(mouse clicking) - We don't have any evidence specifically pointing to a homicide or abduction or any of those. We just know that the way she has gone missing concerns us greatly. - [News Anchor] A mystery in Santa Rosa County. A single mom from Navarre has been missing now for about five days. - New details released today in the disappearance of Cassie Carli. FOX10 News Lee Peck joining us here in studio with the update. - And Lee, the Santa Rosa Sheriff labeling the case as missing endangered. - Yeah, Lenise and Byron. While they're unclear exactly what happened, it's safe to say they're very concerned after Cassie's car was found with her purse inside and even more so after there's been no cell phone or credit card activity in the last four days. (traffic whirring) Juana's Pagodas restaurant in Navarre Beach, the last-known sighting of 37-year-old Cassie Carli. According to Santa Rosa County Sheriff's investigators, it was the drop-off location for a custody exchange with the father of her three-year-old daughter Sunday night. Reported missing on Monday, Cassie's car discovered in the back parking lot on Tuesday with her purse still inside. - I've been married 32 years and I'll tell you my wife goes nowhere without her purse. So, to think that she just left it there and just walked off, that's what concerns us. - [Lee] The father of the child, Marcus Spanevelo, tracked down by Santa Rosa investigators Wednesday in Birmingham, the child found safe. While Sheriff Bob Johnson says Spanevelo was questioned about Cassie's disappearance, he wouldn't elaborate on what was said. But friends of Cassie tell us the former couple were involved in an ongoing bitter custody dispute. - Well, it can say it's an ongoing investigation and he was the last one to see her that we're aware of, so obviously we are intent on speaking with him again. (tense music) - [Narrator] Cassie Carli was a 37-year-old single mother who resided in Navarre, Florida, known for its clear emerald waters. She was born in Louisiana and raised in the northwest Florida Panhandle. She attended high school in Navarre and remained close to her childhood friends. Cassie loved to paddleboard and worked at a paddleboard shop for some time. Unfortunately, Cassie had fallen on hard times recently. She was in between jobs and embroiled in a bitter and years-long custody situation, so she decided to temporarily relocate from her home in Destin to her father's house in Navarre until she could get back on her feet. She started gaining some traction in late March of 2022, as she landed a position at the Eglin Air Force Base as a server. It was a position that she was excited about. Cassie was scheduled to begin her first shift on Saturday, March 26th. It was good timing, as her ex-boyfriend, Marcus Spanevelo, had fallen behind on his child support payments. Marcus Spanevelo is a 34-year-old Panama City Beach resident, although he most recently lived and worked in Alabama as a contractor. He and Cassie first met in 2018, and just two months later Cassie became pregnant. In an interview with "The US Sun," Cassie's younger sister, Raeanne Carli, said Cassie was ready to break off their relationship by the time she was five months pregnant. She said, "There were just too many red flags. "She would tell us, "He's controlling me. "He's trying to manipulate me. "I don't wanna be with him." "But even after she broke up with him, "she was hopeful that maybe they could figure out "a way to co-parent together and stay civilized." Instead, according to Raeanne, Marcus became emotionally abusive and paranoid. Raeanne said he resorted to surveillance tactics such as planting recording devices in her apartment, tracking her phone, and monitoring her movements and to whom she was speaking. She added, "I think he thought that if he could hear her "doing anything she may not supposed to be doing, "then he'd try to use it against her "and try to make false reports to Child Protective Services "and get their daughter taken away from her." Their custody battle was harsh, lengthy, and costly. To help cover the mounting legal costs, Cassie set up a GoFundMe page. On the page, she disclosed that her ex was a master manipulator. Cassie explained, "During my pregnancy, "this man's abusive control and manipulation escalated. "But having battled infertility in my first marriage, "I desperately wanted a family, "so I justified his erratic behavior as long as I could." After the birth of their daughter, Cassie claimed that Marcus filed dozens of false police reports and called CPS, "so many times "I nearly came to know most of the staff by name." Raeanne added that although there never was physical abuse, "The verbal abuse was particularly bad. "He would body-shame her when she was pregnant "and just everything she did wasn't right "or good enough for him. "He called her stupid, said she didn't know anything, "that she was gonna be the worst mother ever, "just anything to put her down "and make her feel inferior to him. "The emotional abuse was just extreme." As such, Raeanne