7 Men Rumored To Be Caylee Anthony's Dad

Nearly 10 years after the death of Caylee Anthony, the father of the little girl is still unknown. Throughout the six-week trial of Casey Anthony, who was accused of murder, manslaughter and child abuse surrounding the death of her daughter, several men’s names were circulated as the possible father of the two-year-old.

Jesus Ortiz

Jesus Ortiz was suspected of being Caylee’s father after Casey’s mother Cindy Anthony told People in 2008 that the father was killed in a terrible car accident. This seemed to fit the bill for Ortiz, who briefly dated Casey before dying in a car crash in 2007. Ortiz was 21.

The Ortiz family was shocked by the news from Cindy as Casey had never connected with the family or spoke about their son publicly until after Caylee went missing, Oxygen reported. The Ortiz family did release a statement about the rumors saying, “Miss Anthony never told the family Jesus was the father or that he might be the father. In fact, the family has never met her and does not know her.”

Eric Baker

Casey’s mother also testified during the murder trial that her daughter had told her that Caylee’s father was an old friend named Eric Baker. Baker had also died in a car crash, and according to Cindy, her daughter and Baker had only gotten together for one brief night, Oxygen reported.

CNN reported that investigators were able to confirm that Baker did die in a car crash but could find a connection that linked him to Casey.

Michael Duggan

Another possible dad suspect is Michael Duggan. The man’s mother, Donna MacLean claimed that her son was the father of Caylee during the murder trial of the little girl. She told The Daily Beast in an interview that her son had told her he had a daughter and that her grandparents were George and Cindy Anthony – the parents of Casey. Duggan also died in a car crash in 2007.

In 2018, MacLean told RadarOnline.com that her son is indeed the father of Caylee as it became clear to her after the murder trial. In an interview with The Daily Beast, she said, “I would never in a million years bring something like this forward if I wasn’t 100 percent positive. My son wouldn’t lie to me.”

MacLean also told the Daily Beast that photos of Caylee, “looked so much like [her] family, like [she] did when [she] was little.” The Anthony family has never responded to her claims, according to Oxygen.

Jesse Grund

People has reported that Casey became pregnant shortly after she started dating her ex-fiancé Jesse Grund. While their relationship timeline didn’t line up with the birth of Caylee in August when the two only started dating in January, Grund , however, was reportedly happy to be the father in Caylee’s life as he told People, he “loved her more than anything.”

A paternity test later revealed that he was not the little girl’s father.

Josh

Detectives in the case were told by a former friend of Casey’s, Melina Calabrese, that Caylee’s father was named Josh. Josh was allegedly a co-worker that Casey had had a one-night stand with but she never revealed his last name only telling police that he was from Georgia and worked with her at Universal Studios, Oxygen reported. Josh is also claimed to have died in a car accident shortly after Caylee’s second birthday.

ABC News reported that Casey lied about working at Universal Studios, leaving the mystery of who Josh exactly was wide open.

George Anthony

During the murder trial, Casey’s lawyers claimed that her father, George Anthony sexually abused her. While George did have a paternity test, he was confirmed by a DNA analyst not to be the father of Caylee.

George and his wife Cindy denied the allegations made by Casey and the defense team saying to People that they were hurt by the “hints, rumors, lies and allegations,” that their daughter made against them.

Lee Anthony

Casey’s brother Lee Anthony was also suspected to be Caylee’s father during the murder trial as Casey’s lawyers alleged that he had made sexual advances toward his sister. Lee also took a paternity test that a DNA analyst found to show that he was not the father of Caylee.