Death Penalty To Be Sought for Murder of N.C. Student President
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HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — Prosecutors said yesterday they plan to seek the death penalty against a man charged in the kidnapping and fatal shooting of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student body president Eve Carson.
Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall said during a court hearing that he plans to seek the execution of Demario James Atwater, 22, even though jurors in Orange County haven’t returned a death sentence in nearly 40 years.
“This is the toughest decision any prosecutor has to make,” Mr. Woodall said, adding that he believed Carson’s family supported his decision based on several conversations with her parents.
Mr. Atwater and Laurence Alvin Lovette, 17, are charged with first-degree murder in the death of Carson, 22, of Athens, Ga. Atwater also is charged with first-degree kidnapping, felonious larceny, armed robbery and felonious possession of stolen goods.
The death penalty can’t be sought against Lovette because of his age.
Mr. Woodall disclosed new details in the case yesterday, telling Superior Court Judge Thomas H. Lock that prosecutors believe Mr. Atwater shot Carson in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun.
