TAMPA (WFLA) – As family members of Florida woman Cassie Carli await the results of an autopsy being conducted in Alabama, the man who has been charged in connection with her disappearance is refusing extradition, according to authorities.
Carli’s ex-boyfriend Marcus Spanevelo has been charged with tampering with evidence, giving false information and destruction of evidence. He appeared in a Tennessee court on April 4 and refused extradition, telling the judge, “there are some things that need to be resolved before I’m willing to go that route.”
Spanevelo will be back in a Tennessee courtroom on April 13 for a review of his extradition status.
Carli’s body was recently found buried in a shallow grave at an Alabama barn, nearly one week after she went missing in Navarre, Florida. Deputies said she was supposed to pick up her daughter Saylor from Spanevelo during a custody exchange. Saylor has been with Tennessee Child Protective Services.
When authorities searched the barn in Alabama, they said they found signs of her body under a patch of dirt that looked disturbed. Her body was initially identified via a tattoo on her right foot, according to the St. Clair County coroner.
Santa Rosa County County Sheriff Bob Johnson said Sunday that while the agency does not know how Carli died, he expects more charges against Spanevelo. Sheriff Johnson said Spanevelo has not been cooperative in the investigation and has said only one word – “lawyer.”
“He’s been acting like a dirtbag… he never cooperated with us at all,” Johnson said. “Think about it. It’s your baby’s mother and she’s missing and you’re not going to cooperate with authorities? That’s kind of telltale.”
An autopsy was scheduled to be performed Monday in Huntsville, Alabama to determine Carli’s cause of death. It’s not clear when exactly the results of the autopsy will be released.
“I think either [Spanevelo is] going to spend the rest of his life in prison or he’s going to get the needle,” Sheriff Johnson said. “Hopefully the needle.”
Authorities said the couple’s 4-year-old is being regularly checked on by authorities until Carli’s family is reunited with her.