bvelliquette@heraldsun.com; 419-6632
CHAPEL HILL -- Attorneys for Demario James Atwater, who is facing the death penalty if convicted in U.S. District Court with crimes associated with the slaying of Eve Carson in 2008, have submitted Web site comments as evidence that his trial should be moved out of state.
The attorneys filed a motion on Dec. 11 asking that Atwater's trial be moved out of state because of the media attention the case has received in North Carolina. After stories about their motion appeared on news Web sites, people wrote comments, which the attorneys then submitted as further evidence to their claim that it could be difficult for Atwater to get a fair trial in North Carolina.
"Who cares what this barbarian wants!!!!" one person wrote in the comments section of the Winston-Salem Journal Web site. "Personally, after what he and his pal did to that beautiful, innocent girl, they should receive the VERY SAME TREATMENT that they bestowed upon Eve."
The trial is scheduled to be held in Winston-Salem in May 2010.
Another person wrote: "Move the trial to the nearest gallow."
Carson, 22, was the popular and well-loved student body president at UNC-Chapel Hill at the time of her death. Her body was found March 5, 2008, in a residential neighborhood near campus. She had been shot to death.
Chapel Hill police charged Atwater, 23, and Laurence Alvin Lovette Jr., 19, with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping, believing that they kidnapped Carson from her home off West Rosemary Street, drove her to various ATM's to withdraw money from her bank account, and then shot and killed her.
Later, federal authorities pressed charges against Atwater and said they would seek the death penalty against him, presumably because of the commonly held belief that Orange County juries will not give someone the death penalty.
Because of his age at the time of the crime, Lovette was too young to be eligible for the death penalty.
Several of the people making comments appeared to have their facts mixed up, with some making comments about the trial being in Orange County and another apparently mixing up the identities of Atwater and Lovette.
"Have you not seen the bank video tapes of this monster using the ATM card and smiling?" one person wrote, apparently referring to a photo that law enforcement officials believe is Lovette using Carson's bankcard at a drive-up ATM at the Bank of America in Chapel Hill.
"What a waste of time and money," someone wrote. "If given the opportunity I would personally end his worthless existence. He does not deserve to breath the same air as I do."
A few people argued that people should wait before passing judgment.
"If convicted guilty.. then I'm with whatever the punishment ...Only when Convicted...In the U.S.A. We are innocent until Proven Guilty!"
Another person wrote there's no reason not to change the venue.
"Get him convicted by any means necessary," the person wrote. "If that means moving the trial, so be it. "He may not be able to get a fair trial in the Triangle as the media covered the murder heavily. We must remember that even though he is probably guilty, he is still innocent until proven so. If the evidence is strong enough, he'll get convicted where the trial is held and we can avoid a re-trial. And, once convicted...fry the SOB."
Atwater's attorneys also filed a motion after their initial motion to change venue asking to shorten the response time that the government has to respond to the change of venue motion.
The trial's schedule calls for questionnaires to be sent to prospective jurors by Feb. 8, 2010, and in order to avoid wasting judicial time, the judge should make a decision by Jan. 15, 2010, they said. If a hearing is needed, it could then be heard on Jan. 27, 2010, they said.
