The ex-boyfriend of the Florida mom whose body has been found in a shallow grave in Alabama reportedly told her father that she had asked him to drop her off “in the middle of nowhere in Destin” to stay with a friend before she vanished.
Authorities found the body of Cassie Carli, 37, buried inside a barn in Springville, about 300 miles north of where she was last seen in Navarre Beach, Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson announced Sunday.
Carli’s ex-boyfriend Marcus Spanevelo, who was arrested Saturday, has ties to the property, the sheriff said without elaborating on the connection.
According to a text exchange, Spanevelo told the woman’s father that she had asked him to drop her off “in the middle of nowhere in Destin,” a city in northwest Florida, so she could stay with a friend named Stacey.
“Stacey moved to Alabama a while ago. Cassie would never have you drop her off anywhere. Is her car at your house?” Carli’s father replied, the US Sun reported, citing text messages from March 28.
The day before, she went to pick up her daughter, 4-year-old Saylor, in a custody exchange with her ex in the parking lot of Juana’s Pagodas restaurant at Navarre Beach in Pensacola.
Later that night, Carli’s worried father received a text response from her number saying she had car trouble and that she was spending the night at Spanevelo’s home.
Carli was officially reported as a missing person on March 28, when her friends and family began their own search.
The following day, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office officially announced her as a missing person and her car was discovered in the restaurant parking lot — with her purse inside the vehicle, according to the US Sun.
Carli’s sister Raeann messaged Spanevelo to cooperate with authorities.
He told her he had Saylor and that investigators had already contacted him, then forwarded her screenshots of the explanation he provided to her father, the outlet said.
On Wednesday, Spanevelo and Saylor were located in Birmingham, where the girl was turned over to Alabama Child Services.
Johnson expressed concern the next day about some findings of the probe, including that Carli had no credit card or phone activity since she went missing.
The FBI and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement joined the investigation on Thursday.
Spanevelo was arrested in Lebanon, Tennessee, Friday and charged with tampering with evidence. He also faces charges of destruction of evidence and giving false information.
More charges are pending following the results of an autopsy, which has been scheduled for Monday.
Johnson expects Spanevelo to eventually be extradited to Santa Rosa County Jail from Tennessee.
“He was totally uncooperative. He never cooperated with us,” he said. “And that goes a long way. It’s your baby’s mother and she’s missing — and you’re not going to cooperate with authorities? That’s pretty tell-tale.”
Carli’s remains were found Saturday night in a barn in St. Clair County, Alabama, police announced Sunday. Her body was identified by a tattoo, officials said.
The property is linked to Spanevelo, who had recently been living and working in the Birmingham area, according to the US Sun.
“It’s not the ending that we wanted, obviously, but we’re hoping to provide a little closure to the family,” Johnson told reporters.
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