'Death penalty would be too quick': Indictment in Cassie Carli case brings relief, closure
The day after Cassie Carli's ex-boyfriend was indicted by a federal grand jury for kidnapping that resulted in death, Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson held a press conference to summarize how the case unfolded.
Johnson told everyone at the event Thursday that the recent federal charge against Carli's former boyfriend, Marcus Spanevelo, is a win for Carli's family and the Navarre community that supported the family and helped search for her after her disappearance.
"This is a great day for Santa Rosa County, because we'll get a scumbag off the streets permanently," Johnson said.
Spanevelo has not been charged with murder, but is facing an array of charges related to Carli's disappearance and death.
Johnson then gave the following timeline of Carli's disappreance and discovery:
March 22, 2022: Carli goes missing after meeting Spanevelo to perform a custody exchange of their daughter.
April 1, 2022: Spanevelo is arrested in Tennessee on an SRSO warrant for tampering with evidence and obstructing an investigation.
April 2, 2022: Carli's body is found in a shallow grave in an Alabama barn.
Dec. 2022: The FBI begins investigating the case.
Jan. 24, 2023: Spanevelo is indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of kidnapping that resulted in death.
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Carli's high school friends Amy Wilbert, Kirsty Sullivan and Ashely Dearing attended the sheriff's press conference, giving their thanks to all the law enforcement agencies who helped find Carli and prosecute Spanevelo.
"This is a huge, huge sense of relief, and a huge calm I think we all felt when we found out he had finally been charged," Dearing told the News Journal after the press conference.
Wilbert said she enjoys the semblance of closure the indictment brings, knowing that Spanevelo may be put in prison for the rest of his life.
"It's nice to have a little bit of closure, you know, knowing that a dangerous person's locked up and will never see the light of day again," Wilbert told the News Journal. "He got what he deserved."
If Spanevelo is found guilty of the charge in which he's indicted, he faces either life in prison or the death penalty.
"Either one is well-deserved," Johnson said. "Personally, I'd rather him spend his entire life in prison because that's going to be a miserable existence for him, and the death penalty would be too quick."
According to jail records, Spanevelo remains in custody at the St. Clair County Jail in Alabama. He is scheduled for arraignment on Feb. 9 at the U.S. courthouse in Birmingham, Alabama, according to court documents.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Santa Rosa sheriff talks Marcus Spanevelo's case in Cassie Carli death
