Body of Missing Girl Found; Man Arrested

AP ^ | 2/6/04 | Mitch Stacy

[apackof2]

SARASOTA, Fla. - The body of an 11-year-old girl whose abduction was captured by a surveillance camera has been found in a church parking lot and a mechanic has been charged with her murder, officials said Friday.

Sarasota County Sheriff Bill Balkwill refused to say where Carlie Brucia's body was found, but a law enforcement source close to the investigation said it was found between 12:45 a.m. and 1 a.m. Friday outside a church not far from the car wash where she was taken.

"Our prayers on behalf of everybody here in Sarasota County go out to the family," Balkwill said.

He said Joseph P. Smith, 37, has been charged with her murder. He is believed to be the tattooed man in a mechanic's shirt who was seen in a car wash surveillance video leading Carlie away by the arm Sunday evening, authorities said.

Investigators found the body after negotiations with Smith, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Earlier, authorities had said he was not cooperating.

"We now stand ready to complete our obligation, and assure you that he will pay the ultimate price for what he did to her," Capt. Jeff Bell said.

Family and friends had kept vigil outside Carlie's ranch-style house which was decorated with banners and posters reading, "We love you, Carlie."

Carlie was described by friends as a beautiful girl who loved actress Jennifer Lopez, going to the mall and hanging out. The youngster was known for greeting friends with warm hugs. She was heading home from a slumber party when she was abducted.

Carlie's friend Natalie Thomas cried after hearing that her classmate's body was found. She remembered Carlie's smile and that she liked to go on walks.

Carlie's family had gone into seclusion Friday and was unavailable for comment.

"There's nothing you can do to make anybody feel better and it's going to hurt for a long, long time," said Chuck Chambers, a private investigator who was working with the family.

"I need my daughter home," Carlie's mother, Susan Schorpen, had said Thursday. "She's a very, very important part of this family and community."

Members of her former Girl Scout troop took a day off from school Wednesday to pass out fliers at shopping centers, canvass neighborhoods and distribute pink ribbons adorned with Carlie's name.

A reward fund of $50,000 was offered for information.

Smith has been arrested at least 13 times in Florida since 1993, according to state records and convicted of drug possession and other charges. He was arrested in 1997 in Manatee County on kidnapping and false imprisonment charges, but was acquitted a year later.

An aide to Smith's public defender, Adam Tebrugge, had declined to comment Thursday.

Carlie was walking home from a friend's house at about 6:20 p.m. Sunday when she took a short cut behind Evie's Car Wash, which was closed for the day.

Car wash owner Mike Evanoff said he checked the security system video Monday after bloodhounds led deputies to the business. The images of Carlie popped up almost immediately when he turned on the system, he said.

"It was cold chills right up my back," Evanoff said earlier this week. "My manager couldn't even look at it. It's an awful feeling."

FOR DISCUSSION ONLY

[Dionysius]

It would be unforgivable if they took the death penalty off the table in exchange for the location of the corpus. The same thing could have been accomplished with polite questioning conducted with a cocked pistol pressed firmly against the temple. This fiend deserves more the millstone than the electricity, and to spare him from "the ultimate penalty" would be more criminal than the foul deed itself.

[beachn4fun]

Well, as a mother and a grandmother (my grandchild is just about a year younger than this girl), let me give you an indication of how I feel about it........

LET ME AT HIM!

[kenth]

The judicial system is responsible for treating this man as innocent until proven guilty. We have no such obligation and is the reason why I suspect your pleas weren't met with much cooperation. As for me, I wildly sling opinions from the hip all the time.

I'm still shaking my head at no Amber Alert and the judge who passed over a violent felon's parole violation. I would do everything in my power to mete out some justice to this guy, especially in light of the government's failure to do so.

[BallyBill]

Maybe the Prosecutors were to busy going after Rush Limbaugh to put him away!!!

[thesummerwind]

he checked the security system video Monday after bloodhounds led deputies to the business.

A little off subject, but it is truly amazing how these dogs can do what they do!!!!

[soozla]

Could THIS be the judge?????? Venice, FL is ONE town away from Sarasota.....it MUST be the same guy....attorney in 1991 BEFORE he was appointed judge....hmmmm.....looks like a DIM to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JUDGE HARRY RAPKIN - DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGN DONOR??

