Sarasota, Fla. ? A tattooed mechanic with a long rap sheet was charged with murder Friday after authorities found the body of an 11-year-old girl whose kidnapping was captured on a carwash surveillance camera.

Police said Joseph P. Smith told a witness that he had kidnapped and killed Carlie Brucia, and authorities used that information to find the sixth-grader’s body in a church parking lot a few miles from the carwash.

Investigators refused to say how the girl was killed or whether she had been raped. The arrest report said only that she died “as a result of homicidal violence.”

“He will pay the ultimate price for what he did to her,” Sheriff’s Capt. Jeff Bell said. Investigators would not give details on the witness.

Smith, 37, is believed to be the man seen on the surveillance video in a mechanic’s shirt with a name patch, leading Carlie away by the arm Sunday as she walked home from a slumber party. Investigators said the man on the tape had tattoos on both forearms; Smith has many tattoos on his arms.

The police report said “numerous phone calls were received identifying the defendant as the subject depicted in the video.”

The kidnapping set off a frantic search for the former Girl Scout, and the tape was beamed across the nation as Carlie’s family and authorities pleaded for her safe return.

Investigators were led to Smith after a tipster identified him as the man in the video. Authorities said he had a Buick station wagon that was seen in the surveillance footage shortly before the kidnapping.

Smith was charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping, and could face the death penalty if convicted. His public defender, Adam Tebrugge, did not immediately return calls for comment.

Carlie’s body was found beneath thick underbrush near the Central Church of Christ. While investigators in white coveralls searched the area for evidence, Carlie’s friends and family gathered outside the church. Her stepfather, Steven Kansler, and some friends knelt in a prayer circle.

“She’s in a better place. She got there in a horrific manner, but now she’s watching me all the time,” said her father, Joe Brucia.

Smith has been arrested at least 13 times in Florida since 1993.

He served 17 months in prison in 2001 and 2002 for heroin possession and prescription drug fraud. Eight days after he got out, he was arrested for cocaine possession and placed on probation for three years.

Friends comfort each other near a makeshift memorial for schoolmate Carlie Brucia in Sarasota, Fla. The children, many of whom knew Carlie personally, are part of the Pet Therapy organization and will be helping other students cope at McIntosh Middle School on Monday. From left are Cathy Sidoti, 13; Tiffany Parker, 15; Cheyenne Hartley, 9; Lexus Hamilton, 9; Kathy Alexander; and Victoria Francois, 10. Joseph P. Smith was charged with the murder and kidnapping of 11-year-old Carlie after her body was found behind the Central Church of Christ in Sarasota.