Eve Carson

Attorneys for two men suspected of killing a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student body president want access to information phoned in by tipsters.

Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour said Wednesday he would rule next week on whether to allow access to information the Crime Stoppers program promises will stay anonymous.

Prosecutors say releasing the material would compromise a vital crime-fighting tool.

Demario Atwater and Laurence Lovette face murder and other charges in the death of 22-year-old Eve Carson.   Earlier this month, an attorney for Atwater said it’d be impossible for the two men to receive a fair trial anywhere in North Carolina. Attorneys for Atwater filed a motion asking to move the federal trial out of state due to “extensive” media coverage which they claim has already influenced possible jurors. A state-wide survey, included in the motion, found that 80-percent of those asked had heard about the Eve Carson murder with 52-percent believing that Atwater is guilty of the crime.

Lovette was in court Wednesday. Atwater chose not to appear.

Atwater is facing the death penalty on charges that include first-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery, felonious larceny and possession of stolen goods.  In March of last year, Carson was taken from her home, forced to withdraw money from her ATM and then shot to death in Chapel Hill.

Her body was found at the intersection of Hillcrest Circle and Hillcrest Drive.   Laurence Alvin Lovette Jr., is accused of killing Carson and is facing first-degree murder. However because of his age, he cannot be sentenced to death. He was only 17 at the time Carson was killed.