The man Casey Anthony was spotted with this week on what appeared to be date has been identified as an Army veteran and ex-police officer who now runs a gun shop in New Hampshire.
According to TMZ, the man Anthony was seen getting cozy with at a sports bar Wednesday night is Ben Beauchemin, a former cop with New Hampshire’s Hooksett Police Department and current owner of Wicked Weaponry Firearms.
Ben Beauchemin, a gun shop owner in New Hampshire, says he’s undecided about who to vote for in the primary elections. He said he supports the Second Amendment and also advocates for women’s reproductive rights.
Follow the latest election updates: https://t.co/PZnumv2uiO pic.twitter.com/OGcWyGYfUi
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 22, 2024
It’s unclear when or where the two met, though sources told the outlet that no one in Beauchemin’s big family knew he was spending time with Anthony until photos of their date in Manchester, N.H. were published online.
Beauchemin was since taken down his Facebook page and cut off contact with his family, at least temporarily, an insider told TMZ.
Anthony was famously thrust into the spotlight when she was charged with murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, in 2008. The child disappeared in June of that year but wasn’t reported missing until July when Caylee’s grandmother learned that Anthony hadn’t seen her daughter in a month.
Anthony was eventually charged that October after giving a variety of explanations about Caylee’s whereabouts and lying that her daughter had been kidnapped by a nanny.
Caylee’s body was discovered two months later inside a laundry bag in a wooded area near the Anthony family home in Florida, while authorities said traces of chloroform and human decomposition were found in the truck of Anthony’s car.
Casey Anthony trial
Orange County Sheriff’s Office/AP Caylee Anthony (Orange County Sheriff’s Office/AP)
Following a highly publicized trial, Anthony was acquitted of the murder but found guilty on charges of providing false information to law enforcement. One juror told People that while the defendant seemed “like a horrible person,” they felt the prosecution failed to present a convincing case for convicting her of murder.
Despite the trial’s outcome, many continue to believe that Anthony — once dubbed “America’s most hated mom” — was involved in her daughter’s death. Anthony has maintained her innocence.
“I’m still not even certain, as I stand here today, about what happened,” she told The Associated Press in 2017. “[But] based off what was in the media, I understand the reasons people feel [certain ways] about me. I understand why people have the opinions that they do.”
