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Carver hearing stretches into 4th day with focus on forensics

Mark Carver was convicted of killing UNC Charlotte student Ira Yarmolenko following a 2011 trial. His attorneys are attempting to either get his conviction dropped or secure a new trial.

GASTONIA, N.C. — The fourth day of testimonies wrapped up Friday in the evidentiary hearing for Mark Carver, who's attempting to have his 2011 murder conviction dropped or secure a new trial.

Carver was convicted of strangling to death UNC Charlotte student Ira Yarmolenko, 20, along the banks of the Catawba River back in 2008.

He has long maintained his innocence, and Carver's new attorneys are using this week's hearing to prove his original attorneys failed to pursue several leads that could've avoided his conviction.

Carver's new attorney, Chris Mumma of the NC Center on Actual Innocence, started the day by calling Jim Workman to the stand, a Gaston County Police crime scene investigator who processed Yarmolenko's car for evidence.

At the time, investigators said Carver and his cousin's DNA were found on her car.

However, Workman testified he didn't process the car until two months after the murder, which, Mumma argued, left open multiple opportunities for the car to be contaminated.

Mumma also pointed out Carver and Cassada's DNA weren't found in the drawstring, bag handle and bungee cord used to kill Yarmolenko.

Mumma further described the police investigation as "inept" and accused prosecutors of misrepresenting evidence during trial.

But under cross-examination, District Attorney Locke Bell pointed out Carver's original defense attorneys, Brent Ratchford, and David Phillips made those same points during the original trial.

Bill Stetzer, the original lead prosecutor in the case, also testified in the case.

"For me, the most important aspect is, 'Was the prosecution trying to reach justice in this case or were they just trying to win a case?" Mumma said.

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