SARASOTA - -- Joseph P. Smith left a trail of evidence as he abducted, raped and murdered 11-year-old Carlie Brucia: his semen on her shirt, hair that matched hers in his car and, afterward, admissions in encoded letters to his brother, prosecutors said.
They revealed the totality of their case for the first time during opening statements Monday in Smith's trial.
Smith left his DNA in a semen stain on the back of Carlie's red shirt, the only other piece of clothing besides a sock found on Carlie's body, prosecutors said. They had hair and cotton fibers that were found in the car Smith borrowed, and they deciphered an encoded letter to Smith's brother in which he reveals what he did with the girl's missing clothes and backpack.
But Smith's attorney criticized the police work as he spoke to the jury about the case.
Assistant Public Defender Adam Tebrugge said detectives focused on Smith too quickly, ignoring other suspects. Tebrugge also attacked the FBI's lab work in DNA cases, saying it is unreliable.
"Prosecuting attorneys say that all of the evidence points to Joe," Tebrugge said. "But they didn't tell you about all the evidence."
Assistant State Attorney Debra Johnes Riva offered some of the first details revealed about Carlie's death.
When authorities found the child's body, she was naked from the waist down, Riva said. Insects and animals had fed on her body. That's why the medical examiner couldn't rule on whether she had been raped.
Smith's confession, Riva said, came in several conversations with his mother and brother.
Tebrugge used his opening statement to try to create doubt. He attacked a video showing Carlie's abduction, saying the man in the nationally aired carwash surveillance video is another suspect and not Smith.
He questioned Smith's supposed confession to relatives, saying the defendant's brother wanted to help authorities because of the reward.
Tebrugge also laid the framework for battling DNA evidence that is said to link Smith to Carlie. He said examiners didn't find the semen stain but ultimately came up with the result they were "supposed to get."
"Approach the evidence with a certain degree of skepticism and try to take an objective look at everything," Tebrugge said. "You are the first group of citizens to look at all the evidence in the case."
Carlie went missing Feb. 1, 2004, when she was walking home from a friend's house. Police said it was Smith's brother who led police to Carlie's body days later near a church.
Tebrugge told jurors to question John Smith's motivations throughout the case. He led police to Carlie's body only after looking for it himself with his mother and then asked about a reward offered in the case, Tebrugge said.
Tebrugge also brought up Ronald Choquette, a tow truck driver who spent the morning with Carlie and was a suspect in the case.
Echoing previous criticism of the FBI and its crime lab, Tebrugge tried to discredit the piece of DNA that prosecutors say links Smith to Carlie.
"While DNA can be extremely powerful, it is also extremely sensitive," he said. "The FBI has had some major problems with their lab."
Tebrugge made a point of highlighting the weaknesses in the case: Sexual assault could not be established, and the hair found in the car also matches the car owner's hair.
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