[steve-b]

I don't know why the drug charges are being highlighted by the press..
It is the leftists attempt to hold blameless all predators from their actions. Exactly like trying to blame the GUN for murder, the SUV for the vehicle accident or the DRUGS for this crime. In other words it is an EXCUSE.

*** DING DING DING *** No more calls; we have a winner.

[steve-b]

It would be unforgivable if they took the death penalty off the table in exchange for the location of the corpus.

Personally, I'd see no problem with making that deal -- and after he gave up the info and it was verified do my best Bill Clinton impression and start quibbling about the exact definition of "death", "penalty", "table", etc.

[nightdriver]

"Why was he on the street?!!"

Liberal prosecuters and judges.

[tutstar]

MAD yes definitely!!
Orlando Salinas reported earlier that Smith's probation officer had tried to have him put back in jail on Dec. 30 but the judge said no.
I have had it up to my eye teeth with some of our judges here already and this is just the cherry on top!

[doodad]

Good catch. I bet it is him, since he was personal injury lawyer in private practice.

[tutstar]

A child is dead......

your comment seems out of place

[BUCKSBUD]

I'm all for innocent until proven guilty, so let's make sure he gets a fair and speedy trial, then hang him.

[a_strindberg]

I'm not one to defend pervert criminals, but I think you're maybe jumping the gun on the judge in this case. The only information I've seen is that Smith was in court in December for a probation violation. There is a huge variety of things that can cause someone to go in for a probation violation. That could be anything from being five minutes late for a meeting with your p.o. to committing a new crime. The less serious violations are, duh, dealt with less seriously. If they weren't, we'd have to build MANY new prisons, since a high percentage of felons get called in at least once for a probation violation. Many violators do not receive additional incarceration for minor violations, although they may receive other consequences. This can be true whether the judge is liberal or conservative. So, before I'd feel comfortable condemning the judge, I'd want to know the nature of Smith's violation

[AbsoluteJustice]

The better question in all of this is where the hell were the parents??!!!

What in gods green earth is an 11 YEAR OLD girl out running about at god knows what time (then again doesn't matter) unattended without any adult supervision or with friends?

Sure this is a tragedy and I totally feel for the parents. This guy should get the switch. But the parents should own the ultimate responsibility in this. I cannot imagine a parent that would allow an 11 year old girl to run around unsupervised......

[Theo]

It is good to assume innocence until proven guilty. To not "judge" until you've gathered evidence in favor and/or against guilt.

I've read enough that I'm not of the stance that he's guilty. His lifestyle, his "matching" the description shown on the video (tatoos, hair, uniform, location), and his uncooperation with the investigation lead me to believe at this point that he's the guilty party.

If he's guilty, he needs to be removed from our gene pool.

[Theo]

From what I've read, it wasn't night time. She started walking home from a friend's home, I believe, and when her parents found out she was walking home, they hopped in a car to look for her. They were looking even before she was officially missing, which indicates to me that they are responsible parents.

[ArmstedFragg]

Don't like the sound of that.

In this case, the fact that he was lawyered-up may prove to be a good thing.

[AbsoluteJustice]

This is to ALL in here? We can toss this around all day and make excuses as to why this occured and who should be held responsible but everyone seems to be missing the point and where the blame lies.....

WHERE WERE THE PARENTS???!!!!

11 YO girl out without ANY adult supervision???
This is insane!!!
Ultimate responsibility is with the parents!!

[AbsoluteJustice]

"From what I've read, it wasn't night time. She started walking home from a friend's home, I believe, and when her parents found out she was walking home, they hopped in a car to look for her. They were looking even before she was officially missing, which indicates to me that they are responsible parents."

I am only speaking in this tone as I am a parent of a 16 month old beautiful girl not at you personally but....

I don't care if it is 11:00AM bright sunlight...no way..no how... my daughter is leaving someone's house unsupervised, I'm picking my daughter up or she has arrangements to get home from other parents. They are not responsible parents proof of this is that they are having to look in the 1st place after the fact.
Children are the parents ultimate responsibility.