Guide Note

Demario James Atwater was arrested by police in Durham, North Carolina, on March 11, 2008, for first-degree murder in the case of University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill student Eve Carson on March 5, 2008. He was turned over to Chapel Hill police on March 12. Police also charged Lawrence Alvin Lovett, Jr. on March 12 in connection with the Carson murder. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Atwater, after new evidence suggests he and Lovett both shot Carson with two separate guns.

Fast Facts

1. Age at time of arrest: 21
2. Residence: Durham, North Carolina
3. Atwater in court for previous gun charges two days before Carson's death
4. Lovett also charged with murder of Duke student Abhijit Mahato
5. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, which has not been used in North Carolina since it was reintroduced in 1984
6. Charged with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, felonious larceny, armed robbery and felonious possession of stolen goods
7. Police believe Atwater and Lovett are the individuals shown in ATM photos driving Carson's Toyota Highlander.
8. ATM photos showing a man trying to use Carson's ATM card are also believed to be Atwater.
9. Prosecutors claim Atwater and Lovett kidnapped Eve Carson around 4 a.m. on March 5, 2008, stole her car, drove her to several ATMs to withdraw money, and shot her later that morning

Background

On March 5, 2008, 22-year-old student body president Carson was found shot multiple times in a street near the UNC campus. The Athens, Georgia, native was last seen alive at 1 a.m. that morning.