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Topic: At the Brucia Trial (Read 257 times)

Rhune
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At the Brucia Trial
« on: Feb 13^th, 2006, 7:59pm »

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Family says girl's murder tore them apart
Defense: Smith denied or given ineffective drug treatment

Monday, February 13, 2006; Posted: 5:19 p.m. EST (22:19 GMT)

(CNN) -- Relatives and friends of a murdered 11-year-old girl whose abduction was caught on a security camera told a Florida judge Monday that their lives have been forever shattered by the crime.

Family members spoke at a sentencing hearing for Joseph Smith, 39, who was convicted in November of raping and murdering Carlie Brucia after abducting her outside a car wash near Sarasota, Florida.

The jury recommended, 10-2, that Smith be put to death for his crime, but the ultimate decision rests with Circuit Court Judge Andrew Owens. He said he will rule on March 15.

The case drew national attention after a security camera showed Carlie, who had been walking home from a friend's house, being led away by a man in a blue shirt.

One by one, Carlie's aunts, a teacher and her best friend's mother described the impact her February 2004 rape and murder had on their lives.

Two of her aunts mourned the bright and bubbly child they will never see grow up, the smiles and hugs that don't come anymore, the shopping trips and beach outings that won't be taken.

"Carlie's future and life were stolen from her -- and us, her family," said her paternal aunt, Laurie Jane Brucia.

'Overwhelming sadness'
"Our hearts will never heal," she added. "Our family has been left with an overwhelming sadness, a void that pictures will never fill. Carlie, our hope for the future, is gone forever."

Another aunt said the crime "completely tore apart three very close families" and "destroyed marriages, friendships and family relationships."

At Carlie's middle school, classmates had trouble concentrating, met often with counselors and fell behind in school. A garden was dedicated to her memory, said Noel Gilliland, a special education teacher who said Carlie assisted in her class and "was always ready to help the underdog."

She recalled Carlie as "the girl we all wished we had a classroom full of."

The slain girl's best friend became withdrawn, gained 60 pounds and began failing in school, her mother said.

"Mandy does not make friends; the phone doesn't ring for her anymore," said Sherry Langworth. "Mandy is broken and I don't' know how to fix her."

A family destroyed
Brucia's mother, Susan Schorpen, is being held on a drug charge and could not appear in court. But she told Sarasota County Circuit Judge Andrew Owens in a written statement, " I want desperately for a normal life again, but I feel so broken."

Her family, she wrote, has been destroyed. Her mother died of cancer, her father is "lost," wandering in Europe, her brother died suddenly earlier this month, her son was robbed of his childhood and she is battling a drug problem.

"I have lost so much thorough this tragedy, and so has my family," she said.

Drugs also played into the arguments of Smith's attorneys, who said his life should be spared because he repeatedly sought help for depression and drug addiction without success.

The defense submitted reams of medical and financial documents in an effort to persuade the judge to overrule the jury's recommendation -- something that rarely happens in Florida.

'Rock bottom'
The documents, said Assistant Public Defender Adam Tebrugge, demonstrate "the defendant repeatedly sought help for his problems, but was either denied help or received ineffective assistance."

Smith was hospitalized repeatedly for his drug problem, the records show. During one hospitalization, in May 2002, Smith reported, "I've got to get off drugs, am losing my mind, feel dangerous to myself and family. Taking large doses of oxycontin," according to notes read in court.

Two years later, Smith told doctors he had lost his wife and his job and was "near rock bottom" during a hospitalization just weeks before the girl's murder, Tebrugge said. Yet he was released, pending "follow-up," he added.

Smith may make a statement during the hearing, which could last until Wednesday.

The so-called Spencer hearing allows the defense to present possibly mitigating circumstances that could warrant a life sentence instead of the death penalty.

Schorpen supports the death penalty for Smith, while Carlie's father favors a sentence of life without parole.

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