LAPORTE — The verdict from a LaPorte County jury had the community taking sides Thursday, after Kathy Phillips was found not guilty of murder and neglect charges.

Prosecutors spent one week trying to prove Kathy Phillips killed her baby and left it in a field near her home. But early Thursday morning, the jury announced they'd reached the not guilty verdict.

During testimony, a geneticist testified there was a 99.99% chance Kathy and Garry Phillips were the parents of the baby. But prosecutors had a difficult time proving the baby was born alive.

Phillips and her husband did not comment after the verdict but her mother maintained Kathy was never pregnant.

"My daughter would not take another person's life, least of all her child if she was pregnant," she said as the family emerged from the courtroom; their emotions running high. "But I said, Kathy it's over. It's over now."

Emotions were also on a roller-coaster in local communities after the verdict hit the news. And even though the jury wasn't split, those we spoke with were, and the court of public opinion went into session.

From restaurants, to hair salons and laundromats, the verdict was the "talk of the town."

"I just heard it on the news," said one man.

"We were just reading about it," said another.

Debates over the outcome of the trial seemed to be everywhere.

At Julie Kampf's office, it revolved around the DNA evidence.

"I was shocked. I was really shocked. Everybody thought-- like I did-- with the DNA evidence that she should've been found guilty," the Rolling Prairie woman said.

"They proved the baby was hers and that she was pregnant with it," agreed Traci Rice of LaPorte. "I think she should've been proven guilty. It will definitely be talked about around our family tonight, that's for sure."

But others say the case has been decided, and debating the outcome is a waste of time.

"If they were not able to find the evidence to convict her, she should've been acquitted. And that's what happened. After all, this is the United States of America," said Carol Arvin of LaPorte.

"With the evidence they had, the jury made the right decision," agreed another woman, who asked to remain anonymous.

The talk continued at other places as well. But there was one place that remained silent: the grave site of baby Jane Doe. No flowers adorned her simple plastic headstone. No visitors stood quietly near her grave Thursday afternoon.

It's the same silence left behind by questions that remain unanswered, said some.

"If she wasn't guilty, who was? Are they continuing the investigation? Was it even a murder at all?" asked Cody Jendrysek of LaPorte.

For now, the answers are still unclear.

But there is agreement on at least one thing from both sides:

"The only explanation that counts is that of the jurors," said Phillips' defense attorney Rich Cook as he left the courthouse following the verdict.

"That's the job, ultimately, of the jury to make a decision. And they did," said LaPorte County Deputy Prosecutor Jennifer Evans.

That decision means Phillips cannot be tried again on the same charges.

But some WSBT spoke with questioned whether new charges could be filed, for a crime like "improper disposal of a corpse."

Prosecutors would not comment to WSBT about that possibility Thursday, saying only that the appropriate charges were pursued.

"The state was looking to find justice for that baby, and that's the job of the jury," repeated Evans. "And they did."