Florida's Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson speaks on notifying the family of Cassie Carli
Sheriff Johnson say's he personally notified the family of slain mother Cassie Carli of the news that her body was discovered in Alabama: "They're crushed."
The cause and manner of Florida mother Cassie Carli's death have both been ruled "undetermined" months after the young mom’s body was discovered in Alabama in April, officials said Thursday.
Carli’s body was discovered in a shallow grave in a barn in Alabama’s St. Clair County on April 2, hours after her ex-boyfriend and father of her child, Marcus Spanevelo, was arrested for tampering with evidence, destruction of evidence, and giving false information concerning a missing person investigation. An autopsy was conducted on April 4.
More than six months later, St. Clair County Coroner Dennis Russell told Fox News Digital Carli had no obvious signs of trauma to her body, and the manner and cause of death were deemed "undetermined."
"At this point, they cannot determine what she died from," Russell said. "At this point, we do not know what her cause of death was."
Cassie Carli and Marcus Spanevelo (Photo courtesy Carli family | Santa Rosa County Sheriff)
Carli was last seen on the evening of March 27, while meeting Spanevelo in the parking lot of a beachside restaurant, Juana’s Pagoda, not far from her home in Navarre, police have said. Investigators later recovered her vehicle with her purse inside, and confirmed the couple’s 4-year-old daughter was safe.
Her disappearance prompted missing person searches by law enforcement and family for nearly a week.
Investigators later tracked Spanevelo more than four hours and over 260 miles away in Birmingham, Alabama, where they questioned him and were able to check in on the couple’s daughter.
Marcus Spanevelo's April 17, 2022, booking photo (Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office)
They arrested him on April 2 during a traffic stop in Lebanon, Tennessee. Spanevelo remains behind bars at the Santa Rosa County Jail, records show.
Investigators later described in an affidavit how Spanelevo provided false information to law enforcement "by not disclosing pertinent information about where he stopped along his route of returning home to Panama City Beach with [redacted] later" on the evening when Carli was last seen.
He also initially allegedly failed to tell investigators that he threw an item out the window of his truck at some point before police caught up to him. While details surrounding the item were redacted in the report, Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson previously told reporters the charges for tampering and destroying evidence were related to the disposal of Carli’s cellphone.
Spanevelo allegedly ultimately admitted doing so, telling investigators "he did not care about [redacted] property so he chose to just throw it out of the window."
Another person told investigators on March 31 that Spanevelo said he threw the item out because "he had to get rid of it," the affidavit stated.
MISSING FLORIDA MOM CASSIE CARLI FOUND DEAD IN ALABAMA
According to the redacted affidavit, investigators first interviewed Spanevelo on March 29, when he described how "there was an altercation" at some point when he met with someone, presumably Carli, on March 27.
Family photos of Cassie Carli (Courtesy of Carli family)
He allegedly would not elaborate to investigators, but went on to describe how the person, whose name was redacted, was acting "hyper" but he agreed to drive them to an unspecified location because it was on his way to his destination. He claimed the person "jumped out" and "he drove away and left [redacted]" and returned to his Panama City Beach, Florida, home.
But investigators ultimately obtained surveillance footage that showed only Spanevelo in the front of the vehicle, and no one sitting in the passenger seat. And Carli is not seen leaving or entering the vehicle when Spanevelo makes stops along his trip – including one when he buys a "pay as you go" cellphone at a store, the affidavit states.
"Marcus (sic) information about her being dropped off was not corroborated," investigators said.
Flyer seen at a gathering site for volunteers who were searching for Cassie Carli in Navarre Beach, Florida, April 2, 2022. (Fox News Digital/Stephanie Pagones)
Investigators further accuse Spanevelo of lying in saying he never touched one of the vehicles involved in the investigation, citing surveillance footage that showed otherwise.
Fox News Digital previously reported how Carli had considered purchasing a gun and obtaining a concealed carry permit out of concern for her safety. And also that Spanevelo was ordered to pay her $5,920 in overdue child support just days before she vanished.
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Carli had documented her volatile history with Spanevelo in a GoFundMe page that her sister created to help her pay for legal fees during her ongoing custodial dispute over the couple’s young daughter.
And family members previously told Fox News Digital that Cassie had felt "extremely unsafe" around Spanevelo, and had warned them to look to him if anything happened to her.
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