said Cassie was frightened of Marcus and at one point even said to her sister, "If something should happen to me, it was him." Therefore, Cassie insisted on meeting Marcus only in public places to exchange their daughter. Cassie and Marcus had initially agreed to meet at 7 p.m. at a Walmart in Destin, as usual, to exchange their daughter Olivia, but this time they decided to meet at a local restaurant at the last minute. Cassie agreed, as the location was only a mile from where she had been staying with her father and the area was well-known to their family. So, just before she left to meet Marcus, she turned to her dad and said, "Be right back, Dad. "I'm just going right to Juana's." Her father said okay and then went to take a nap. At around 9:40 that night, Cassie's father grew concerned, as she had not yet returned. That is when the following text message exchange took place between Cassie's father and someone claiming to be Cassie. "Cassie, I'm trying to call you. "What's going on? "I'm freaking out, Case. "Call me as soon as you get this message." The response from Cassie's phone read, "I'm sorry, car was acting up and I broke my phone. "Marcus is working on it. "I will stay at his place tonight. "He is paying me money to do some stuff around his house." "Are you in Panama City Beach?" "No, the screen is jumping all over the place. "Let me see if he can get this fixed and I'll call you." "I'm going to sleep. "I just needed to know my girls are all right." The next day, Monday, March 28th, the following text message exchange took place between Marcus and Cassie's father. "Cassie asked me to drop her off "in the middle of nowhere in Destin "so she could stay with a friend named Stacey." Cassie's father replied, "Stacey moved to Alabama a while ago. "Cassie would have never asked you to drop her off anywhere. "Is her car at your house?" "Her car is still in Navarre. "I left with Olivia." "Newsweek" was able to locate Cassie's friend Stacey, who told the news outlet that Cassie never showed up at her house. By the end of the day, Cassie is reported missing by her family and friends and family begin their own search. On Tuesday, March 29th, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office officially announced Cassie as a missing person and potential endangered. Deputies found her car in the Juana Pagodas restaurant parking lot and were alarmed to discover her purse was still in the car. Cassie's friends conducted an organized search of the area. Her sister, Raeanne, sent the following text message to Marcus. "Is Olivia with you? "Please, Marcus, this is not like my sister. "She has been doing great "and is supposed to start a new job. "I hope you will at least cooperate with the police, "let them know you have Olivia. "She's now a missing person." Marcus responded, "She is with me. "She wanted to be dropped off "in the middle of nowhere in Destin with Olivia. "I told her I wouldn't let Olivia go like that, "to give me an address and I'd take them to it. "Yeah, cops already called me "and might call again for more questions. "If they do, I will. "Apparently, everybody will be asking me that, "so I'll just copy and send what I told your dad." On Wednesday, March 30th, authorities located Marcus in Birmingham, Alabama, roughly 260 miles north of Navarre Beach. Olivia is confirmed alive and physically unharmed and she was turned over to Alabama Child Services. Marcus was interviewed by Santa Rosa County police and released. He then returned to Florida. During a press conference the next day, Sheriff Bob Johnson of Santa Rosa County expressed concern about some investigation findings, specifically the lack of credit card or phone activity since Sunday. At this point, the FBI and Florida Department of Law Enforcement had joined the investigation. Sheriff Johnson added they would soon speak to Marcus again, as he is believed to be the last person who saw Cassie. On Friday, April 1st, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office introduced a warrant for the arrest of Marcus Spanevelo on charges of obstruction of a criminal investigation and destruction of evidence. The affidavit states the following: "On March 28, 2022, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office "received a complaint about a missing endangered person. "Marcus Spanevelo is the last known person "to see Cassie Carli alive. "Police initially contacted Marcus on March 28 "and advised him that Cassie had not been heard from "since the previous night. "During the conversation with deputies, "Marcus provided the same information "that he delivered in the text messages to Mr. Carli. "Detectives spoke with a source on March 25th "who stated that Marcus "had recently been served with paperwork "that gave Marcus a deadline "to pay his child support arrears. "Additionally, Cassie expressed fear of Marcus "and considered purchasing a firearm. "On March 30th, an anonymous tip was received "that stated Marcus had spoken to a person "and told them he had located Cassie's cell phone "in his truck