ORLANDO, Fla.
Top investigators who looked into Caylee Anthony's disappearance and death spoke about their work for the first time since Casey Anthony was found not guilty of first-degree murder.
Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said his office received more than 6,100 tips in the investigation and more than 100 investigators were involved in pursuing leads.
"We gave 100 percent of our effort to try to locate her," Demings said.
Demings is in the process of calculating investigative costs for the State Attorney's Office, which is seeking reimbursement from Anthony.
Detective Yuri Melich, one of the lead investigators in the case who testified several times during the trial, said Tuesday he was not surprised by the defense's claim in its opening statement that Caylee's death was an accident and not murder.
The defense told jurors Caylee drowned in an above-ground swimming pool in the back yard of the family home.
Melich and fellow detective John Allen said Tuesday they believed their investigation was complete and thorough, despite accusations that the idea of a drowning was never looked into.
"Our case was solid," Allen said.
Melich said he's still taken aback at how Anthony acted once Caylee was finally reported missing.
"It's still amazing to me how she reacted during the interview," Melich said.
Melich said the case wouldn't have been taken to the grand jury unless they thought the case was strong enough.
The various investigators and technicians said they're often recognized more in public now because of their involvement with the high-profile case.
Computer forensics expert Sandra Osborne said it was her first major case.
"What a way to start," she said.
Crime scene technicians Gerardo Bloise and Jennifer Welch said they did not appreciate the claims by the defense that the work of their office was "fantasy forensics."
Bloise said he thought the jury would have been impacted if they would have been able to smell a carpet sample from Anthony's car that was sealed in a can. Numerous witnesses testified the car smelled like human decomposition. Judge Belvin Perry said the jury would not be able to smell the can if they asked.
Demings also reacted to a push for "Caylee's Law" by some Florida lawmakers, which would make it a felony to not report a child missing.
"It really captures some of the deficiencies we saw in this case," he said.
Detectives said they're moving forward and learning what they can from the case's outcome.
"We have to respect our judicial system. I'm unhappy it wasn't a different verdict," Melich said.
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