RED FLAGS! Cassie Carli's Ex Reportedly 'Tracked Her Phone' & Planted 'Recording Devices' Before Murder

As is the unfortunate truth for so many murdered women, there were a lot of signs pointing to the danger of Cassie Carli’s ex.

Earlier this week, the 37-year-old’s body was discovered buried in a shallow grave in a barn connected to her ex, Marcus Spanevelo. Spanevelo had been arrested on multiple charges, including evidence tampering, but has not yet been charged with her murder. However, Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson made it clear in a press conference that they had a strong case against Marcus.

In a new interview with The Sun, Cassie’s younger sister Raeanne Carli revealed new details of the tragedy, including text messages exchanged between her father Andrew Carli and Cassie’s phone on the night of the disappearance. (Authorities claimed Marcus had stolen and disposed of Cassie’s phone.) After she had been missing for some time, Andrew texted:

“I’m freaking out case [sic] call me as soon as you get this message.”

He received this response:

“I’m sorry, car was acting up and I broke my phone. Marcus is working on it. I will stay at his place tonight.”

In retrospect, Raeanne explained:

“We knew something was wrong right away, something with Marcus. I had a feeling he may have done something because my sister would never just disappear like that and not talk to anyone.”

The text itself raised immediate suspicions, she claimed:

“If she was having troubles she would never seek help from him, that’s just crazy. She would walk next door to the restaurant before she asked him for anything.”

The text suggesting Cassie would stay at Marcus’s place was a giveaway, as the co-parents had a very fraught relationship. In fact, Cassie allegedly told Raeanne that she was “frightened” of her ex, and even apparently said that “if something should happen to me, it was him.”

Raeanne explained to the outlet that Cassie became pregnant with their daughter Saylor after only two months of dating Marcus. By the time she was five months pregnant, she was ready to break it off:

“There were just too many red flags. She would tell us, ‘he’s controlling me; he’s trying to manipulate me; I don’t want to be with him.’ But even after she broke up with him, she was hopeful that maybe they could figure out a way to co-parent together and stay civilized.”

Instead, Marcus’s behavior quickly escalated, as he became “emotionally abusive” and paranoid. According to Raeanne, he went so far as to try to “plant recording devices in her apartment, tracked her phone, and tried to monitor her movements and to who she was speaking.” She reflected:

“I think he thought that if he could hear her doing anything she may not supposed to be doing in then he’d try to use it against her and try to make false reports to [Child Protective Services] to get Saylor taken away from her.”

The ensuing custody battle was intense, and Cassie revealed some of the traumatic situation in a GoFundMe page for the mounting legal fees. She called her ex a “master manipulator,” writing:

“During my pregnancy, this man’s abusive control and manipulation escalated. But having battled infertility in my first marriage, I desperately wanted a family. So, I justified his erratic behavior as long as I could.”

Once Saylor was born, Cassie claimed Spanevelo “filed dozens of false police reports” and called CPS “so many times, I nearly came to know most of the staff by name.” Raeanne shared:

“The verbal abuse was particularly bad. He would body shame her when she was pregnant, and just everything she did wasn’t right or good enough for him. He called her stupid, said she didn’t know anything, that she was going to be the worst mother ever — just anything to put her down and make her feel inferior to him. The emotional abuse was just extreme. So extreme.”

Marcus’s escalating behavior naturally became a huge cause of concern for Cassie, as she confided in Raeanne. Her sister explained:

“It may have been something small, but it was the way he would say things to her and the way he looked at her that would freak her out. He was just eerie … he was never physical with her or put his hands on her, but he knew she feared him and I think he used that against her. [Whenever they’d meet to hand over Saylor] she would be on alert because he was a rollercoaster, just up and down and unpredictable. She would tell me, ‘he’s got this look in his eye and it’s just frightening.’”

Raeanne believed Spanevelo was “infatuated” with Cassie, as he supposedly tried to win her back many times. With Cassie having moved on and enjoying the stability of a new job, her sister suggested that the murder could have been “one of those, ‘if I can’t have you, then nobody can’ type of things.” She said:

“My sister was finally in the best place before her passing and she got that job, which she really enjoyed. And it could be that he thought, ‘Wow, she’s never ever going to want me or let me have my way so I’ve got to do something about it.'”

While her family was devastated by the loss, Raeanne told The Sun they were also relieved to be able to bring her home and lay her to rest once the body was found. Remembering her older sister, she said:

“She saw the good in everyone and always wanted to believe that everyone had the same intentions as her and she would give anything to help someone. She loved helping people. That was her thing. She was just the kindest person, and I swear she light up the room every time with that big ol’ smile and laugh of hers.”

As for Marcus, Raeanne was inclined to agree with the sheriff’s assessment about the death penalty. She stated:

“I want him to get the needle too, but honestly I would want him to sit in jail for at least 37 years — as long as my sister lived — and then get the needle. I want him to sit in jail and see my sister’s face every time he tries to sleep, and to think about his daughter and know what he did every day and let it eat him alive.”

Wow. What an incredibly painful situation. Our hearts go out to Raeanne, Saylor, and everyone affected by this loss. We hope they are able to get justice for Cassie’s murder.

[Image via Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office & Cassie Carli/Facebook]