A Utah man who has lived under a death sentence for roughly 40 years now says the state's case against him should be tossed out entirely, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. Lawyers for Douglas Stewart Carter on Friday asked a judge to dismiss his aggravated murder case, arguing Provo police hid evidence, manipulated witnesses, and diverted attention from other suspects in the 1985 killing of 57-year-old Eva Olesen—who happened to be the aunt of the city's then-police chief. No physical evidence tied Carter to the crime, the Washington Post reports; his conviction was based on a signed confession and the testimony of witnesses who claimed he'd bragged about killing Olesen. Carter says the confession was coerced, Fox 13 Utah reports.
Carter's conviction and death sentence were overturned last year after courts found those witnesses were paid and threatened by police; the witnesses later recanted. The new motion claims the lead investigator suppressed evidence implicating Olesen's husband, Orla, who was the original prime suspect, failed a polygraph, and was nearly charged before that path was abandoned. Critical physical evidence tied to him and another possible suspect has since disappeared, the defense says, and an FBI behavioral report that allegedly did not favor Carter was never turned over. Prosecutors acknowledge much of the evidence is gone but have not fully responded to the allegations. Carter, who is Black, maintains his innocence; Olesen's daughter-in-law says she still believes he is the killer. A bond hearing is set for June.
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