State files motion to delay resentencing in Carlie Brucia murder case
SARASOTA, Fla. (FOX 13) - Joseph Smith was convicted in 2006 of kidnapping, raping and killing young Carlie Brucia. He was sentenced to death, but following a change in Florida law, a judge ruled that his seat on death row be re-visited.
On Thursday, attorneys on both sides will ask the judge for more time to prepare for a new sentencing trial.
In 2004 Carlie Brucia, just 11 years old, was headed back home from a sleepover. A surveillance camera at a car wash captured Joseph Smith approaching Brucia, grabbing her arm and leading her away -- it was the last time anyone saw her alive. Brucia's body was found days later in a wooded area near a church -- suffocated and sexually assaulted.
A jury convicted Smith and sentenced him to death on a 10-2 vote, but because of a recent Supreme Court ruling, death sentences now require a unanimous vote.
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Smith's resentencing trial is currently set for October, but prosecutors and his defense will stand before a judge and ask for a delay. They said they want to see how another case plays out in a different court of appeals for precedent.
It's unclear if Smith will appear with his attorneys at Thursday's hearing, which is set to get underway at 1:15 p.m.