Carson case details trickle in

Eve Carson worked early into the morning of March 5, visible from Friendly Lane through a window with raised blinds. She told her roommates that she was staying home to prepare papers for school.

Carson, one of the most high-profile and beloved students on campus, seemed an unlikely victim in a town that has few random shootings.

But as the prosecutor has laid out the alleged events and many documents have become public, it is increasingly apparent that anyone could have been in Carson's shoes.

Although most violent crime is down in Chapel Hill, a shooting that hit so close to home sparked fear in students. Police have not increased patrols, but are attempting to educate sororities and others of off-campus dangers.

"It's obvious we've tried to increase awareness in town with this particular case," Chapel Hill Police Spokesman Lt. Kevin Gunter said.

The prosecution says that someone opened an e-mail from Carson's computer at 3:35 a.m. District Attorney Jim Woodall said the state would prove that Lawrence Lovette and Demario Atwater were walking downtown looking for someone to rob at about that time.

The defendants allegedly abducted Carson from just outside her house and drove her to the Bank of America in Chapel Hill. Her bank card was also used in several locations in Durham. They allegedly took $1,400 in all from her bank account.

The prosecutor says that Lovette shot Carson four times with a handgun and that Atwater shot her once with a sawed-off shotgun.

Defense attorneys have not had a chance to present their version of events. The hearing Monday had limited scope, public defender James Williams said in court. Williams could not be reached for comment.

Atwater smiled to his mother as he left the hearing. A young man who accompanied her out of the courtroom and identified himself only as a family friend expressed sympathy for Carson and the University community but asked for peace for the family.

"Just like they are hurting, we are hurting," he said.

State to seek death penalty

It may be tough to secure a death sentence for Atwater with an Orange County jury.

Judge Thomas Lock allowed prosecutors to go ahead with attempting to get what would be the first from the county since 1973.

Lovette, 17, is ineligible because of his age at the time of the crime.

Woodall said he talked to Carson's parents and they would support his decision to seek the death penalty.

"They would like to have closure in this case as anyone would. This has been horrible for them," Woodall said. "They have to live with it every day, they'll live with it every day for the rest of their lives."

Motions in the case are scheduled to begin Sept. 12, and Woodall said a trial would occur next summer at the earliest.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.