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The ex-boyfriend of a young Florida mom found dead nearly a week after she disappeared from a local parking lot agreed on Wednesday to be brought back to the state to face charges connected to the investigation, despite his initial efforts to fight the extradition, officials confirmed.
Marcus Spanevelo, 34, signed a waiver on Wednesday to be extradited from Maury County, Tennessee, where he was arrested earlier this month, back to Santa Rosa County, where he faces charges in connection with the death of his daughter’s mother, 37-year-old Cassie Carli.
A spokesperson for the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office told Fox News Digital he did not yet know when Spanevelo would be extradited.
Left: Cassie Carli (photo courtesy Carli family); Right: Marcus Spanevelo (Santa Rosa County Sheriff)
Cassie 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. Investigators later recovered her vehicle, with her purse inside, and confirmed the couple’s 4-year-old daughter was safe. Her disappearance prompted searches by law enforcement and family for nearly a week.
Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson said investigators arrested Spanevelo on the morning of April 2 in Lebanon, Tennessee, after having caught up with him days earlier in Birmingham, Alabama.
They charged him with tampering with evidence and destroying evidence – in connection with his alleged disposal of Carli’s cellphone – and giving false information concerning a missing person investigation, officials have said.
MISSING FLORIDA MOM CASSIE CARLI FOUND DEAD IN ALABAMA
Flyer seen as gathering site for volunteers who were searching for Cassie Carli in Navarre Beach, Florida, April 2, 2022 (Fox News Digital/Stephanie Pagones)
Johnson said that hours later, investigators were conducting a search warrant at a property in Alabama when they discovered Carli’s body in a barn in a shallow grave. Johnson told Fox News Digital her body appeared to be intact when they made the discovery, and said there were no obvious signs of trauma.
Johnson said Spanevelo had ties to the property, but would not specify how.
St. Clair County Coroner Dennis Russell told Fox News Digital the victim’s body was recovered from a property along Highway 11 in Springville, Alabama, which is roughly 30 miles northeast of where police first caught up to Spanevelo in Birmingham.
Russell confirmed that the autopsy was completed, but required further tests. He said a toxicology examination would also be conducted, and results would take weeks, if not months. As of Wednesday, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s spokesperson said there were no new developments regarding Carli’s death investigation.
Spanevelo made his first court appearance in Tennessee on April 4, when he told a judge he was not willing to waive his extradition.
EX-BOYFRIEND OF MISSING FLORIDA MOM CASSIE CARLI ARRESTED IN TENNESSEE
"Not at this moment," Spanevelo responded, when asked if he's willing to waive extradition back to Florida. "There are some things that need to be resolved before I’m willing to go that route."
Carli previously 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 Marcus, and had warned them to look to him if anything happened to her.
Sheriff Johnson also alluded to a domestic history between the couple, though he would not go into detail. Officials have since confirmed that the couple's daughter is safe.
Spanevelo had no reported criminal history. Speaking to reporters after Carli’s remains were found, Johnson said that more charges against Spanevelo were likely as authorities review evidence.
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"Once the autopsy is done and you see the charges filed, you'll understand, but I think we have a great case," Johnson said at a press conference on Sunday. "I think he's either going to spend the rest of his life in prison, or he's going to get the needle. Hopefully the needle."
