The sad story of Carlie Brucia

2023-07-02 07:47:24 Written by Alex

Carlie Jane Brucia was a young girl from Florida, USA. She was born on March 16, 1992, and lived with her mother Susan Schorpen, and stepfather in Sarasota. Tragically, one evening in February, she was kidnapped from a car wash near her home and suffered the terrible crime of sexual assault before being killed.

Brucia had stayed over at a friend's place and was heading home to watch the Super Bowl when something terrible occurred. She started walking back to her house, which was about a mile away, around 6:15 p.m. Since her mother was worried about her walking alone on the busy Bee Ridge Road, she asked her husband to pick her up. However, he couldn't locate her. Within half an hour of her being taken, her parents reported her as missing.

CARLIE BRUCIA IS KIDNAPPED

After Carlie Brucia went missing, a search operation began, and the police used specially trained dogs to track her. They were able to follow her scent to the final place she was seen, which was behind a car wash. The security cameras at the car wash recorded a man approaching Brucia, taking hold of her arm, and guiding her towards a car, which was also captured on another camera. This video received significant attention from the public, leading to a large-scale manhunt in order to locate the person responsible for the abduction.

The cameras recorded a man who seemed to be in his late 20s or early 30s, wearing a mechanic's uniform, talking briefly to Brucia before taking her away. The search for Carlie involved the FBI and NASA, who joined forces to find her. NASA researchers used advanced technology to improve the quality of the recording by reducing shaky images.

The man seen dragging Carlie out in a CCTV

The man seen in the video was later identified as Joseph Peter Smith, a 37-year-old father of three and car mechanic. He had been arrested before for drug-related offenses and once for kidnapping and false imprisonment. The authorities received more than 400 phone tips from the public, which helped them connect Smith to the surveillance video from the car wash.

CARLIE BRUCIA’S DEAD BODY IS FOUND.

When the police searched Smith's rented room, they discovered mechanic uniforms in his closet, but there was no additional evidence connecting him to Brucia. However, they did find drug-related items in his car during the search, which led to Smith's arrest for violating his parole.

For several days, Smith remained silent and didn't cooperate with investigators regarding Brucia's kidnapping. However, on February 5, he reached out to his brother John. John then guided FBI agents and a local officer to the Central Church of Christ. While they were there, John received another call from Smith, who provided information about where Brucia's body could be found.

Carlie Brucia's body was discovered in a field behind the church. She was lying on her back with a deep mark on her neck from a ligature. Her lower body was unclothed, with her right leg extended and her left leg tucked underneath her.

A portrait of Carlie Brucia held by her father

During the phone conversation, Smith confessed to having been involved in "rough sex" with Brucia before her death.

According to the medical examiner in Sarasota County, Carlie Brucia was strangled from behind. Her body showed signs of abrasions, indicating that she was dragged until her demise. A DNA sample taken from sperm found on her shirt matched Joseph Smith's DNA profile. Additionally, two of Brucia's head hairs were discovered in Smith's borrowed yellow station wagon, and seven fibers from her red shirt matched those found in the car.

CONVICTION OF JOSEPH SMITH.

On February 20, Smith was formally charged by Sarasota County prosecutors with first-degree murder, as well as kidnapping and capital sexual battery. The trial commenced on November 7, 2005, in Sarasota. After deliberation, the jury reached a guilty verdict on November 17, 2005. On December 1, 2005, the jury recommended the death penalty with a vote of 10 to 2.

Joseph Smith appears for trial

Smith received two life imprisonment terms for the charges of capital sexual battery and kidnapping. On March 15, 2006, he was also sentenced to death by lethal injection for the murder charge.

In 2018, Smith's death sentence was changed to life in prison. However, in April 2020, the death penalty was reinstated. Unfortunately, Smith passed away in July 2021 while being on death row at the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, Florida.