Casey Anthony's Legal Trial Scoops $820,000 of Public Money

The Orange County Sheriff's Office spent around $300,000 in Casey Anthony murder investigation and trial. The total estimated value of the investigation and prosecution costs attributed to the case more than half a million dollars.

The documented cost spent on the Casey Anthony case in public dollars is more than $822,470.

Casey Anthony, 25, was convicted of four charges of lying to detectives in 2008 and leading them astray from the first day of the investigation into the fate of the missing toddler, Reuters reported.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office, the lead investigating agency in the Casey Anthony murder trial on Friday announced that it is looking for reimbursement of $293,123.77 for its role in searching the disappeared 2-year-old Caylee Anthony in mid-July 2008, according to figures released on Friday from the Orange County
Sheriff's Office.

Lt. Paul Zambouros of the Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Division/Major Case Section, along with Assistant State Attorney Linda Drane-Burdick has filed the estimate cost of the case.

"An incredible amount of manpower was deployed and over 6,000 tips were received requiring extensive man hours," Zambouros reports said.

Zambouros said he could not "fairly capture" the investigative work due to the ‘fluid activity’ on in the investigation. The reimbursement is mostly based on the Criminal Investigation Division's activities, Zambouros noted.

"Otherwise, the reimbursement for cost of investigation would certainly be larger," he wrote.

Trial judge Belvin Perry on a hearing which is scheduled for Aug.25, will decide how much money Anthony should pay.

The State Attorney's Office said that apart from the Sheriff's Office costs, the case cost its office $141,362; the Florida Department of Law Enforcement estimated its costs at $71,939; and the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation attributed $10,645.38 in costs to the case, Grand Forks Herald reported.

Earlier this month, the state Justice Administrative Commission said that the Casey Anthony defense has billed $147,018 but the state had paid only $118,847 for Casey Anthony's defense.

Also on Friday the Orange County Clerk of Courts has provided details of cost associated to select jury for the murder trial. The total estimated cost tallied as of Friday by the Clerk’s office was $186,903.77.