TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Controversy continues to swirl around a judge presiding over Daniel Spencer’s murder case.
The Tallahassee man is accused of killing his stepdaughter, Missy Mogle, while awaiting sentencing in separate child sex case.
Missy Mogle(Pepper Mogle)
Video obtained from the Second Judicial Circuit Court Reporting Services shows the decision that changed Florida law and continues to fuel debate.
The exchange took just minutes after Daniel Spencer was convicted of traveling to meet a minor for sex last April.
Judge Tiffany Baker-Carper explained her decision to send him home to await sentencing, rather than take him into custody that night.
“The Court will not remand Mr. Spencer into custody. He has been out for an entire year, as far as I saw with no violations. I didn’t see any criminal history regarding violence,” Judge Baker-Carper said. “The only criminal history I saw was relating to drug offenses. Madam prosecutor, you’re free to enlighten the court if I missed something.”
“Your Honor, I believe it was just misdemeanor offenses. I’m not sure if they were drug offenses, but they were misdemeanor offenses. But just to put it on the record, the State will be asking he be remanded into custody due to the nature of this offense as well as I think the score on the scoresheet. That would be the State’s request,” the prosecutor answered.
Just weeks later, and weeks before he was set to be sentenced and sent to prison, his five-year-old stepdaughter, Missy Mogle, was killed. Both Daniel and his wife, Chloe Spencer, are accused of abusing and murdering her.
The girl’s 23-year-old mother Chloe Spencer and 35-year-old stepfather Daniel Spencer were both taken into custody Monday and both face charges of aggravated battery on a child, child neglect with great bodily harm and failure to report child abuse, the court documents revealed.(Leon County Jail)
As Governor DeSantis signed Missy’s Law barring judges from releasing certain dangerous criminals between conviction and sentencing, he called for Judge Baker-Carper to be impeached.
“Totally preventable. A miscarriage of justice. A dereliction of judicial duty,” Governor DeSantis said at the March bill signing ceremony.
Attorney General James Uthmeier followed with his own impeachment calls.
“Judge Baker-Carper’s actions brought disrepute upon the judiciary,” Uthmeier wrote. “But despite the obvious danger and warnings, Judge Baker-Carper let Spencer remain free, causing the untimely, violent murder of Missy.”
Yet, some defense attorneys have been vocal in defending Baker-Carper’s decision, saying it’s a common practice and she wasn’t privy to other accusations against Spencer.
“When the judge was asking if anything else should be known, that was the time when that information should have been given to the judge, and that judge probably, most likely would have remanded Mr. Spencer to custody,” Aaron Wayt with the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers said.
Tallahassee mayoral candidate Jeremy Matlow recently took to Facebook to voice his concerns about what he considers politicizing Missy’s death.
“Look this is purely political. Ron DeSantis has a plan to stack the courts with extreme conservative judges,” Matlow said in the video. “Ron DeSantis has already appointed three. He wants to see Judge Baker-Carper removed so he can appoint another one.”
Earlier this week, Spencer’s attorney requested Judge Baker-Carper be disqualified from presiding over his murder case.
Defense attorney Chuck Collins called it a “hot topic” in the media and “fears (Spencer) will not receive a fair trial from the current trial judge.”
Spencer is set to stand trial for Missy’s murder on June 22 and could face the death penalty if convicted.
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