Posted on 05/11/2009 8:45:23 AM PDT by murdoog
GASTONIA, N.C. -- Court documents filed Friday reveal more details in the death of a University of North Carolina at Charlotte student found dead along the banks of the Catawba River.
Two men are charged in Ira Yarmolenko’s strangling in May 2008. Attorneys for Mark Carver and Neal Cassada Jr. have filed motions asking for modified bond for the suspects. Both were released from jail on bond and given house arrest in February 2009, a little more than two months after their December 2008 arrests.
Carver’s request, filed early Friday, states that Yarmolenko, 20, was found lying on her back next to her car a few feet from the Catawba River in Mount Holly. The documents say a bungee cord was wrapped twice around her neck and hooked in the back, a nylon strap cut from her backpack was wrapped around her neck and tied in the front, and a hooded-sweatshirt drawstring was wrapped around her neck, tied in the front and then wrapped around her neck again and tied in the front again.
Eyewitness News broke the news of Cassada’s motion filed Thursday that revealed DNA evidence recovered from Yarmolenko’s body, under her fingernails and on the items used to strangle her did not match Cassada. Carver’s motion says the DNA tests revealed the same lack of a match for Carver.
Investigators said last year that Cassada’s DNA was found on the outside of Yarmolenko’s car and Carver’s DNA was found on the inside of the car. That evidence was sited as the reason for their arrests, even though another, unidentified person’s DNA was also found on the car.
Carver told Eyewitness News during a jail interview that he is innocent. He said then that he voluntarily gave up his DNA.
“To show I wasn't near her,” he said.
An Eyewitness News report was also mentioned in the bond amendment request filed Friday. On Tuesday, reporter Ken Lemon spoke with District Attorney Locke Bell on the first anniversary of Yarmolenko’s death, and he said the investigation could take more than a year. That would mean the suspects could be living under house arrest for more than a year before they’re tried. The suspects have to pay monthly monitoring fees for the monitoring bracelets.
Both attorneys are asking for a hearing soon to change that. Carver's attorney said the new details raise too many questions to keeps these suspects confined to their homes for so long.
A prosecutor in the case said despite the motions, a dismissal in the case is not likely. He said there is still more evidence to be uncovered, still more investigating to be done and still more test results to come in.
It's starting to look like they have the wrong guys. I am sick about this.
If the original DNA tests are not in error, there could be a third man involve, who hasn’t been ratted out yet.
That’s a possible explanation, and one I’d welcome. I’d hate to think this new evidence means the investigation is back at square one.
This is very unpleasant news.
If they really had the wrong guys, then these guys would have an explanation for how their DNA got in her car. But they deny ever being near her, rather than say that she gave them a ride once....
I've thought about that. It's pretty clear they are lying about being in her car. Some people have proposed they went in their to steal stuff and that's why they were lying. I know that would be stupid of them, but have you seen these guys?
It's the fact that there is no DNA on the murder implements or under her fingernails that bothers me. I suppose it is possible that there is a third culprit (as another poster suggested)and they were accomplices.
I hope you are right and I am wrong. I really want to believe that Cassada and Carver are the right guys. I knew Ira and I want justice for her.
Which is precisely why one should never, ever talk to cops. That goes double if one is actually innocent.
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