Sentenced to life in prison
By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
HILLSBOROUGH — Demario Atwater pleaded guilty on Monday in state court to first-degree murder in connection with the death of former UNC Student Body President Eve Carson.
Under the plea agreement, District Attorney Jim Woodall agreed to drop the death penalty in exchange for a guilty plea carrying a sentence of life without parole. Carson, an Athens, Ga. native who came to UNC as a Morehead-Cain scholar, was shot and killed in a robbery during the early-morning hours of March 5, 2008.
Atwater, 23, one of two suspects in the slaying of Carson, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, first-degree kidnapping, possession of a firearm by a felon, felonious larceny and possession of a weapon of mass destruction.
Atwater said little during the hearing except to answer “yes†or “no†to questions from Judge Allen Baddour. Atwater did not address Carson’s parents, Bob Carson and Teresa Bethke, or her younger brother, Andrew Carson, who sat together in the front row.
Atwater’s mother, Peggy Maybrey, sat opposite the Carson family and began to cry as Woodall discussed the details surrounding Carson’s death.
During the hearing, Woodall explained how officers were able to arrest Atwater based on statements made to police by individuals who came forward with information about the case, including Atwater’s girlfriend at the time, Shanita Love.
“He had told her everything about what had happened that day,†Woodall said, adding that Love knew details about the case that had not been released to the public, including the types of weapons used – a sawed-off Harrington and Richardson 12-gauge shotgun and a 25-calliber handgun.
Woodall also described in detail what he believed happened the night Carson was murdered. She had stayed home to work on a paper at her Friendly Lane house while her roommates went out and was kidnapped by Atwater and suspect Laurence Alvin Lovette either from inside or just outside her home around 3:30 a.m.
“They were essentially in Chapel Hill looking for people to rob,†Woodall said.
Woodall said they took Carson to two ATMs in her Toyota Highlander, where they withdrew $1,400 from her bank accounts. Atwater and Lovette drove her car back toward downtown Chapel Hill, then turned into a quiet residential neighborhood, he told the court.
It is unclear how Carson ended up outside of the car, in the intersection of Hillcrest Drive and Hillcrest Circle. Woodall said Lovette shot Carson four times with a handgun, but the medical examiner believed she would have still been alive and able to communicate at that point. According to Woodall, Atwater then shot Carson in the head, a wound that was immediately fatal. She also had a wound to her right hand, which medical examiners believe came from the shotgun as she was trying to shield her face.
During sentencing, both Woodall and Baddour became emotional.
“This is indeed a sad day,†Baddour said. “Things that we do in court are not statements. They’re not meant to be a statement. What we do instead is seek some measure of justice, and while we strive to achieve perfect justice, we’re usually forced to accept something less than that.
“Mr. Atwater, what you have admitted to doing was senseless,†he said. “It does require that you spend the rest of your life in prison, and that is some measure of justice.â€
Carson’s attorney, Wade Smith, gave a statement on behalf of the Carson family.
“We won’t be talking to the court about how our lives are diminished without Eve,†he read from their statement. “The effects of her death are both obvious and personal. We choose not to confront Demario Atwater. The selfishness of taking another’s life is incomprehensible…. Today’s outcome is neither adequate nor good, but the court’s acceptance of the guilty plea with a sentence of life in prison honors our wishes.â€
Woodall said the family’s wishes were a major factor in his decision to accept Atwater’s plea.
“They needed to have closure,†he said.
In addition, Woodall said it was his understanding that Carson would have been opposed to the death penalty.
The plea comes a little more than a month after a similar deal for Atwater in federal court, in which officials agreed to take the death penalty off the table in exchange for a guilty plea with a sentence of life without parole. Atwater is scheduled for sentencing in federal court on Sept. 23.
The state cannot seek the death penalty against Lovette because he was 17 at the time of the murder. Woodall said he would know more about the timeline for Lovette’s trial by the end of June.