Newspaper asks for Eve Carson autopsy results to be released

Hillsborough, N.C. — The News & Observer filed a motion Monday opposing the Orange County district attorney's request to seal the results of the autopsy of murdered UNC student Eve Carson.

Last week, Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour ordered that the results remain under seal to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation into the 22-year-old Athens, Ga., senior's death.

Arguments on the matter might be heard next week, court officials said.

In a motion earlier this month to seal the report, District Attorney Jim Woodall said there are details about Carson's death that should remain confidential and that releasing the report could cause speculation about the significance of those details.

Several search warrants relating to the case are also under seal for similar reasons. The Durham Herald-Sun filed a similar motion asking that those documents be released, but Baddour ruled that affidavits attached to the warrants contain descriptions and details about the case that could lead to the identification of confidential informants.

Demario James Atwater, 21, and Laurence Alvin Lovette Jr., 17, are each charged with first-degree murder in Carson's death.

Police found Carson, 22, dead near the UNC campus while responding to reports of gunfire on the morning of March 5. Authorities have never said exactly how she died. A stolen-vehicle report filed when her car was found elsewhere in Chapel Hill, however, indicated she was shot in the head.