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Carlie Brucia was an 11-year-old girl who was kidnapped, raped, and strangled to death on February 1, 2004. Her killer, Josep Smith, was on probation when she committed the crime. He was sentenced to death and, years later, he died while the decision was made to execute him by lethal injection.
Who was Carlie Brucia?
Carlie Jane Brucia (1992-2004) lived in the town of Sarasota, Florida, United States, with her mother, Susan Schorpen, and her stepfather, Steven Kansler. Her father was Joseph Brucia and lived on Long Island, New York. Susan and Joseph Brucia had divorced in the year 1993.
Carlie attended MacIntosh School, and used to go to spend winter and summer vacations with her father. She was 11 years old, green eyes, long blonde hair and tall for her age. Her family and friends describe her as an affectionate, warm, empathetic and happy girl, who liked spending time with her friends and going shopping.
The Carlie Brucia case
The Carlie Brucia case quickly acquired the interest of the entire American population, due to the young age of the victim, the nature of the crime and the evidence that was published to find the culprit, which included a video showing the exact moment of his kidnapping.
disappearance and kidnapping
On January 31, 2004, Carlie stayed over at a friend’s house. The next day, February 1, around 6:15 p.m., she walked to her house. Her friend’s mother called her parents to let them know that Carlie was coming to her home.
Her stepfather immediately went looking for her, intending to meet her halfway and bring her back. However, he did not find her. In fact, no sign of Carlie was found in the vicinity. Faced with the uncertainty of not knowing anything, Carlie’s parents reported her missing and the search began with bloodhound dogs that lost their trail in front of a car wash.
The owners of the laundry made themselves available to the police and handed over the images from the security cameras that were in place. In one of them, a girl in a red T-shirt, jeans and a pink bag was discovered, who was approached by a man while she was passing by the sidewalk of the laundry room. After speaking for a few seconds, it was seen how the man took her arm and led her out of the angle captured by the camera. Those would be the last images of the little girl alive.
Search for the culprit
Upon seeing the video, Carlie’s family recognized her immediately. She used to take a shortcut through the car wash on her way home. However, the image of the man was not very clear. In order to identify him, the FBI and NASA collaborated on the investigation and used highly advanced technology to enhance the video image. It was established that the man was between 20 and 30 years old, had tattoos on both arms and was wearing a uniform.
Police received several leads from people who recognized the man in the image, including his partner and his brother John. The suspect was Joseph P. Smith, a 37-year-old man from Brooklyn who worked at the car wash. Coincidentally, Smith was already in police custody since January 2 for possession of heroin and other substances and having violated his probation.
Smith was an auto mechanic who had been arrested at least 13 times for various crimes since 1993. He was separated from his wife and had 3 children.
Confession
At first, Smith denied involvement in Carlie’s disappearance and kidnapping and claimed to have an alibi. Police searched his home and his car, but found no evidence to connect him to the crime.
When reviewing the cameras again, it was discovered that in one of them there was a yellow van parked on the side of the laundry room. That vehicle belonged to the owners of the establishment, but they testified that they had lent the truck to Smith that day. Upon analysis, they found strands and fibers that matched Carlie’s hair and clothing, respectively.
After several days of questioning, Smith confessed to his brother that he had had sex with Carlie. He also assured her that she did not know if she was dead or not, because she did not remember the events that occurred that day, since she had consumed cocaine. Despite this, he indicated the exact spot where she supposedly had left her body.
victim finding
On February 6, that is, five days after the kidnapping, the police found Carlie’s body in the place that Smith had indicated: a parking lot behind the Central Church of Christ on Proctor Street, a few kilometers from the house. of the girl.
The body was in a state of decomposition. He was wearing the red T-shirt, with one shoulder exposed and the bra undone. She was naked from the waist down, except for a stocking on one of her feet.
autopsy results
Dr. Russell Vega performed the autopsy and concluded that Carlie had died of strangulation. On her neck was a line 0.6mm thicker at the nape of the neck than at the front of the neck, indicating that the killer was taller than the victim.
Carlie also had restraint marks on her hands, made before her death, and scratches on the sides of her body, showing that she had been dragged across a concrete surface and through brush.
Additionally, a semen stain was found on Carlie’s red T-shirt, which analysis matched with Smith’s DNA.
Trial and convictions
On February 20, 2004, Smith was charged with first degree murder. Sarasota County prosecutors also filed separate charges of kidnapping and capital sexual assault. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The trial by popular jury began on November 7, 2005. During the hearings, the video of the kidnapping was presented as evidence and testimony was heard from different witnesses who recognized Smith and his tattoos when they saw the images. Also included as evidence was the identification of Smith’s DNA in the semen on the girl’s clothing and the testimony of the killer’s brother, John Smith, to whom Josep Smith confessed that he had raped and strangled Carlie.
Ten days later, the jury took less than six hours to find Joseph Smith guilty on all charges against him. In December of that year, ten of the twelve jurors voted in favor of the death penalty for Carlie’s murder.
In February 2006, Smith petitioned to have his life spared at a hearing. But on March 15, 2006, Judge Andrew Owes upheld the sentences he had previously been sentenced to: life in prison without the possibility of parole for the kidnapping and rape of Carlie and the death sentence by lethal injection for her murder. .
During 2011, Smith made some appeals that were denied. In 2018, County Court Judge Charles Roberts vacated Smith’s death sentence based on a United States Supreme Court ruling from the previous year allowing its retroactive application and stating that for imposing the death penalty required a unanimous vote of the jury.
This led to a new sentencing hearing being scheduled for October 2019, which was postponed at the request of the prosecution and defense. In January 2020, the requirement for a unanimous jury vote for death penalty sentences was overturned and the death sentence was therefore upheld.
Other events related to the case of Carlie Brucia
carlie’s law
Carlie’s Law was a bill introduced by Republican Representative Katherine Harris in 2004 in the United States Congress. This project came about in response to the kidnapping, rape and murder of Carlie Brucia and had the permission of Carlie’s father to be named after her.
Carlie’s Law was to be an amendment to a pre-existing law on sex offenders, which included the ability to notify parents of children when there were people with a history of sexual offenses in the area. But this bill did not become law.
Curiously, on June 23, 2017, Carly’s Law was approved in Australia, promoted by the family of Carly Ryan, a 15-year-old girl who was murdered in 2007. This law seeks to protect children and prevent crimes of sexual offenders, grooming (sexual harassment of minors by adults) and pedophilia.
Death of Susan Schorpen
Carlie’s murder had consequences across the country, and helped raise awareness about some of the dangers children are subjected to.
This crime also had devastating consequences on both his family and his community. Those around her said Susan was never able to get over the loss of her daughter and the heinous way she was raped and murdered. After Carlie’s murder, Susan experienced other tragic events: her brother was killed in an accident, her father later died, who had Alzheimer’s, and later her 11-year-old son was seriously injured when he was struck by a car. a drunk driver.
Susan Schorpen, died on April 10, 2017 of a heroin overdose in Polk County, at the age of 47.
murderer’s death
Joseph Smith was found dead in his cell on July 26, 2021. He was 55 years old and was serving his sentence at the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, Florida, awaiting the Court’s decision regarding his execution. No further details about his death were released.
For Carlie’s father, Joseph Brucia, Smith’s passing was the end of years of waiting for justice:
[…] «It is something that has been pending for a long time. The corrupt and inept criminal and judicial system couldn’t do it, so the natural order of things finally took care of it.”
Joseph Brucia, 2021.
related case
A Sarasota virtual channel, called WWSB, reported Smith’s death and other information that was not known until now. Smith had already been considered a suspect in the murder of 25-year-old Tara Reilly in 2000. The young woman was found naked in a pond behind a Walmart store in Bradenton, Florida.
John Smith believes that his brother also murdered this woman. However, this case remains an unsolved crime.
Bibliography
- The Oklahoman. (2005, November 15). Coroner: Recorded kidnapping girl was raped and strangled. oklahoman.com. Article available at https://www.oklahoman.com/article/1678010/forense-ni241a-de-secuestro-grabado-fue-violada-y-estrangulada
- investigationdiscovery.com. Eat Home Carlie . See no evil. Documentary film. (2021, season 7, episode 1). USA. Available at: https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/tv-shows/see-no-evil/full-episodes/come-home-carlie
