ORANGE COUNTY — ORANGE COUNTY: Chapel Hill Police announced a $25,000 reward Friday for information leading to the arrest of a suspect in the murder of the University of North Carolina's student body president.
Eve Marie Carson, 22, was last seen alive 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, when she stayed behind at home to do schoolwork while her roommates went out, authorities said. Police believe her murder was a random act.
Authorities are currently looking into Carson's credit card and ATM activity to determine if robbery was a motive in her death.
Investigators have not found any evidence to indicate that Carson knew her killer, Lt. Kevin Gunter, spokesman for the Chapel Hill Police Department, told WRAL.
Police did confirm Friday afternoon that she was shot with a handgun, but Gunter would not discuss the number of times she was shot or where the bullets hit her.
However, WRAL obtained a stolen vehicle report from police that stated that the "victim was shot in the right temple."
Officers found the body of a young woman about a mile from campus, on the street at the intersection of Hillcrest Road and Hillcrest Circle, after neighbors reported hearing shots about 5 a.m. Wednesday.
"My information is she was an extraordinarily busy woman and it wasn't unusual for her to go to the office in the middle of the night," police Chief Brian Curran said. "But we don't know that's what she was doing."
Police publicly identified the shooting victim as Carson on Thursday, and Curran said her death appeared to be a random act. The senior from Athens, Georgia, had been shot several times, including at least once in the head, police said. Officials said they had no suspects and no arrests had been made.
Curran said detectives had no evidence other than her car, and the medical examiner said they was no indication that Carson had been sexually assaulted.
Curran told The News & Observer of Raleigh that police believe that the perpetrator was in Carson's car at some point.
"We have lost someone whom we cherish and love," university Chancellor James Moeser told a massive crowd on the school's Polk Place quad at a memorial service held Thursday - one of two held that day. "We're all in a state of shock."
Police found Carson's vehicle, a blue 2005 Toyota Highlander with Georgia plates, after receiving a tip Thursday afternoon from a witness who spotted it near Franklin Street, the main drag though the popular college town about 45 minutes west of Raleigh.
"We saw it on the news and we heard the woman is the president of the student body, and she (his wife) goes, 'Oh my God, I just found the car,'" said Toby Rice, of Chapel Hill. "She called 911. She took pictures of it with her Blackberry."
Moeser said he got a call early Thursday morning that Carson was the apparent victim. "It was shocking," he said. "I sat down and said `Oh my God.' I couldn't believe this."
Curran said police had been in contact with authorities in Alabama investigating the killing of a female student at Auburn University, but added that the cases do not appear to be connected.
Moeser said there was nothing to link Carson's slaying to anyone on campus, and Curran said police don't know what she was doing in the upscale residential area where her body was found.
A giant crowd of students, staff and faculty gathered on the North Carolina campus Thursday afternoon to remember Carson. Students passed out daisies and carnations, and large boards were erected for students to leave written memories. Dozens of counselors from both North Carolina and nearby Duke University were available to talk to students.
"The strange thing, how the last time I saw her we made the types of plans where you know you're going to run into someone," said Keegan DeLancie, a senior from Los Angeles and fellow Morehead scholar "I'd like to think somehow we will again."
Students met again after nightfall for a candlelight vigil at The Pit, a popular campus gathering spot. A campus a cappella group sang Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" as a slide show of pictures from Carson's life played on a 10-foot screen.
"If they saw a smile on Eve's face, they were smiling," said Carly Swain of Charlotte, a double major in journalism and drama. "If she was having fun, they had fun for a second because that's the kind of power she had over people."
Carson was a prestigious Morehead-Cain scholar and a North Carolina Fellow, taking part in a four-year leadership development program for undergraduates. A premed student, she majored in political science and biology, taught science at a Chapel Hill elementary school, studied abroad in Cuba, and spent summers volunteering in Ecuador, Egypt and Ghana as part of a school program.
"I credit my prior experiences, especially my past two Morehead summers, for preparing me to get along with pretty much whatever comes my way," she wrote in an e-mail posted on the Morehead Web site.
In her position as student body president, she was a member of the university's Board of Trustees. At inauguration, she said, "This year will be a year of growth and inclusion. ... What an amazing year this is going to be."
Moeser said he last saw Carson on Tuesday, at the Tar Heels men's basketball game against Florida State.
"This is a tragedy magnified and multiplied by the number and depth of relationships, many relationships that Eve Carson had on this campus," Moeser told the students. "This enormous throng is a testament to the many and deep relationships.
"Eve Carson personified the Carolina spirit."
Carson is the daughter of Bob Carson and Teresa Bethke. A man answering the phone at Bob Carson's business, Carson Advisory Inc. in Athens, said the family had no comment.
Maxine Easom, the principal of Clarke Central High School in Athens, where Carson graduated as valedictorian in 2004 and was also elected student body president, said she and staff members learned of her death Thursday morning.
"We're devastated," Easom said. "Eve was just the most wonderful young woman you would ever want to know. She was brilliant. She was absolutely beautiful. Everything she did was aimed at helping other people. It's one of the greatest tragedies I've ever known. Eve was one of the young women who could change the world."
If you have any information on this case, call NC WANTED toll free at 1.866.43.WANTED (1.866.439.2683) or click on "Report a Tip" Your identity can be kept confidential.
From an Earlier Report
Her car was parked on North Street near Hillsboro Street, but it was not clear how long it had been there, authorities said. The car did not immediately appear to be damaged.
A North Street resident contacted police after seeing the car parked there around 2 p.m. Thursday. Police are asking anyone who may have seen the blue 2005 Toyota Highlander with Georgia license plate AIV-6690 between 1:30 a.m. Wednesday and midday Thursday to come forward.
The SUV is being processed at the town's operations center for evidence in Carson's death.
The North Street and Hillsboro Street intersection is only a few blocks from where Carson lived on Friendly Lane. Her body was found a little more than a mile away. Both Carson's home and the location where police recovered her car are within walking distance of the University of North Carolina's Chapel Hill campus.
Authorities have not revealed whether they have any suspects in the case.
