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Man convicted of killing UNC Charlotte student trying to get conviction tossed out

On Tuesday, a judge could decide to grant Mark Carver a new trial, uphold the conviction, or dismiss all charges against him.

GASTONIA, N.C. — There's a new chapter in a brutal crime -- right in our own backyard.

Seven years ago, Mark Carver was convicted of killing a UNC Charlotte student in Mount Holly.

Ten years after the crime, he's returning to the courtroom to try to get that murder conviction tossed out.

The body of 20-year-old UNC Charlotte student Ira Yarmelnko was found along the banks of the Catawba River with her car nearby. Carver was sentenced to life in prison for her murder.

Before his trial, Carver spoke to us in a rare jailhouse interview, claiming he was innocent. 

"I never seen her before in my life," he said.

But prosecutors said Carver's DNA was on Yarmalenko's car, and he was convicted. Attorneys for Carver said the DNA evidence was bad and asked for the conviction be thrown out.

Carver's defense attorney is with the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence and filed a 23-page motion. That means on Tuesday, a judge could decide to grant a new trial, uphold Carver's conviction, or dismiss all charges against him -- and set him free.

It's been a long and painful journey for Yarmalenko's family. NBC Charlotte has spoken to her brother many times over the years. In the months just before police made an arrest in his sister's case, he made a public plea asking the murderer to come forward. 

I have no doubt once you realize how deeply you hurt us, you have no choice but to surrender if you have any shred of decency left," he said.

Neither Locke Bell, the district attorney, or Carver's defense attorney would talk on camera.

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