During closing arguments Monday, prosecutors said Eve Carson used her greatest skill — her ability to connect to and talk with people — even in the last moments before she was murdered in 2008.
Carson prayed with her abductors and tried to reason with them. But her attempts were fruitless.
Prosecutors say Laurence Alvin Lovette, along with his Demario “Rio” Atwater, abducted Carson from her Chapel Hill home in the early hours of March 5, took her to at least one ATM to withdraw money, and finally shot her to death in a Chapel Hill neighborhood close to campus.
Lovette is on trial for the murder of Carson, the 2008 UNC student body president, who was found shot to death in an intersection about a mile from campus.
In a crowded Hillsborough courtroom, prosecutors urged jurors to look at evidence and testimonies presented in court in the past eight days that link Lovette to Carson’s violent murder.
Woodall told jurors to ignore questions from the defense regarding the credibility of witnesses, some of whom have criminal records.
He said the witness’ criminal history was likely a reason Lovette chose them to help to dispose the weapons.
“You don’t get the choir boys and good Samaritans to help you throw away murder weapons,” he said. “The key is the information they give line up with the evidence.”
Prosecutors contend that Lovette shot Carson four times with a .25-caliber handgun, and Atwater fired a fifth shot from a sawed-off shotgun to Carson’s right temple.
