Ex-Wife of Carlie's Accused Killer Shocked

Feb. 10, 2004 -- Carlie Brucia, the 11-year-old whose body was found dumped behind a Florida church, appears to have had ongoing troubles at home, ABCNEWS has learned. The details emerged as the ex-wife of the man accused of killing Carlie said he should get the death penalty if convicted.

Court records show that police were called to Carlie's Sarasota home at least a dozen times since 1999. Last October it was for a family dispute and in September, police were called for an assault. Carlie lived with her mother Susan Schorpen and her stepfather Steven Kansler.

If the case against Joseph P. Smith, who is charged with snatching her from a Sarasota car wash and killing her, goes to trial, it is possible the police calls to Carlie's home will be raised.

In the 2002 case of the murder of 7-year-old Danielle Van Dam, the parents' character became the subject of questioning during the trial of a neighbor who was charged, and ultimately convicted, of the killing.

Smith, who has been charged with Carlie's murder, has a string of past convictions, but when Julie Streeter discovered the man accused of abducting and killing Carlie was her ex-husband, she felt sick.

"It's disturbing. I'm shocked. I don't know what to say," Streeter told ABCNEWS' Good Morning America.

While Streeter says she did not initially recognize the man on the car wash security video released by police after Carlie's abduction, she says she now believes it could have been Smith leading Carlie away as she tried to walk home from a friend's house Feb. 1.

Streeter says she believes Smith should "pay the ultimate price" if he is found guilty.

‘Repeat Offender’

Authorities said that more than 400 phone tips from the public led authorities to link Smith to the surveillance video. Smith has been on probation almost continually since 1993. He's been arrested 13 times, according to police.

Gov. Jeb Bush came forward Monday to say that Smith was a parole violator who "shouldn't have been on the streets." After Carlie's body was found Friday, the girl's biological father, Joe Brucia — who lives in Long Island, N.Y. — called on Bush to investigate the justice system's handling of Smith over the years.

Smith avoided prison despite parole violations, including one in December, when the unemployed mechanic couldn't pay his court bill.

Bush says officials are considering ways to toughen Florida's probation laws.

"This was a repeat offender who served time and who violated parole on at least two occasions," Bush said Monday. "He shouldn't have been on the streets, in my opinion. We are looking at the possibility of legislative action."

Meanwhile, all of the media attention has led Smith's public defender to file court documents seeking a gag order on attorneys, witnesses, law enforcement and anyone else involved in the investigation of Carlie's death.

He says the "unprecedented worldwide and local media coverage" along with the release of more information would make a fair trial for Smith impossible.

A Charmer?

Streeter says she was taken with Smith when she met him first met him in 1993. She was only 18, and he was 26.

"He was a charmer," Streeter said. "He made me fall in love with him. He knew how to talk to people," she said.

They married in March of 1994, but divorced a little more than two years later. She says they simply fell out of love and stopped communicating.

Meanwhile, Streeter was aware of Smith's legal troubles during their relationship. Smith served jail time for a violent assault on a young woman who was walking home from a Sarasota beach club one night in 1993.

While Smith pleaded no contest to the charge and was sentenced to 60 days in the county jail and two years of probation, Streeter said Smith said the incident wasn't his fault. Streeter also said Smith tried to hide his drug habit from her, though friends and other people told her he was using them.

ABCNEWS' Jeffrey Kofman contributed to this report.