Killer of 11-year-old Carlie Brucia dies in custody at Florida prison
The man who kidnapped, raped and killed 11-year-old Carlie Brucia died in custody at a Florida prison on Monday morning, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
Joseph Smith, 55, abducted Carlie on Feb. 1, 2004, as she was walking home from a friend’s house in Sarasota, then raped and killed her. The girl’s body was found four days later behind the Central Church of Christ, after Smith confessed.
He was convicted in November 2005 of kidnapping, raping and murdering Carlie. In March 2006, based on a 10-2 recommendation by the jury, Smith was sentenced to death.
Smith was on Death Row in custody at Union Correctional Institution in Raiford.
“While nothing can bring back Carlie. we are grateful that her family, her friends, and the entire Sarasota community will finally have closure and will not have to endure any further court proceedings to bring Smith to justice,” State Attorney Ed Brodsky said in a statement.
Brodsky was notified of Smith’s death by the Florida Attorney General’s office.
Circumstances surrounding his death remained unclear on Monday afternoon. The Florida Department of Corrections confirmed his death but has not provided any details.
The medical examiner’s office will do an autopsy to determine cause of death, as is standard practice for all custody deaths.
Smith was set to be resentenced in the case, however, after the Florida Supreme Court decision in State v. Okafor and State v. Jackson last November ruled that previously vacated death sentences cannot be retroactively reinstated.
Smith’s death sentence was vacated in April 2018, following rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court and subsequently the Florida Supreme Court in 2016 that found how a person was sentenced to death in Florida unconstitutional. His death sentence was later reinstated after the Florida Supreme Court partially reversed itself in its decision in State v. Poole, ruling that a unanimous jury was not necessary in a jury’s final decision on whether to impose the death penalty.
The case rocked the Sarasota and Bradenton area while drawing national headlines.
Video surveillance footage from Evie’s Car Wash, 4715 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota, captured the abduction on Super Bowl Sunday — Feb. 1, 2004. Carlie was walking behind the car wash on her way home from a friend’s when Smith snatched her.
This story was originally published July 26, 2021 at 11:45 AM with the headline "Killer of 11-year-old Carlie Brucia dies in custody at Florida prison."
