ORLANDO - Jurors aren't talking. Prosecutors are stunned that they lost. Defense attorneys are lashing out at the media. And Casey Anthony could be free by the weekend.
A case that involved years of forensic investigation, weeks of often highly technical testimony and untold hours of media analysis turned out to be a quick decision for the jurors weighing whether Anthony killed her toddler daughter. Early in their second day of deliberations, the 12 men and women concluded Tuesday the 25-year-old lied to investigators but wasn't guilty in her child's death.
Now Anthony waits to learn if she could spend her first night out of jail in almost three years since she was first accused in the case. She was only convicted of four misdemeanor counts of lying to investigators, and it's possible that Judge Belvin Perry could sentence her Thursday to time already served for those crimes. The four counts of lying to sheriff's deputies each carry a maximum sentence of one year.
Anthony has been in jail since her October 2008 arrest on first-degree murder charges. She avoided a possible death sentence thanks to her acquittal on the murder count. The case began in July 2008 when Caylee Anthony was reported missing.
"I'm very happy for Casey, ecstatic for her and I want her to be able to grieve and grow and somehow get her life back together," defense attorney Jose Baez said Tuesday. "I think this case is a perfect example of why the death penalty does not work ... Murder is not right, no matter who does it."
The trial became a national sensation on cable TV, with its CSI-style testimony about duct-tape marks on the child's face and the smell of death inside a car trunk.
After a month and a half of testimony, the jury took less than 11 hours to find Anthony not guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter and aggravated child abuse.
Tears welled in Anthony's eyes, her face reddened, her lips trembled, and she began breathing heavily as she listened to the verdict.
Anthony's parents, George and Cindy Anthony, left court quickly after the verdict without hugging or saying anything to their daughter. Their attorney, Mark Lippman, told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday that they hadn't spoken with their daughter since the verdict. Lippman wouldn't answer whether the Anthonys believe their daughter killed Caylee.
Jurors declined to talk to reporters after their decision, but an alternate juror told NBC's "Today" show Wednesday he thought they came to the right verdict. Russell Huekler told the network he didn't think the prosecution presented enough evidence to sustain a murder charge.
"When they explained to us what reasonable doubt was, I definitely had reasonable doubt then," Huekler said.
Huekler also said he didn't think prosecutors provided a motive for why Anthony would kill her daughter.
"Just because Casey was a party girl did not show why she would possibly kill Caylee," he said.
Also on NBC, prosecutor Jeff Ashton said the verdict left him and other prosecutors in shock.
"I think I mouthed the word `wow' about five times," he said.
Many in the crowd of about 500 people outside the courthouse Tuesday reacted with anger after the verdict was read, chanting, "Justice for Caylee!" One man yelled, "Baby killer!"
Given the relative speed with which the jury came back with a verdict, many court-watchers were expecting Anthony to be convicted in the killing, and they were stunned by the outcome.
Prosecutors contended that Anthony -- a single mother living with her parents -- suffocated Caylee with duct tape because she wanted to be free to hit the nightclubs and spend time with her boyfriend.
Defense attorneys argued that the little girl accidentally drowned in the family swimming pool and that Anthony panicked and hid the body because of the traumatic effects of being sexually abused by her father.
The case played out on national television almost from the moment Caylee was reported missing three years ago. CNN's Nancy Grace dissected the case at every turn with the zeal of the prosecutor she once was, arguing that Anthony was responsible for her daughter's death. The TV host turned the term "tot mom" into shorthand for Anthony.
Anthony's attorney Cheney Mason blasted the media after the verdict.
"Well, I hope that this is a lesson to those of you having indulged in media assassination for three years, bias, prejudice and incompetent talking heads saying what would be and how to be," Mason said.
"I'm disgusted by some of the lawyers that have done this, and I can tell you that my colleagues from coast to coast and border to border have condemned this whole process of lawyers getting on television and talking about cases that they don't know a damn thing about."
The jurors -- seven women and five men -- would not talk to the media, and their identities were kept secret by the court.
State's Attorney Lawson Lamar said: "We're disappointed in the verdict today because we know the facts and we've put in absolutely
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