PASSAGE ONE OF THE DAY: "The lawsuit makes accusations against North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation DNA analysts Karen Winningham, now deceased, and Kristin Hughes. It claims they manipulated DNA test results from a low-quality sample taken from the victim's car to falsely implicate Carver. "The DNA sample sent to the SBI Lab was a low-quality sample," the complaint states. "Based on missing data and manipulation of testing to reach a certain result, the DNA results should not have been reported as a 'match' to Plaintiff."
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "The suit also alleges that SBI agent David Crow and Mount Holly Police Detective William Terry misrepresented Carver's statements during interrogations, taking advantage of his intellectual disabilities to create false admissions of guilt. According to the complaint, law enforcement failed to disclose potentially exculpatory evidence, including witness statements about seeing another person near the crime scene."
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PASSAGE THREE OF THE DAY: "The lawsuit brings 11 separate claims under federal civil rights law, including violations of due process, unlawful seizure, malicious prosecution, and failure to train officers properly. Carver is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorney fees."
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STORY: "Wrongfully convicted Gaston County man files lawsuit against law enforcement, DNA analysts," by Author Nathaniel Puente, published by WCNC, on August 25, 2025.
SUB-HEADING: "Mark Carver spent nearly a decade in prison for a murder conviction that was later overturned."
GIST: "A Mt. Holly man who spent nearly a decade in prison for a murder he did not commit has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against law enforcement officials and DNA analysts he claims fabricated evidence that led to his wrongful conviction.
Mark Carver filed the complaint on Aug. 8 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, seeking unspecified damages from eight defendants, including police officers, crime lab analysts, and the city of Mount Holly.
The lawsuit stems from the 2008 murder of Irina Yarmolenko, a University of North Carolina at Charlotte student whose body was found strangled on an embankment of the Catawba River. Carver was convicted of the crime in 2011 but had his conviction vacated years later. Charges against him were finally dismissed in August 2022.
According to the lawsuit, Carver was fishing on the Catawba River on May 5, 2008, when Yarmolenko's body was discovered.
Yarmolenko had been strangled with ligatures from her own vehicle after her car struck a tree stump near the riverbank.
The complaint alleges that law enforcement focused on Carver as a suspect based on three main pieces of evidence: his proximity to the crime scene while fishing, statements he allegedly made to detectives describing the victim, and DNA evidence purportedly linking him to the victim's car.
Carver's attorneys argue all three elements were either fabricated or misrepresented.
They contend that Carver, who is illiterate with first-grade reading skills and significant physical disabilities including carpal tunnel syndrome, would not have been physically capable of committing the murder.
The lawsuit makes accusations against North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation DNA analysts Karen Winningham, now deceased, and Kristin Hughes. It claims they manipulated DNA test results from a low-quality sample taken from the victim's car to falsely implicate Carver.
"The DNA sample sent to the SBI Lab was a low-quality sample," the complaint states. "Based on missing data and manipulation of testing to reach a certain result, the DNA results should not have been reported as a 'match' to Plaintiff."
The suit also alleges that SBI agent David Crow and Mount Holly Police Detective William Terry misrepresented Carver's statements during interrogations, taking advantage of his intellectual disabilities to create false admissions of guilt.
According to the complaint, law enforcement failed to disclose potentially exculpatory evidence, including witness statements about seeing another person near the crime scene.
Carol Ingle reportedly told police she saw a young white man driving a car similar to Yarmolenko's at high speed near the scene, then saw the same man walking along the road about 30 minutes later.
Another witness, Angel Beatty, allegedly told police she saw a Black male running from the crime scene area while soaking wet and carrying a book bag. Neither statement was disclosed to Carver's defense team, according to the lawsuit.
Carver was represented by the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence in seeking relief from his conviction. A Superior Court judge vacated his conviction, and when the state appealed, the North Carolina Court of Appeals ultimately dismissed the appeal.
Despite the court rulings, the previous Gaston County District Attorney initially expressed the intention to retry Carver. However, a newly elected district attorney finally dismissed all charges against him in August 2022.
The lawsuit brings 11 separate claims under federal civil rights law, including violations of due process, unlawful seizure, malicious prosecution, and failure to train officers properly. Carver is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorney fees.
The defendants include the estates of deceased officials, current and former law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, and the City of Mount Holly. The case demands a jury trial."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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