Utah Man Released from Death Row After DNA Evidence Excludes Him from 1985 Murder

<p>A Utah man who spent decades on death row after being convicted of killing a police chief's aunt has been released following the analysis of new DNA evidence that excluded him as the source of DNA found on key pieces of evidence in the case.</p><p>Douglas Stewart Carter, 71, was released on bail late Monday despite objections from the victim's family. He is required to wear a GPS monitor while awaiting a new trial for the murder of Eva Olesen, who was discovered tied up, stabbed, and shot in her Provo home on February 27, 1985, during what investigators suspected was a robbery.</p><p>A judge has ordered him not to contact Olesen's family.</p><p>The Utah Supreme Court mandated a new trial last year, citing misconduct by investigators.</p><p>Carter has consistently maintained his innocence, claiming that he was coerced into signing a confession.</p><p>No physical evidence linked Carter to the crime scene; however, the jury convicted him based on his confession and the testimony of two witnesses who later recanted their statements, claiming he bragged about the murder.</p><p>A DNA analysis received on September 22 excluded Carter as a possible match to blood found on a doorknob and genetic material recovered from the handle of a knife used in the stabbing.</p><p>Judge Derek Pullan noted that these findings further weakened the case against Carter, although a jury could still determine that he killed Olesen.</p><p>Carter's son, Tyler Anger, expressed concern for his father as he awaited his release.</p><p>Carter will stay in an extended stay hotel near Anger, who was adopted by another family and learned about his father's conviction years later, according to Carter's attorney, Neal Hamilton.</p><p>Hamilton stated that Carter will require therapy to cope with his long incarceration.</p><p>He also urged prosecutors to dismiss the aggravated murder charge still pending against Carter.</p><p>A two-month retrial was scheduled for next year, but county prosecutors recently withdrew their intent to pursue the death penalty.</p><p>Utah County prosecutor Erwin Petilos informed the judge that reassessing Carter's bail was "necessary and fair" as the state continues to evaluate the remaining evidence in the case.</p><p>Carter was living with his mother in Utah when Olesen was murdered. By April 1985, he had left Utah, believing he was a suspect in an unrelated assault case. He was detained two months later in Nashville, where he signed a confession during interrogation by a Provo detective.</p><p>Carter later claimed that his confession was coerced, stating that he falsely admitted to the crime after police threatened him repeatedly.</p><p>He was convicted and sentenced to death after a trial where the defense did not call any witnesses. After a retrial in 1992, he was again sentenced to death, and multiple appeals were denied by Utah courts.</p><p>In 2011, the two witnesses from Carter's original trial were located in Mexico, where they admitted they had been instructed to lie in court and had received payments from police for their testimonies. They claimed police threatened them and their son with deportation if they did not implicate Carter in the murder.</p><p>Following over a decade of legal battles, the Utah Supreme Court intervened last year, ordering a new trial due to "multiple instances of intentional misconduct" by police and a prosecutor. A DNA analysis of the evidence was conducted as a result of that order, with prosecutors stating that the results, which excluded Carter from the crime, arrived last week.</p><p>Prosecutors did not disclose whether they would use the DNA evidence to search for other suspects.</p><p>Carter's attorneys, who noted that he is Black, stated that witnesses reported seeing a White man fleeing the crime scene and that an investigator suppressed evidence that could implicate other suspects, including the victim’s husband, Orla Olesen.</p><p>Prosecutors were close to filing charges against the husband, but a Provo police lieutenant advised against it to continue the investigation, according to defense attorneys. Carter was subsequently identified as a suspect, according to court documents.</p><p>Orla Olesen, who passed away in 2009, told police he found his wife dead in their home, partially undressed and with her hands tied behind her back.</p><p>During the bond hearing on Monday, Theresa Olesen, a daughter-in-law of Eva Olesen, expressed her family's "serious concerns" regarding Carter's release, stating, "By golly we were hoping for a concrete match. It doesn't mean he wasn't there. We just want justice for Eva. And if he had any part of it we want that to be known."</p><p><i>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</i></p>