Grim reminder of chilling CAYLEE ANTHONY murder still haunts DWTS contender NANCY GRACE’s every waking moment!
So much so that GRACE is donating her “Dancing with the Stars” winnings to a missing children’s charity in memory of murdered tot Caylee Anthony.
“I still think about Caylee,” the famed newswoman told The ENQUIRER in an exclusive interview.
“When I was asked to be on ‘Dancing,’ I was in the thick of covering her mother Casey Anthony’s trial. When I thought it over, I decided I wanted to do ‘Dancing’ for my twins, and for Caylee. My twins Lucy and John David are three years old now. Caylee never got to be three.”
Little Caylee was last seen with her mother Casey on June 16, 2008. She was reported missing from her Orlando, Fla., home a month later, and her decomposed body was discovered in a swampy area near her home the following December.
Prosecutors charged Casey Anthony with first-degree murder, manslaughter and aggravated child abuse in Caylee’s death. Convinced that Casey was guilty, Grace labeled her “Tot Mom” and focused her HLN show “Nancy Grace” on her trial.
When Casey was acquitted, Grace exploded on the air, declaring: “Tot Mom’s lies seem to have worked! The devil is dancing tonight.”
Today, Grace still believes the jury made a mistake.
“The Anthony case heightened my emotions regarding missing children,” she said. “It made me want to do more for Caylee and other missing children. Now ‘Dancing’ has given me that chance.
“So I’m giving all the money I win on ‘Dancing’ to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.”
The Center, a private, nonprofit organization created in 1984, is the nation’s leading resource for information on missing and sexually exploited children.
And while the tragedy of Caylee’s murder still haunts Grace, she says competing on “DWTS” has been an absolute blast.
“I’m having the time of my life!” she gushed. “When would I ever have the chance to put on fabulous clothes and have hair weaves down my back and do beautiful dances with an orchestra and a professional instructor? That will never happen to me again.”
But the 51-year-old, who’s dropped 12 pounds since she began rehearsing with pro partner Tristan MacManus, admits the show is hard work.
“I have to practice in three-inch heels, and I’m used to wearing cowboy boots and running shoes,” she laughed. “Besides that, I’m covered in bruises. But I’ll get over it.”
Still, one thing she’ll never get over is the loss of little Caylee.
“The ‘Tot Mom’ case was a very dark time for me,” she confessed. “I was so distraught about the way Caylee died. And people may mock me for saying this, but I know where Caylee is. She’s someplace where her mother can never hurt her again.”
