Man convicted of killing Chapel Hill woman seeks new trial
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (WTVD) -- Next month will be nine years since a college student from Chapel Hill was found murdered along a river outside Charlotte.
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On Thursday, the man convicted of killing Ira Yarmolenko is expected back in court arguing for a new trial.
In 2008, Yarmolenko was found dead on the banks of the Catawba River.
The 20-year-old was a student at UNC Charlotte.
Seven months later, police arrested two men who were fishing near Yarmolenko the day she died.
One of those men, Neal Cassada, died of a heart attack the day before his trial began.
The other man, Mark Carver, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Carver insists he's innocent and Thursday his lawyer plans to appeal his conviction, arguing the state wrongly withheld evidence and his previous attorneys did not effectively represent him.
In his 2011 trial, his defense called no witnesses and presented no evidence.
Prosecutors say they are confident they have the right guy behind bars.
They say DNA evidence was found on Yarmolenko's car that match both Carver and Cassada.
