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Published: Mar 09, 2008 12:30 AM
Modified: Mar 09, 2008 03:05 AM

Photos are break in Carson case

Police won't call the man a suspect but say he used the slain UNC student's ATM card

CHAPEL HILL - Police are looking for a young man who used an ATM card belonging to slain UNC-Chapel Hill student body president Eve Carson, but they have stopped short of calling him a suspect in her homicide.

Chapel Hill Police Chief Brian Curran said investigators have not identified the man whose photo was captured by a surveillance camera as he used the ATM. They can only say that he appears to be black and in his late teens or early 20s.

In photos released Saturday, the man appears to be wearing gloves, a hooded sweatshirt or parka and a ball cap with a star on it. Chapel Hill police also released a photo of a Houston Astros baseball cap that looks similar. Experts say the vintage Astros cap with an H superimposed on the star is popular with some gangs.

Curran said the ATM photos were taken in the Chapel Hill area but would not say specifically where or when.

"This is our biggest break so far in this case," he said at a news conference Saturday morning. "I know we're still in the first couple of days of this. But this is our strongest lead right now, and we're hopeful that we're able to get this guy identified."

Curran said the ATM camera captured images of the man in a sport utility vehicle with a roof rack. The SUV may be Carson's 2005 Toyota Highlander. He referred to the man in the photos as "a person of interest."

Curran said police are putting together a timeline using Carson's cell-phone records but said they have not found her keys or her wallet. He repeated that investigators have no evidence to suggest Carson was specifically targeted.

"We believe, at this point, it feels like a random crime," Curran said.

Carson, 22, was found in the Hillcrest neighborhood northeast of the UNC-Chapel Hill campus about 5:15 a.m. Wednesday with gunshot wounds, including one to the head. She was carrying no identification, and it was not until Thursday that police announced that they had confirmed her identity.

Carson's Toyota Highlander was discovered Thursday afternoon on North Street, around the corner from her house at Friendly Lane.

The Associated Press reported Friday that Carson was shot in the right temple, something Curran did not confirm or deny Saturday.

"Those are questions we would like to ask the suspect," he said.

Carson's roommates told police that they had gone out at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday and that she had stayed home alone to study. Curran said Saturday that police think Carson might have left her house later to make copies for school.

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REMEMBERING EVE

The memorial service for Eve Carson will be held at 3 p.m. today at the First United Methodist Church, 327 N. Lumpkin St. in Athens, Ga.

Memorial donations may be directed to the Clarke County Foundation for Excellence in Public Education, P.O. Box 1708, Athens, GA 30603, or any other charity of your choice.

POLICE SEEK TIPS

Police are still interested in speaking with anyone who thinks they saw Eve Carson's Toyota Highlander between 1:30 a.m. Wednesday and midday Thursday. The blue SUV has Georgia license plates AIV-6690.

The UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees has pledged $25,000 to the Carrboro-Chapel Hill-UNC Crime Stoppers program for a reward for information leading to the arrest of a person or persons responsible for Eve Carson's death. Police ask anyone with information about the case to call Crime Stoppers at 942-7515 or visit www.crimestoppers-chcunc.org.

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