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NEWTON (MCT) — The district attorney's office is reviewing more than 11,000 pages of the Hickory Police Department's investigation into the death of Zahra Clare Baker.

The police department turned its investigative file over to the district attorney's office late Wednesday afternoon, said Eric Farr, spokesman for the district attorney's office.

"What we've done is sent everything in an organized fashion that we have to make a decision on charges," said Maj. Clyde Deal with the Hickory Police Department, and one of the lead investigators in the case.

He said it is one of the most comprehensive, exhaustive investigations the area's been involved in.

"I've been with the Hickory Police Department for almost 26 years, and I don't recall any case file being this large," Deal said. "It's the biggest case I've worked on."

The case file the police department submitted to the district attorney's office fills two five-inch notebooks, and includes 117 DVDs of interviews and 65 DVDs with phone records and photos, Deal said. There are 11,000 pages on discs, and that doesn't include what the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation will submit.

"It is an exhaustively thorough investigation, and we applaud the Hickory Police Department and the cooperating agencies for their work," Farr said. "Now we begin the process of evaluating it and determining what charges will be filed."

He said that will take some time.

The investigation into 10-year-old Zahra's disappearance began Oct. 9 with the Hickory Fire Department receiving a call about a fire in the backyard of Adam and Elisa Baker's home at 5:20 a.m. A firefighter spotted a ransom note on one of the cars and called police. Zahra was not reported missing until about 2 p.m., however, by her father, Adam.

Since then, the investigation has had several twists. Zahra's stepmother, Elisa, indicted for felony obstruction of justice for writing the false ransom note, as well as being for bigamy. Zahra's prosthetic leg and one of her bones were found on Christie Road in Caldwell County, and skeletal remains of Zahra's were found just a few miles away on Dudley Shoals Road. Other evidence in connection with the cancer-survivor's death has been found throughout Caldwell and Catawba counties, including the house where the Bakers lived in Hickory.

Police have investigated Adam and Elisa, as well as several other people the couple have had close ties with. According to search warrants, Elisa said Zahra died Sept. 24 and she was disposed of on Sept. 25. Elisa said Adam helped get rid of Zahra's body. The GPS in Elisa's cell phone showed she was in the areas in Caldwell County where Zahra's body was found on Sept. 25, but Adam was not, search warrants state.

"It's been a constant work in progress since we got the call," Deal said. "It's still an ongoing investigation with us. Things like the briefcase still pop up, and we'll work on those."

The police department also receives tips about where Zahra may have been seen last, which investigators must look into.

Deal said the briefcase, found Jan. 18 off Christie Road, is likely not connected to Zahra's death. However, when the report comes back from the lab, it will be added to the file as well, since it has paperwork filed with the case.

"We'll wait for the forensic evidence then we'll document it," he said.

As the police department receives other evidence, investigators will put it in an Adobe pdf file in a notebook, so it will all be in one place and can give that to the district attorney's office at one time.

"These would be other things you may need at trial, but not right now," Deal said. "This is still an active, ongoing investigation, and the important thing is to do it right the first time."

Several people in the district attorney's office are now reviewing the Zahra Baker investigative file. As information comes in from the SBI's investigation, they'll review that, as well.