Body of Florida Woman Cassie Carli Found After Police Arrest Suspect
The body of missing Florida woman Cassie Carli has been found in Alabama’s Santa Rosa County, Florida, according to the sheriff.
Spanevelo, the father of Cassie Carli’s 4-year-old daughter, last saw her on March 27 at a Navarre Beach restaurant when they exchanged children, authorities said. The next day, she was reported missing.
Investigations found Cassie Carli’s car and purse on a “boat overflow ramp” near the restaurant on Tuesday.
Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook Saturday that state troopers and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation arrested Spanevelo in Lebanon, Tennessee.
Sheriff Bob Johnson said the Major Crimes Unit traveled more than 1,500 miles looking for evidence relating to Cassie Carli’s disappearance in a week.
Johnson told reporters the body was found in a shallow grave in a barn while executing a search warrant in Alabama.
Police have yet to disclose what led them to the property Saturday night, but they said it was connected to Spanevelo “in a roundabout way.”
The body will be autopsied in Alabama on Monday, Johnson said. “A tattoo confirmed her identity,” he said.
Cassie Carli’s family was “crushed” when he personally notified them on Sunday. They are able to feel some closure in knowing where she is now. But it’s still their daughter … daughter and sister.
Spanevelo located Cassie Carli’s daughter in Birmingham, Alabama, on Wednesday. Johnson said she was safe and with family.
Johnson said investigations were continuing.