TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Rep. Joel Rudman, R-Navarra, filed legislation to increase security in custody exchanges after a woman disappeared following an exchange with her ex-boyfriend in 2022.
Marcus Spanevelo is scheduled to appear in court on January 29, 2024 in connection with the death of his ex-girlfriend Cassie Carli.
“It was this tragedy that made this situation come alive for us,” Rudman said. “The fact that there are numerous, contentious custody exchanges throughout the state that can get very heated.”
Rudman explained that the bill would require each county’s sheriff’s department to designate a space for a secure exchange location. This could include the parking lot of a sheriff’s station or electrical substation.
“They would need to be adequately lit, marked and landmarked, preferably with a purple light in honor of Cassie Carli,” he said. “And these sites would need to be under 24-hour CCTV surveillance and the footage would need to be retained for at least 45 days.”
The bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Hillary Cassel, D-Hollywood, who joined Rudman at Tuesday’s news conference.
“I know it may not have the language we were originally hoping for, but the beauty of it is that this will be a big change in the state of Florida,” Cassel said.
Close friends of Carli attended the filing ceremony and commented on the importance of the bill.
“I think this bill will be huge if it becomes law and will help families, not just women,” said Eric Vine, a longtime friend.
“Anyone who has experienced custody knows that custody can be a messy thing,” he said. “I think what I learned from this experience of losing my friend is that you get this false idea that a Walmart parking lot or a beach parking lot is going to be safe.”
Vine explained that it was his company’s security camera footage that caught Spanevelo driving in the opposite direction of where he was supposed to be driving on the night of Carli’s disappearance.
He was able to provide the footage to the major crimes investigator so law enforcement could arrest the ex-boyfriend.
Vine added that Rudman did an excellent job advancing the bill after it failed to make it out of the House Rules Committee the previous session.
“He was really there for everyone,” Vine said. “I know he’s a busy man and has a lot to do, but he always answered our calls, answered our texts, he was never too busy for us.”
Comments are closed.