In the late evening of March 27, 2022, 37-year-old Caucasian female Cassie Carli vanished after meeting with her ex-boyfriend for a custody exchange of their young daughter. The arranged meeting spot was the parking lot of a beachside restaurant in Navarre, Florida. Carli's family grew worried when they received text messages from her phone that seemed uncharacteristic. Her car was later found in the parking lot with her purse still inside, but Carli was gone. This discovery triggered a frantic, week-long search by law enforcement and concerned family and friends.
The investigation quickly focused on her ex-boyfriend, Marcus Spanevelo, the father of her four-year-old daughter. The couple had been embroiled in a contentious custody dispute, and just nine days before her disappearance, a court had ordered Spanevelo to pay $5,920 in Carli's attorney fees. Family members reported that Carli had grown fearful of Spanevelo's "unpredictable" behavior and had even considered getting a concealed carry permit for her protection. Investigators tracked Spanevelo to Birmingham, Alabama, where they were able to confirm the safety of the couple's daughter.
On April 2, 2022, the search for Cassie Carli came to a tragic end when her body was discovered buried in a shallow grave inside a barn in St. Clair County, Alabama. The property where she was found had ties to Spanevelo. That same day, Spanevelo was arrested during a traffic stop in Lebanon, Tennessee. He was initially charged with tampering with evidence, destruction of evidence, and providing false information regarding a missing person investigation. Authorities in Alabama later charged him with abuse of a corpse.
An autopsy was performed, but after months of analysis, the St. Clair County Coroner's Office ruled the cause and manner of Carli's death as "undetermined." The report stated there were no obvious signs of trauma to her body. Due to the inconclusive autopsy results, murder charges have not been filed against Spanevelo, though he remains the primary suspect in her disappearance and death. He has remained in custody on the other charges.
