HILLSBOROUGH - A confidential witness told investigators that Demario Atwater said he and Laurence Lovette Jr. took Eve Carson from her home March 5 after entering through an open door, according to search warrants made public Friday.

The documents offered the first detailed public accounts of the crime, in which Atwater and Lovette are accused of killing Carson, the student body president at UNC-Chapel Hill.

According to the witness, Atwater told her he and Lovette forced Carson into the back seat of her Toyota Highlander and drove her to an ATM.

Lovette shot Carson multiple times, and Atwater subsequently shot her with a different weapon, the witness told investigators.

Lovette is also charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of Abhijit Mahato, a Duke University engineering student from Bengal, India. Mahato was found dead Jan. 18, shot during what Durham police have called a citywide robbery spree.

In requesting the warrants, police investigating Carson's murder said they were looking for a shotgun and a .25-caliber pistol. There is no indication they found either weapon.

Based on the description of the crime outlined in the search warrants, Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall said he plans to pursue additional indictments on charges other than first-degree murder. Those might include kidnapping and burglary.

Carson's autopsy report is set to become public Monday and should reveal more details about her death. Her body was found at 5:30 a.m. March 5 on a residential street in Chapel Hill; she was wearing sweat pants and a T-shirt.

Over the next two days, Atwater and Lovette took $1,400 from Carson's bank account, the witness said.

According to the documents, police found the confidential witness through an anonymous tipster who called CrimeStoppers on March 11.

The tipster said she had spoken to a man she knew as "Rio," who told her that he and someone else had taken Carson to an ATM. "Rio" told the caller that he and the other man planned to obtain Carson's bank card PIN before killing her.

The caller then told an investigator the name of the confidential witness she said knew more details.

On March 12, investigators interviewed the confidential witness, who identified "Rio" as Atwater. She said she had spoken with Atwater after learning that his photo had appeared in a March 7 surveillance photo from a BP convenience store at 1002 N. Alston Ave. in Durham. Carson's ATM card was used at the store that day.

Police arrested Atwater on March 12. After his arrest, according to the warrants, he admitted being in Carson's Highlander in Chapel Hill on March 5 and identified himself as the person whose image was captured in the BP security photo, according to the warrants.

He identified Lovette as the person in another surveillance photo taken at an ATM at the Bank of America in Chapel Hill, the warrants state. The next day, police arrested Lovette.

Furthermore, police recorded a cell phone call in which Atwater talked to an informant about his involvement in the crime, according to the documents.

Despite the witness' statements, Woodall said police have not confirmed the suspects were inside Carson's home. At this point, they are not sure, he said.

Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour ordered the release of six search warrants Friday. A seventh was returned to the court clerk by police only this week and remains under seal, as does a written motion by the defense.

Investigation has progressed

Woodall assured Baddour that the police investigation had progressed to the point where releasing the search warrants would not compromise its integrity or the safety of the informants.

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