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A year later, no legacy for Carlie

Life goes on in a community once demanding change, and those closest to the 11-year-old wilt in the spotlight.

By AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published January 30, 2005

	[Times photo: Dirk Shadd]
	Steven Kansler, Carlie's stepfather, was arrested in May, while in July, Susan Schorpen, Carlie's mom, lost custody of her 7-year-old son.
	11-year-old Carlie Brucia was abducted a year ago Tuesday. Joseph P. Smith, the man accused of killing Carlie Brucia.

SARASOTA - Joseph P. Smith, the man accused of killing 11-year-old Carlie Brucia, has been the locus of much misery.

His trial this November will mimic the frenzy that followed Carlie's abduction a year ago Tuesday, when a nation of startled parents watched her fateful encounter with a man in dark clothing, captured on a car wash security camera.

While most have distanced themselves in the interim, those closest to Carlie's death remain trapped in its anguish.

Her family has struggled to fulfill promises made after their daughter's death. Smith's family has gone into hiding. And there is Smith himself, who sits in a Manatee County jail. "He messed up big time," said Smith's former business partner Edward Dinyes. "Now, there's a lot of us dealing with it."

In the days after authorities found Carlie's body, the Sarasota community came together and demanded change.

Thousands offered support at several memorials. Children cried in school yards and tied purple ribbons to big, brown oaks. Susan Schorpen, Carlie's mom, attended one tribute in a white limousine, wearing black and holding a red carnation.

There, the Rev. Paul Kirbas credited her daughter with uniting an entire community.

"Carlie, what we want you to know is that what we will remember about you for years and decades to come is that you brought out the best in us," he said.

The reality since then has been less auspicious.

The purple orchids and heart-shaped balloons have disappeared from the front of Carlie's home, replaced now by a white fence, six feet high. Two mattresses lean against the home.

Inside, life has wilted.

Carlie's stepfather, Steven Kansler, was arrested in May when after a night of drinking, authorities said he grabbed Schorpen's throat and pushed her into a stove at their McIntosh Road home.

After the incident, Schorpen told deputies she was afraid of her husband. But she later refused to testify against him.

Then in July, Schorpen lost custody of her 7-year-old son, Leif, after she failed a drug test. Schorpen, 35, has a history of drug problems, she told Sarasota deputies, and in 2003, went missing for nearly two days. When Kansler called her cell phone, a man answered and said it had been sold for narcotics, according to police reports.

Schorpen and Kansler would not comment. Meanwhile, the woman who last said goodbye to Carlie also has been arrested.

Carlie had left Connie Arnold's house about 6:15 p.m. Feb. 1, starting the mile home along busy Bee Ridge Road after a sleepover with a friend the night before.

Arnold's white block house was empty earlier this month, a small snowman the only hint of activity.

In December, Arnold pleaded guilty to felony drug possession after a Sarasota detective found her at a Bee Ridge Road apartment complex trying to buy cocaine.

Sarasota Circuit Judge Harry Rapkin, the man criticized for not sending Smith back to jail when Smith violated his probation in 2003, withheld judgment and fined Arnold $30.

She did not return phone calls.

While Carlie's family has struggled over the past year, the Sarasota community has returned to normalcy.

The front door at Nick's, a Bee Ridge Road bar, is propped open at 9:30 a.m. and its stools are filled with men. Conversations revolve around sports and work.

Down the street, customers wait in line at Evie's Car Wash, where on Feb. 1, a security camera recorded a man in mechanic's uniform grabbing Carlie and her pink backpack.

And by lunchtime on St. Armand's Circle, tourists are looking for $500 Giuseppe Zanotti sandals and sipping Key West beer over stone crab claws.

"To some degree, it's probably healthy that people have moved on and are living their lives," said Kirbas, pastor of Church of the Palms.

"But what we've lost is that sense of community," Kirbas said. "There was an opportunity for us to come together to talk about combating drugs or eliminating street violence.

"Perhaps we missed out on that."

Kirbas, who a year ago counseled many about Carlie's death, said he hasn't had a similar discussion in many months. Adam Tebrugge, Smith's public defender, said the initial outrage has long since dissipated. He said he once thought his client could never get a fare trial in Sarasota.

"For a while, it was nonstop wherever I went," Tebrugge said. "Now it rarely comes up."

A couple who befriended Smith fled the state. Smith's wife has "gone underground," a friend said.

Jeff and Naomi Pincus said they have been shunned by former colleagues and friends after scrutiny began to center on their north Sarasota home. Smith, who had been kicked out of his home, stayed with the Pincuses and authorities say he used their station wagon in the alleged abduction.

Subsequent newspaper reports said the Pincuses ran a sexually suggestive Web site. The family contends the articles included lies and have sued, asking for a settlement of $4.5-million. They also have left town.

"They couldn't stand to face the community," said Daniel Hoffman, the family's attorney.

Smith's wife, Luz Castrillon, won a divorce in August that barred Smith from his three young children from that marriage. As part of that settlement, she kept his welding machine and golf clubs and sold their two-bedroom home in north Sarasota for $140,000.

She now lists her address as a post office box.

And Christine Montalvo, a Sarasota woman who Smith visited hours after he allegedly kidnapped Carlie, said she remains too traumatized to speak publicly.

"I have anxiety issues just thinking about" what happened, she said from her home near Bee Ridge Road, not far from where Carlie was taken.

As Smith awaits trial and city leaders try to reunite the community, , elected leaders are trying to find lessons from her death.

"Carlie came from a broken home. She came from an atmosphere of drug abuse," said Sarasota County Commissioner Jon Thaxton. "We need to look at those prevailing causes in crime, I believe, and we need to treat them early."

Sarasota County officials will consider judicial reforms that include pouring resources, such as money, into crime intervention. State legislators continue to discuss several proposals to better track parolees after one bill failed last session.

In Washington, U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris has abandoned efforts to pass "Carlie's Law," opting instead for a broader bill that would close federal loopholes for human traffickers. Harris' retooled bill will not include Carlie's name, said Harris spokesman Garrison Courtney.

"We as legislators have to protect our children and the members of our community," said state Rep. Donna Clarke, whose district includes the area where Carlie was kidnapped. Clarke said she expects reforms to be adopted during the state's upcoming legislative session.

"We need to make the system better," Clarke said.

But though much has been promised, no legislation has been adopted. Today, whether in churches, community halls or on Capitol Hill, Carlie's legacy remains fuzzy. Reminders, however, are abundantly clear.

"I cannot imagine anyone driving down that segment of Bee Ridge Road, and not with clear recollection, have that tragedy burst into their memory," Thaxton said. "I know it's in my memory. And it will be there forever."

Information from Times files was used this report. Aaron Sharockman can be reached at 727 445-4160 or asharockman@sptimes.com

[Last modified January 31, 2005, 14:09:21]