and thrown it out the window. "Based on this information, Marcus was re-interviewed. "During the second interview, "detectives confronted Marcus about the information "and he admitted that he had possession of the phone "and threw it out of the window on March 28th. "As to why he did not simply return it, "he said he chose to throw it out the window, "as he did not care about her property. "Marcus stated on the evening of the 27th "Cassie was having car trouble "and asked for a ride to a friend's house in Destin. "He stated there was an altercation at this time. "He was asked to speak further about that, "but would not elaborate. "He said he was hyper, but this was not normal. "He eventually agreed to drive her to her friend's place, "as he was headed in that direction anyway. "He insisted on an address, but she refused to provide one, "instead asking to be dropped off nearby. "Another disagreement ensued "in which Cassie exited the car after he had come to a stop "and he chose to just continue driving to his house "in Panama City Beach, as it was late in the evening. "Detectives located video surveillance "where Marcus's truck and trailer were observed traveling "at approximately 9:08 p.m. "It is clear to officers "there is no one in the passenger seat "at the time of the purported altercation. "Additionally, Marcus's information "about Cassie being dropped off "was not corroborated on video. "Deputies with Walton County, Florida, Sheriff's "followed up on a tip about Cassie's cell phone "and were able to recover the phone "in the vicinity of where Marcus claimed he threw it out. "On March 31st, a detective was contacted "by an individual who advised "that they had recently spoken with Marcus via phone. "Marcus divulged that somehow law enforcement "found out he threw the phone out of his truck. "When Marcus was asked why he threw the phone away, "he replied he had to get rid of it. "An arrest warrant is therefore requested "for failure to disclose pertinent information "regarding the disappearance of Cassie Carli, "which greatly hindered our attempts "to locate her last known whereabouts, "as well as the destruction of physical evidence." At 11 p.m. the same evening, Marcus was arrested in Tennessee on charges related to Carli's disappearance, tampering with evidence, giving false information concerning a missing person's investigation, and destruction of evidence. When Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson announced the arrest, Johnson implied it was only a matter of time before Marcus was charged with Carli's death. "I think he's either gonna spend "the rest of his life in prison "or he's going to get the needle," the sheriff said at a press conference. "Hopefully the needle." (reverent news music) - Cassie Carli, who's been missing now for about a week, we discovered her body while executing a search warrant in Alabama. It was in a barn in a shallow grave. So, it's not the ending that we wanted, obviously, but we're hoping to provide a little closure for the family. And also, as you know, as we reported earlier, the suspect is currently in jail in Maury County, Tennessee, on charges of tampering with evidence and giving false info reference missing person's investigation. Our Major Crimes Unit, I can tell you this, I've never been more proud of 'em. They've served multiple search warrants in multiple states, traveled over 1,500 miles in a week searching for evidence in reference to this crime. So, I wanna thank them, but I also wanna thank FDLE, FBI, Fish & Wildlife, Texas, or, excuse me, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Alabama Investigation Division, St. Clair County SO, Alabama, Springville PD, Alabama, Walton County, Bay County, and Okaloosa County all for their assistance. That tells you how far out this went. We're just proud that we've got this guy in custody. Obviously, more charges will be pending depending on the autopsy, which will occur tomorrow morning. If you have any questions in reference to extradition or charges that will be pending on him, I'll defer to the state attorney. - [Narrator] According to police, the property where Cassie's remains were found is linked to Marcus. However, they did not state the specific connection. Marcus had been living and working in the Birmingham area in recent months. "The US Sun" reports, "It is currently believed "he was working as a subcontractor "with an audio-visual company in the Springville area. "More charges are pending following an autopsy "scheduled for the next day." The function of a forensic autopsy is to provide objective and scientific material evidence through a postmortem examination of the body and analysis of the fluids to determine the cause of death, manner of death, and mechanism of injury. Forensic examination results are one of the types of evidence that is difficult to refute in court. According to a report obtained by WFLA-TV, the cause of death was believed to be the only obstacle preventing Santa Rosa prosecutors in Florida from charging Marcus Spanevelo with murder. - An