Documents violence — written to inform, not to shock.
Illustrative
On the morning of March 5, 2008, Eve Marie Carson, a 22-year-old student body president at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was abducted, robbed, and shot to death in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. According to Wikipedia's account, two men forced their way into her car, drove her to several ATMs, and withdrew $700 using her card. They then drove her to a densely wooded neighborhood about a mile from campus, where she was shot five times — four times with a .25 caliber handgun and once, fatally, with a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun to the side of her head. A forensic finding indicated she was still alive and breathing after the handgun shots. No physical evidence of sexual assault was found, though one perpetrator was reported to have touched her body and clothing.
Carson's body was discovered at the intersection of Hillcrest Circle and Hillcrest Road in Chapel Hill at approximately 5 a.m. on March 5, 2008, after a nearby resident reported hearing gunshots and a woman screaming. Investigators later determined that Demario James Atwater, then 21, and Laurence Alvin Lovette Jr., then 17, had approached Carson as she was walking to her car the previous night. First-degree murder charges were filed against Atwater on March 12, 2008, and against Lovette the following day. Both were later indicted on additional charges including first-degree kidnapping and armed robbery. Atwater was separately indicted on federal carjacking and firearms charges, with the carjacking count carrying a possible death penalty; because Lovette was under 18 at the time of the crime, the Supreme Court's Roper v. Simmons ruling barred him from facing capital punishment.
Atwater pleaded guilty to federal carjacking, kidnapping, and weapons charges in April 2010 and was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years in September 2010. In May 2010, he also pleaded guilty to state charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, and weapons offenses as part of a plea agreement in which prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty; he received a state sentence of life without parole. At his federal sentencing, Atwater apologized to Carson's parents.
Lovette pleaded not guilty to state charges and went to trial in December 2011. He was convicted on all counts and sentenced to life without parole. In February 2013, the North Carolina Court of Appeals vacated his sentence based on the U.S. Supreme Court's Miller v. Alabama decision regarding mandatory life sentences for juveniles, and a resentencing hearing was held in June 2013, after which Lovette again received a sentence of life without parole. The Court of Appeals upheld that resentencing in 2014. Lovette was also charged in connection with the January 2008 killing of a Duke University student but was found not guilty of that charge in 2014.
The case drew national attention, including a mention by American Idol contestant Anoop Desai, a friend of Carson's. UNC later established a scholarship and memorial garden in her honor, and the North Carolina General Assembly passed a street gang suppression law in the wake of the case.
Lovette drove to Chapel Hill in his mother's car, and he and Atwater searched for a victim.
2008-03-05
Eve Carson was abducted, robbed at an ATM, taken to a wooded area, and shot to death; her body was found at approximately 5 a.m.
2008-03-06
UNC Chancellor James Moeser addressed students and a candlelight vigil was held on campus.
2008-03-09
Carson's funeral was held in Athens, Georgia, attended by hundreds including Chancellor Moeser.
2008-03-12
First-degree murder charges filed against Demario James Atwater.
2008-03-13
Laurence Alvin Lovette Jr. was arrested and similarly charged with first-degree murder.
2008-07-07
Both suspects indicted on additional charges of first-degree kidnapping, armed robbery, felonious larceny, and possession of stolen goods.
2008-10
A federal grand jury indicted Atwater on carjacking and firearms charges.
2010-04-19
Atwater pleaded guilty to federal charges of carjacking, kidnapping, and weapons possession.
2010-05-24
Atwater pleaded guilty to state charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, and weapons offenses.
2010-09-23
Atwater sentenced in federal court to life in prison plus 30 years.
2011-12-06
Lovette's state trial began.
2011-12-20
Jury found Lovette guilty on all charges; he was subsequently sentenced to life without parole.
2013-02-05
North Carolina Court of Appeals vacated Lovette's life sentence, citing Miller v. Alabama, and ordered resentencing.
2013-06-03
Lovette resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
2014-07
Lovette found not guilty of the separate January 2008 killing of Duke University student Abhijit Mahato.
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The Murder that shocked a Nation... | The Chilling Case of Eve Carson
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Laurence Alvin Lovette Jr.
CONVICTED
Convicted at trial of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and armed robbery; sentenced to life without parole, resentenced in 2013 following Miller v. Alabama.
citation on file
Demario James Atwater
CONVICTED
Pleaded guilty to federal carjacking, kidnapping, and weapons charges and to state charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and armed robbery; sentenced to life without parole plus additional federal sentence.
citation on file
Eve Carson
VICTIM
UNC student body president abducted, robbed, and killed on March 5, 2008.
Eve Carson, student body president at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was abducted, robbed and fatally shot on March 5, 2008. Demario James Atwater and Laurence Alvin Lovette Jr. were charged, and both were ultimately convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Where did the murder happen?
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States.
Who was convicted?
Laurence Alvin Lovette Jr. (Convicted at trial of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and armed robbery; sentenced to life without parole, resentenced in 2013 following Miller v. Alabama.) and Demario James Atwater (Pleaded guilty to federal carjacking, kidnapping, and weapons charges and to state charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and armed robbery; sentenced to life without parole plus additional federal sentence.).
