GASTONIA, N.C. — The lead investigator in the murder of UNC Charlotte student Ira Yarmolenko spent all Thursday testifying in court during the third day of Mark Carver's evidentiary hearing.
Carver was convicted of murdering Yarmolenko following a highly-publicized trial in 2011, and the evidence collected by Mount Holly Police Sgt. William Terry's played a critical role in that trial.
Carver has long maintained his innocence, and his new attorneys at the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence hope this week's evidentiary hearing will lead to his conviction being dropped or a new trial.
During the third day of the evidentiary hearing, Carver's attorney, Chris Mumma, focused on poking holes in Sgt. Terry's original investigation.
They spent time discussing Carver's police interrogation video, which Mumma argued, showed police asked leading questions to coerce information out of Carver.
Mumma also spent time questioning the forensics in this case, particularly if detectives at the original crime scene contaminated evidence.
District Attorney Locke Bell spent the hearing focused on proving police conducted proper investigation and pursued all possible leads in a timely fashion.
The evidentiary hearing will resume Friday morning, and Mumma confirmed Carver, himself, will be brought onto the stand in the coming days.