Officer Chalita N. Thomas, pulled off the case in early March because of a drunken-driving charge, went by Lovette's mother's home in Durham once in late February, according to the probation records, but he was not there.

Then, on the day Lovette was charged with murder in the deaths of UNC-Chapel Hill student body president Eve Carson and Duke University graduate student Abhijit Mahato, Thomas added a backdated account of missed meetings and phone calls into computer records, according to probation records.

The late entries, five in all, violate Division of Community Corrections policies, which require officers to record their notes by the end of the next business day. Keith Acree, a spokesman for the state Department of Correction, said the postdated account is one of the areas an internal investigation is examining.

The investigation has been under way since the arrest of Lovette and Demario Atwater, 21, another murder suspect in the Carson case under the probation system's watch. That investigation is due to end late this week or early next, Acree said.

"As we look at this, we're uncovering many things," Acree said. "We've got some questions about management and hiring practices."

Lovette, a 17-year-old with a juvenile criminal record, was put on probation in the adult system Jan. 16, the day he pleaded guilty to larceny and breaking and entering. Because his juvenile record was not available for public scrutiny during his adult court hearings, Lovette was given a probation sentence that called for monthly contact with his officer.

As Lovette battled his legal troubles, Thomas, the woman assigned to check up on him, was having problems of her own.

In late December, less than two years after being convicted of driving while impaired in March 2006, Thomas, was charged with a second DWI. Such offenses are supposed to be reported to supervisors immediately and an officer is to be put on administrative duty, Acree said.

Correction officials had not determined late Tuesday why Thomas was not put on administrative duty until March 7, two days after Carson's death.

Thomas could not be reached for comment.

Her postdated account of her supervision of Lovette's case describes at least two cell phone conversations with him.

One brief entry

The only entry made before March 13, the day Lovette was charged in Carson's March 5 homicide and Mahato's Jan. 18 death, was brief. It described a visit Feb. 28 to the home of Lovette's mother.

Lovette "was not present at the home, but mother confirmed that defendant lives at 1213 Shepherd St. ... Defendant lives in a tan house with beige shutters. Defendant house is located on the right side of the street with a red door."

An entry made March 13 describes a more urgent attempt to contact Lovette on Feb. 28, with a warning left on the door.

"This door tag ... stated that if defendant didn't call this PPO [probation-parole officer] back by 2/29/08 at approximately 9:00 hrs. an order for arrest would be issued."

On March 3, two days before Carson was killed, Lovette called Thomas on her cell phone, according to the probation records. The Durham probation offices were moving, according to Thomas' account, so Lovette was given an appointment for March 10.

It was unclear whether Thomas was taken off the Lovette case before or after her change in job status March 7.

But in an entry for March 10, recorded three days after the fact, the officer describes a phone call from Lovette's mother.

"Defendant's mother called this PPO at approximately 11:15 a.m.," the entry states. According to the notes, Lovette's mother said a Durham detective had been calling the house looking for her son, hoping to get him to turn himself in on a stolen property case.

"Defendant's mother stated that it was over a pair of shoes that they stated he had taken from another guy," the entry said. "This PPO informed defendant's mother that I was not supervising my caseload at this current time and I would forward this information to my supervisor."

It was unclear whether the supervisor ever received the information.