SARASOTA, Fla. — The mother of 11-year-old murder victim Carlie Brucia broke her silence Thursday, telling reporters waiting for a verdict that she hopes Joseph Smith gets the death penalty.

Susan Schorpen, who did not testify during Smith's trial, spoke with reporters briefly outside the courthouse, where jurors are deliberating the 39-year-old auto mechanic's fate.

Asked if the trial will finally bring the family closure, Schorpen said that will not come until Smith is finally punished.

"My daughter's gone. I'll never hold her again. I'll never hear her laugh again," said Schorpen, who is divorced from Carlie's biological father. "Until [Smith] meets his maker, and I'm not going to be there to see what he gets, that's the only thing that's going to give me any kind of satisfaction. There's nobody on this earth that can do anything to him."

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Schorpen said her family has been on a "roller coaster" since Carlie was killed and has experienced misfortune. She did not elaborate.

If Smith is convicted of first-degree murder, Schorpen is expected to testify and ask jurors to recommend a death sentence to Judge Andrew Owens Jr. Schorpen expressed frustration that there could be as many as 12 years of appeals if Smith is sentenced to death.

"We don't have an express lane like they have in Texas," Schorpen said.

Schorpen said that if she had a chance to speak to Smith, she would have questions for him.

"If I could speak to him, I'd like to know why he chose my daughter and why he had to kill her," Schorpen said.

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