More than a million people stopped what they were doing and tuned in to the closest news channels, websites and radio stations for Casey Anthony's final verdict.
According to the New York Times, cable news channels such as Headline News (HLN), CNN and Fox ratings more than doubled, exceeding even Sept. 11 viewership. HLN drew its highest rating in 29 years with 5.2 million viewers, a 1,700 percent increase.
Her trial, with its shocking discoveries, media uproar and not- guilty verdict has been compared to that of O.J. Simpson, who was found not guilty for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson.
However, it can also be compared to Susan Smith, guilty of drowning her two boys by pushing her vehicle in a lake after claiming she had been carjacked and Natalee Holloway, missing for more than six years until she was finally declared dead at the hands of Joran van der Sloot.
"I think people followed this trial like they followed all of the others," said Allen Furr, professor and chair department of sociology, anthropology and social work. "They follow them because there's something extraordinary about the story."
Furr said in this case there were a lot of twists and turns to the story line, sort of like a soap opera.
He also said people are entertained in that the person is thought to have done something that violates people's moral standards. A mother killing her child is just unethical, he said, because it is expected for parents to protect their children.
Chrissandra Jallah, sophomore in political science, said these cases that make breaking news do not deserve so much attention because similar cases happen all the time. She said the reason it is a big deal is because of the emphasis reporters put on it.
"I think they pick and choose what they want to amp up, and this is one of them," Jallah said.
Furr said unclear evidence in these cases is another reason the media and people become intrigued. It becomes a guessing game for people about whether they think the defendant is guilty or not guilty.
Clint Wilson, a partner with the law firm McCollum and Wilson, P.C., said in the end, it only matters what the jury thinks
"Sometimes they get it wrong," he said. "A lot of the time they get it right. In the end, it is the fairest system in the world."
The jury in Casey Anthony's trial decided there was no evidence to prove she was guilty. However Wilson said the jury's final decision does not mean they felt she was innocent. The prosecutors were just unable to prove she was guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
"All of these trials that become the big stories, they aren't any more tragic," Furr said. "... It's just that for some reason these catch on."
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