DEL.ICIO.USN.C. police circulate photo of possible suspect in Carson slaying
Funeral for UNC student Eve Carson will be Sunday in Athens
Published on: 03/07/08
North Carolina authorities said Saturday they continue to pursue "several leads" in the shooting death of 22-year-old Athens native Eve Marie Carson.
Police investigating the death of Carson, the student body president at the University of North Carolina, are circulating a photo of a possible suspect.
 Handout/MCT |
| Eve Marie Carson |
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| Police in Chapel Hill released this ATM camera image of a possible suspect. |
Sgt. L.B. Evans, the watch commander in the neighboring city of Durham, said his department was given the photo.
Saturday night at the UNC-Duke basketball game in Durham — amid the hubbub of the teams’ huge rivalry — there was a moment of silence. UNC players had “Eve” stitched in small blue circles on their uniforms, and people on both sides of the court wore Carolina blue lapel ribbons to honor Carson’s life.
Chapel Hill (N.C.) Police Chief Brian Curran said detectives don't have the names of any suspects.
Twice in the hours after learning Carson had been shot to death early Wednesday on a city street not far from campus, thousands of students, staff and faulty gathered to mourn her death. The tears continued to flow Friday and Saturday, and it's likely the school will hold another memorial service after students return from next week's spring break.
University Chancellor James Moeser plans to lead a delegation of senior administrators to services this weekend for Carson at her home in Athens. The Board of Trustees, meanwhile, has offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in her death.
Authorities say they do not believe there's a connection between the shooting deaths of Carson and Lauren Burk, two Georgia natives attending out-of-state colleges.
Friday afternoon, Curran said his department has been in contact with authorities in Auburn to discuss "surface similarities" between the deaths. Burk was a Auburn University freshman from Marietta.
"We don't believe they are connected," Curran said at a Friday news conference.
Carson was shot to death early Wednesday. "We're very hopeful that we will" solve the case, Curran said Friday afternoon during a half-hour update on the status of the case:
- Police have Carson's laptop computer and are also looking into use of her credit card or cards, Curran said.
- 911 tapes of the two calls made after shots were fired will be released.
- There are no suspects in the case but investigators are following leads in search of clues that will lead them to Carson's killer.
- The medical examiner's initial examination did not reveal signs of a struggle between Carson and her killer.
- Carson was alone before her death. Her roommates had gone out at about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, and had invited her along, but Carson stayed home to study. There was no sign of a break-in there, Curran said.
- He doesn't believe it was "a targeted crime."
Carson's funeral has been set for 3 p.m. Sunday at Athens First United Methodist Church. The community is invited to attend.
Carson was also the student body president at Clarke Central. At UNC, she won the prized Morehead Scholarship and was a pre-med student with a double major in biology and political science.
Carson's death came just one day after the death of Burk, who was found dying of a gunshot wound along a road a few miles from campus Tuesday evening.
Gov. Sonny Perdue said Friday that he has asked Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan to "offer any and all assistance necessary to solve these crimes."
"Mary and I are deeply saddened by the senseless, tragic murders of these two bright and talented Georgians," Perdue said in a statement. "We are praying for their families and friends as well as the campuses and communities that are mourning these painful losses.
"Georgia is Lauren and Eve's home state and we will do everything we can to help authorities in Alabama and North Carolina pursue, capture and convict those responsible for their deaths."
AP staff writer Mike Baker and AJC staff writer Ken Sugiura and contributed to this report.
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