Skip to content
The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen
Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Community
  • Schools
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Obituaries
  • Sports
  • Mill
  • Flora
  • Print Archive
  • About
Menu

Testimony begins in murder trial

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Staff

By Rose Laudicina
Staff Writer
After a full week of jury selection, the trial began for the State of North Carolina v. Laurence Alvin Lovette on Wednesday with opening statements followed by graphic testimony from witnesses.

Opening statements from District Attorney Jim Woodall outlined what the jurors were to expect from the trial, detailing who would be testifying, what they likely would be saying and what types of evidence would be introduced.

“You are going to hear a lot about how accomplished Eve Carson was, and that in so many ways she was a typical college student,” Woodall said to the jury, comprised of 11 whites and one black.

He also gave a very detailed timeline of the events of the case, including when money was withdrawn from Carson’s account and when calls came in identifying the suspects in the case based on released ATM photos.

Woodall also warned the jury that very early on in the trial they would be shown diagrams outlining where Carson’s body was found, along with graphic crime-scene photos.

He urged the jury to keep an open mind when listening to all the evidence and said that by the end of the trial he hopes the state will have proved, without reasonable doubt, that Lovette is guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, armed robbery, felonious larceny and possession of stolen goods.

In the defense’s brief opening statement, defense attorney Karen Bethea-Shields once again reminded the jurors about the presumption of innocence surrounding her client, saying, “It is not just an ideal; it is real.”

Bethea-Shields told jurors that there is no forensic evidence that proves Lovette killed Carson and that much of the testimony they will hear from friends and family of Atwater should be questioned for bias and ulterior motive.

She likened the trial to a book, with the table of contents being laid out in opening arguments, the content filled by evidence and the last chapter to be written by the jurors with their verdict of not guilty or guilty.

“It is our contention that you will have more questions than answers when the state is done,” she said. “Because you will have more questions, you will have a reasonable doubt and return the verdict of not guilty.”

Graphic testimony
The first witness of the day was the woman who made the call to the Chapel Hill Police Department around 5 a.m. on March 5, 2008, to report that she heard four gunshots in her neighborhood, accompanied by a woman’s screams.

The testimony of one of the first police officers on the scene of the crime, Officer Scott Falise, included vivid descriptions of the way Carson was found, and was accompanied by pictures of the crime scene.

Falise said that after the call came in, he went looking in the general area where the caller said the shots were coming from and saw something lying in the road.

Since there had been a storm earlier that evening, he thought it was a tree branch, but upon getting closer realized it was a woman, Falise said. After seeing the gunshot wound to her head and checking her pulse, he realized she was dead.

Woodall presented 11 graphic photos of Carson’s body and the crime scene over objections from the defense on the grounds of rules stating that if evidence presents prejudice or is confusing or needless, it may be excluded by the court. Judge Allan Baddour overruled the objection.

When Falise presented the photos to the jury, many members of the gallery turned away to avoid seeing them, and multiple jurors showed discomfort.

The state also called as witnesses three friends of Carson. Two were her roommates at the Friendly Lane house from which she was allegedly kidnapped around 3:40 a.m. on March 5.

Carson’s friends gave emotional testimonies about her character, including her habit of running behind schedule and studying at all hours of the night. They also described the events leading up to and following her disappearance, including the fact that around 1:30 a.m., the last time she was seen, she told her roommate to leave the door open to allow a breeze to come through the living room, where she was studying.

The defendant was present during the entire trial and has pled not guilty to all charges.

Web Archive

© 2025 The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme