Casey, a feisty college student, was on her way to New York City when a mysterious bright light caused her to lose control of her motorcycle and nearly mow down a young blind woman named Amy. While being checked out at the hospital, Casey stole Amy's wallet. She was later given a place to stay by Jack Ramsey, who offered her the use of his old room at the bike shop. Casey was thankful for Jack's help and quite smitten with him.

Casey's secret was revealed in mid-January 2002 -- she was an angel who returned to earth to complete her life's mission. In attempt to earn some new friends and win a boy's affection, Casey allowed herself to be taken to an abandoned house that served as a crackhouse. Though she talked a tough game, Casey had never been to anyplace like it before. Casey was talked into doing two lines of a powerful cocaine and heroin drug combination. Her first time using drugs was also her last time. "One mistake and I'm dead," Casey would tearfully recount. "Just because I wanted a few people to like me."

Casey found a partner in crime in Ricky Garza. Although the two sparred frequently, they soon realized how alike they were, and developed real feelings underneath their tough shells.

When Casey almost told Ricky that she was an angel, Ed beamed her, Rafe, Paige and Amy (each of whom had crossed a similar line) back upstairs. After a stern warning, he informed them of the fifth chair, which would be occupied by a living resident of Port Charles. Casey worried Ricky was marked for death, and spent the next months trying to protect him, even cutting the brakes on Jamal's bike so he would die instead. Fortunately, she didn't know what she was doing and cut the speedometer instead.

Ricky's newfound brother Jamal had begun spiraling into self-destructive patterns, and Ricky and Casey were drawn into his storm. Ricky and Jamal had taken money from street thugs during a game of dice, and when the thugs realized Jamal had cheated, they weren't happy. Jamal returned the money, but they wanted another kind of payback. They came at Jamal with a knife, but Ricky and Casey intervened. Ricky was badly cut and disfigured in a surprise attack. Casey hid him out in her apartment for a day or so before she realized he had to get medical care. She saved his life, but angry from the betrayal and hating himself for the scar on his face, Ricky spurned her.

As the final week drew to a close, Casey knew she didn't have much time. Visiting Ricky, she proved to him she wasn't repulsed by his scar, and removed her layers of garish makeup and accessories, showing him her vulnerable self. They made love. She confessed to being an angel, and that she would be gone soon. He didn't want her to leave without him. Their conversation was interrupted when a groggy Jamal called to tell Ricky he'd been beaten up and taken prisoner by the street thugs. Ricky found him but was quickly captured himself, and the thugs set fire to the room with the two men locked inside. Casey tracked Ricky down, and realized a key she wore around her neck was the answer to freeing them. Unlocking the door, she helped Jamal and Ricky to safety, ensuring neither were the fifth chair.

After a tender goodbye with Ricky in the park, Casey left. She hadn't realized that her love for Ricky had given him a final gift seconds after her departure. His scar had vanished.

Once upstairs, Casey explained that she had found acceptance for the first time in her life, someone who loved her for who she was, not who she wanted them to see her as. Happy and at peace, she walked through the final portal, hoping Ed would make her a guardian angel.