A fan releases a dove outside Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria, Calif. Fariba Garmani released 10 doves, one for each count on which Michael Jackson was acquitted.

In the end, the jurors said, it came down to four words: Beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecution in Michael Jackson’s molestation trial just never got there for them.

Meeting a phalanx of reporters from around the world Monday, the 12 jurors and eight alternates spoke calmly now that they had ended Jackson’s 3 1/2-month trial with acquittal of all charges. As has been the case since they were selected in late February, they were identified not by name but by number. Male and female, old and young, they agreed that they had collectively ignored the distractions outside the jury box and made the right call.

“I think we all just looked at the evidence and just agreed,” said juror No. 5, a lively 79-year-old grandmother.

Several jurors were critical of the accuser’s mother and appeared to have discounted her testimony as well as that of her 15-year-old son.

Their remarks highlighted one of the most troubling aspects of the case brought by Santa Barbara County prosecutor Thomas Sneddon: Jackson’s accuser, and his family, had credibility problems. Lead defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. was able to introduce evidence supporting his claim that the boy and his family were “con artists” seeking to fleece an international star.

The mother of the accuser made no friends on the jury with her histrionic performance early in the trial. “I disliked it intensely when she snapped her fingers at us,” commented juror No. 5. “I thought, ‘Don’t snap your fingers at me, lady!’ “