camille took the fake Riley.

Both of the women’s stories centered around men in their lives. Casey Anthony, in the period during which Caylee was purportedly missing, from June 9 to July 15, spent a majority of her time staying with a new boyfriend, Anthony Lazzaro. Lazzaro told investigators that he had told Anthony that he “didn’t want daughters”, that if he started a family, “he only wanted boys”.

Megan McCormic made up the fake Riley in an attempt to lure an ex-boyfriend back, claiming she had his baby, a boy named Riley. When her ex-boyfriend came to town, McCormic claimed Riley had disappeared with a nanny named Camille.

When Casey Anthony’s mother became frantic about the whereabouts of her granddaughter Caylee and called 911 on July 15, Casey was forced into making a missing persons report.

Casey Anthony, during the period of time before she was forced into filing a missing persons report for Caylee, claimed to friends that Caylee was off with her nanny at places a child would love: Sea World, Busch Gardens, and Disneyland. Yet when Anthony filed the missing persons report, she claimed that during that same period of time, the nanny had disappeared with Caylee. Anthony claimed that she spent the 31 days Caylee was missing searching for her daughter and the nanny. She also told investigators that she had told two other coworkers at Universal Studios that Caylee was missing.

Investigators discovered Anthony had been fired from Universal in 2004. One of the two “coworkers” had been fired from Universal in 2002. That coworker had no idea Caylee was missing and had never heard of the nanny. The other “coworker” couldn’t be found in Universal’s employee database, as well as the name Anthony gave for her supervisor.

McCormic went so far as to supply a photo of her fake baby. She even claimed the baby boy had a fake tattoo of an anchor on his left arm, wore a white “onesie”, and had his hair styled in a mohawk. Investigators believe McCormic downloaded the photo of a baby boy off the internet.

Anthony claimed her nanny was Hispanic, and gave her a name, Zenaida Gonzales, along with details of Gonzales’ mother, friends, and places she had frequented. McCormic’s nanny had a heavy French accent, drove a red Acura, and lived in Boston, the same city McCormic had recently moved from to Miami. We can see why McCormic moved to another state, it made it easier for her to continue the charade of the fake Riley.

Investigators immediately discovered that Anthony hadn’t been in employ of Universal for years and that the apartment Anthony claimed Zenaida Gonzales lived had been vacant for months. Even so Anthony continued to claim “Zenaida” had taken Caylee. Anthony changing her story from “dropping Caylee off at Zenaida’s apartment” to dropping Caylee off in the parking lot and “watching Zenaida and two other women drive away with Caylee”. Anthony also claimed she had spoken to Caylee over the phone the day before she filed the missing persons report on July 15.

What’s even more amazing is McCormic using the “nanny took my baby” story to cops after the 5 1/2 months press coverage of the missing Caylee Anthony. McCormic also resided in the same state as Anthony.

Investigators did find a Zenaida Gonzales. The woman claimed she had never met Casey or Caylee. Investigators also discovered that Gonzales had visited the same apartments before Caylee was reported missing and that Gonzales had filled out a guest card. Investigators also discovered that Casey Anthony, as well as Caylee, had frequently stayed the night at a friend’s apartment, Ricardo Morales, located across the street from where Casey Anthony originally claimed the nanny lived.

Casey Anthony wove a web of gossamer lies to family, friends, and the police. That same web of lies may catch an unintended victim: Casey Anthony. Casey lied about being employed, about the apartment where the nanny purportedly lived, the same nanny investigators have been unable to find. Investigators also reported that the day after Caylee was reported missing, several friends called the police and told them that Casey Anthony was a habitual liar.

Now Megan McMormic’s antics have entered into the equation: if McMormic’s story had been true, Anthony’s attorneys might have tried to spin it into their advantage, pointing out that a nanny had taken a baby boy. Casey Anthony still maintains that Zenaida Gonzales was the one who took the now dead Caylee even though almost every other detail given to investigators by Anthony have been proved to be false.

Now that McMormic’s story had been proved false, in the court of public opinion this is a blow to the Anthony defense. Another young woman has been caught lying to the police, making up not only false story about a nanny abducting her baby, but also lying about having a baby.

It shows just how far these two young women will go to perpetuate a story, taking it to the next level, lying to the police.

In Anthony’s case, her lies may have been designed to keep her from going to prison in the murder of her daughter. When faced by investigators with proof that she had lied, Anthony changes the version of her story, adding new details. In McMormic’s case, her lies were designed to keep an ex-boyfriend from discovering that she had lied about having his baby. When faced with having to produce a child, McCormic chose to make up another tale, that the baby had disappeared with the nanny, then reported it to the police.

Anthony Casey continues to maintain she is innocent even when her story, or stories, have been thoroughly shredded. In Megan McCormic’s case, her story emerged during the midst of the Caylee Anthony case. One woman is a pathetic liar, using a fake baby to lure an ex-boyfriend back into a relationship, the other, a pathological liar who may have murdered her own little daughter.

While this may be a case of where the truth is stranger than fiction, it also reminds me of an old Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale. Both Anthony and McCormic told tall tales, which in the case of Caylee Anthony, has been very “grim”.

By LBG

Image – Grimm Fairy Tales