Autopsy: Man found in car died of stab wound to chest

A man found dead inside a car that crashed in northeast Raleigh on April 8 died of a stab wound to the chest, according to an autopsy report released Tuesday.

Calvin Eric Dae Jr., 21, was found inside a 1996 Cadillac that hit a mailbox and ended up in a ditch in the 7200 block of Parott Drive.

The autopsy showed that he also had wounds on his neck, forearm and finger.

A resident living in the neighborhood, who said he called 911, said he found a man lying in the front seat facing the back of the car. Blood was everywhere, he said, and the man was dead.

"It didn't look right to me," said the resident, who asked not to be identified. "From what I saw, the wreck and the car – I couldn’t tell where the blood came from."

On April 17, police arrested Chandler “Chant” Cooley-Davis Avery and charged him with Dae’s death.

A search of the car in which Dae was found yielded blood, fingerprints belonging to the suspect and a “homemade shank with metal knife blade and electrical tape handle,” a warrant said.

In the warrant application, Det. T.P. Hughes wrote that Dae was cut in the throat and chest in ways inconsistent with a car crash.

Police also searched a vehicle registered to Talonda Goodson, a cousin of the suspect. According to the warrant, Avery was living in Goodson’s car before Dae’s death.