Criminal Practice – Murder — Evidence – Circumstantial – DNA at Crime Scene

Criminal Practice – Murder — Evidence – Circumstantial – DNA at Crime Scene (access required)

State v. Carver At the time the victim’s strangled body was discovered beside her car on the bank of the Catawba River, defendant was fishing a short distance away and had been there for several hours. Defendant repeatedly denied ever touching the victim’s vehicle, but DNA found on the victim’s car was, with an extremely high probability, matched to defendant. Under State v. Miller, 289 N.C. 1, 220 S.E.2d 572 (1975), the state’s circumstantial evidence was sufficient to survive defendant’s motion to dismiss.

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