Dead Girl's Dad Demands Answers

The father of a slain 11-year-old girl in Florida wants to know why the man who's now charged in her murder was out on the street, instead of being behind bars.

The suspect Joseph Smith has a lengthy arrest record -- with at least 13 arrests in Florida since 1993.

And Carlie Brucia's father, Joe Brucia, says judges made some "questionable" decisions in letting him go free.

Smith was arrested Tuesday on other charges, and is now charged in the girl's death.

"The body of a beautiful girl, Carlie Brucia, has been found," said an emotional Sarasota County Sheriff Bill Balkwill Friday morning. "Joseph Smith is under arrest for the abduction and murder of Carlie."

Her body was found on the grounds of the Central Church of Christ. A section of its grounds was ringed with yellow police tape Friday.

"Our prayers on behalf of everybody here in Sarasota County go out to the family," Balkwill said.

Smith, 37, is believed to be the tattooed man in a mechanic's shirt who was seen in the car wash's surveillance video leading Carlie away by the arm Sunday evening.

No cause of death was given.

"We now stand ready to complete our obligation, and assure you that he will pay the ultimate price for what he did to her," Capt. Jeff Bell said.

Family and friends planned to hold a candlelight vigil to remember the vibrant, blond sixth-grader, reports CBS News Corrspondent Jennifer Miller.

Investigators found the body after negotiations with Smith, said a source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Earlier, authorities had said he was not cooperating.

Outside Carlie's school, McIntosh Middle School principal Robert Hagemann announced there were about 30 counselors available for the students.

"They're here in force today. They have saturated the school with personnel and resources," he told reporters. They will be back on Monday, he added, and the school will be open Saturday midday and Monday evening for additional counseling.

"We are going to do whatever is necessary for the children and for the community," he said.

Friends and family members say Carlie Brucia was a typical 11-year-old: She loved roller-skating, hanging out with friends and singing in the chorus and dreamed of being a pop star like her idol Jennifer Lopez.

She was remembered as someone who always shared warm hugs with friends, respected her parents and teachers and loved music — singers such as Lopez and rappers Nelly and 50 Cent. She had a 6-year-old half brother, a 10-year-old stepbrother and a cat named Charlie.

"She was loving and caring. She doesn't like to see other people hurt. She'd be really crying if this was one of us or someone else she knows," said Tiffany Meeks, a close friend at school who placed flowers Friday along a memorial at the car wash. "It's just hard to talk about."

Carlie's friend Natalie Thomas cried after hearing that her classmate's body was found. She remembered Carlie's smile and that she liked to go on walks.

"There's nothing you can do to make anybody feel better and it's going to hurt for a long, long time," said Chuck Chambers, a private investigator who was working with the family.

Smith had been held without bail since Tuesday on an alleged probation violation stemming from a cocaine possession conviction.

Smith has been arrested at least 13 times in Florida since 1993, according to state records. He was arrested in 1997 in Manatee County on kidnapping and false imprisonment charges, but was acquitted a year later.

He served 17 months in state prison for heroin possession and prescription drug fraud and was released on New Year's Day 2003. He was arrested eight days later on a cocaine possession charge and was placed on probation for three years. He also was placed on probation for aggravated battery in 1993 and heroin charges in 1999.

A state Department of Corrections official said Thursday that a probation officer had asked a judge on Dec. 30 to declare Smith in violation of his probation because he had not paid all his fines and court costs.

Probation official Joe Papy said Circuit Judge Harry Rapkin declined to find Smith in violation, which could have returned him to jail.

An aide to Smith's public defender, Adam Tebrugge, declined comment Thursday.