Police identified the body of a missing Florida mother using a tattoo on the victim’s body, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office said during a Sunday press conference.
Sheriff Bob Johnson confirmed the remains discovered in a shallow grave in an Alabama barn were that of Cassie Carli, according to the press conference. Authorities were able to identify Carli’s remains using a tattoo on her right foot, WESH reported. Carli’s body was found while authorities executed a search warrant, Johnson also said.
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Marcus Spanevelo, Carli’s ex-boyfriend and the father of her four-year-old daughter, was taken into custody in connection with her disappearance, Johnson said. Spanevelo, who’d recently been living and working in Birmingham, according to AL.com, was charged with tampering with evidence, giving false statements concerning a missing persons investigation and destruction of evidence. Spanevelo faced the tampering charge for allegedly taking and disposing of Carli’s phone, the outlet reported. He was arrested in Tennessee, according to FOX 10. (RELATED: Youtubers Find Body Of Man Who Was Missing For Almost 2 Decades)
An autopsy of Carli’s remains was scheduled for Monday, according to Johnson. Because the investigation is ongoing, Spanevelo could face more charges pending the results, the sheriff indicated.
Carli, 34, went missing March 27, AL.com reported. She reportedly met Spanevelo in the parking lot of a Navarro, Florida, restaurant to exchange their four-year-old daughter, the outlet said. Carli’s car was found in the restaurant parking lot with her purse inside just one day after her father reported her missing on March 28.
Spanevelo allegedly told Carli’s father that she’d asked him to drop her off in Destin, Florida, so she could meet up with a friend, the New York Post reported. Carli’s father said his daughter “would never have asked [Spanevelo] drop her off anywhere” and pointed out that the friend she supposedly wanted to meet up with had moved to Alabama, according to the outlet.
Johnson described Spanevelo as completely “uncooperative” with authorities.