Demario Atwater, left, is in custody. Lawrence Lovette, Jr., right, is still at large.
HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. -- A convicted felon has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the death of UNC student body president Eve Carson. A second felon, a 17-year-old Durham teenager, is also sought in the case.
Demario James Atwater, 21, of Durham, made his first court appearance at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, hours after police forcefully led him into the police station early Wednesday morning while he drug his feet.
Chapel Hill police Chief Brian Curran says Lawrence Alvin Lovette Jr., 17, is the second suspect, and despite efforts by a Durham SWAT team, he was not apprehended Wednesday.
Durham Police blockaded a neighborhood along Shepherd Street on Wednesday. Lori Hilliard, a teacher from Camelot Academy, said police placed her school and another, Morehead Montessori, on lockdown while they searched for the suspect.
News 14 Carolina's Shelvia Dancy is in Chapel Hill with the latest arrest information in the case.
Watch the entire Chapel Hill police news conference from Wednesday where they detail the arrest and suspects.
News 14 Carolina’s Gavin MacRoberts has more on the search for the second suspect.
“He remains at large and we need your help in locating this individual. Lawrence Alvin Lovette Jr. should be considered armed and dangerous. We would encourage citizens not to approach him if they see him,” Curran said, asking that if you have any information about where Lovette is located, you call CrimeStoppers at (919) 942-7515.
Curran did not know about the SWAT activities in Durham at the time of his 4:30 p.m. news conference in Chapel Hill. Durham police surrounded a residence they believed Lovette was located at, but aerial photos from the scene show that police raided the house and did not find anyone inside.
Carson, 22, was found shot to death last week in Chapel Hill less than a mile from the UNC campus. The murder shocked the small college town, and thousands of students turned out to remember Carson at large public gatherings, candlelight vigils and makeshift memorials.
“As encouraging as the developments today are, we are still a community in grief,” Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy said. “We have come together during this difficult time to comfort each other and to help heal our community, but we also still must offer comfort to a family in mourning, to Eve’s family.”
A CrimeStoppers tip Tuesday night alerted police to Atwater’s home.
Demario James Atwater
“Early this morning, the Chapel Hill Police Department received information that the individual appearing in the convenience store photograph that we released earlier was possibly in a residence in Durham,” Curran said. “Chapel Hill police investigators then notified the Durham police authorities and surveillance of this location was established.
“At approximately 5 a.m., Demario James Atwater, 21-years old, was taken into police custody after he was observed leaving the residence.”
Lawrence Alvin Lovette Jr.
Lovette was the individual police first focused in on during the case. He was photographed by an ATM camera while police believe he was driving Carson’s stolen blue 2005 Toyota Highlander. Police later said they thought a second suspect was involved, and that was confirmed when an additional photo turned up from a local convenience store where Carson’s ATM card was again accessed.
The UNC Board of Trustees, of which Carson was a student member, offered a $25,000 reward for information in the case, and Curran said a CrimeStoppers tip helped them find Atwater.
Stay tuned to News 14 Carolina for the latest updates from the investigation as they become available.
Additional Coverage