autopsy report that gives no answers, but rather drops massive questions into the death of Florida mother Cassie Carli, whose manner of death has not been ruled a homicide and a cause of death that remains a mystery according to the County Coroner's Office. Hey there, folks, JB here with you live on WFLA Now. This is a developing story, as we are learning about this from the St. Clair County Coroner's Office that has received the completed autopsy report on Cassie Carli. But for now, we're gonna break down the very latest with what we know. There was two big things with the completed autopsy report for Cassie Carli. And before I break those down, let me remind folks of the Cassie Carli story, Cassie Carli going missing in March of this year after a custody exchange of her four-year-old daughter with her ex-boyfriend by the name of Marcus Spanevelo. After the custody exchange, Cassie Carli went missing, launching a massive multi-state search effort from Alabama, excuse me, from Florida into Alabama and then, of course, crossing into Tennessee. We'll get into all this, I'm sure, in a little bit, but I'm sure a lot of our audience very familiar with the Cassie Carli story. Cassie Carli's body, her remains, were found in a shallow grave in a barn in St. Clair County, Alabama, and quickly arrested was Marcus Spanevelo in Tennessee. And the charges were not related to her death, but rather tampering with evidence, even though we had a press conference from Sheriff Bob Johnson at the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office that pretty much indicated that they were highly confident that they had their man, that they had the person responsible for Cassie Carli's death. Then the wait began, and a very lengthy wait, approximately six months waiting for the autopsy. The reason that Spanevelo, as investigators would say, wasn't facing charges is because of the fact that they were waiting on the completed autopsy report out of Alabama. Remember now, Florida officials, they do not have control of the autopsy process. They're not involved in any way, shape, or form, of course, because of Cassie Carli's body and her remains being found in Alabama over state lines. So, it took a lengthy six months for the completed autopsy report to be finalized. It has been finalized. I anticipate having the actual document in hand, but I spoke with the St. Clair County coroner this morning and he indicated to me two significant things. First, that the cause of death is undetermined. The cause of death is how the person died, whether it was, and I'm just listing off some other common occurrences for an autopsy of this magnitude, something like a gunshot or a drowning or blunt force trauma, all the different ways, of course. And folks that follow true crime, I'm sure, are very familiar with the different causes of death that comes along with somebody who is the victim of homicide. But I say "victim of homicide..." Even more surprising, the county coroner telling me the manner of death, which is homicide, suicide, they determined that to be undetermined. So, they could not, based on the remains that were found in St. Clair County, Alabama, they could not determine how Cassie Carli died and they could not determine her manner of death, whether she was in fact murdered. These two massive unknowns throw a bigger unknown into this investigation, as Marcus Spanevelo was supposed to have his trial on tampering charges begin this week in Sarasota County Court. - [Narrator] The unexpected ruling on Carli's manner of death as undetermined rather than establishing it as a homicide now yields significant doubt on the case. Marcus was extradited to Florida since being caught in Tennessee and is currently in custody in the Santa Rosa County Jail. His trial, starting with jury selection, is slated to begin on October 17th. However, everything is now up in the air due to the autopsy results. In an interview with WEAR-TV, Marcus's aunt maintained her nephew is innocent. Neiva Spanevelo called the investigation suspicious and asserted someone had set up her nephew. "Just think about," she said. Asked why someone would set him up, she said, "Because he works all the time. "He never touch one, he never kill one. "He'd never do that. "He's a very good boy, I know. "He would never kill nobody. "He always work, work, work for his benefit." She went on to describe him as a kind man who worked hard and cared for his daughter. Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson rejected the innocence claim. "He's gonna get his day in court," he said, "but I can tell you this: "The evidence that we have is overwhelming." What are your thoughts on this case? Is the evidence against the accused, as Sheriff Bob states, overwhelming? Should prosecutors move forward with the trial on October 17th or should they reevaluate their position in light of the autopsy findings? Is the Carli family going to get the justice they seek? As usual, feel free to share your thoughts below. 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