Utah Man Released From Death Row After DNA Evidence Excludes Him in 1985 Killing

A 71-year-old man convicted in the 1985 killing of Eva Olesen has been released from Utah's death row after newly analyzed DNA evidence excluded him as a suspect. Douglas Stewart Carter was ordered freed on bail Monday by a Utah judge, despite objections from the victim’s family. He is required to wear a GPS monitor as he awaits a new trial.

The Utah Supreme Court ordered a new trial last year, citing misconduct by investigators. Carter has maintained his innocence, alleging his confession was coerced. No physical evidence initially linked him to the crime scene, but a jury convicted him based on his alleged confession and the testimony of two witnesses who later recanted.

A DNA analysis conducted Sept. 22 excluded Carter as a match to blood found on a doorknob and genetic material from the handle of the knife used in the stabbing and shooting death of Olesen, who was white. Judge Derek Pullan acknowledged the DNA results undermined the case but stated a jury could still potentially find Carter guilty.

Carter, who is Black, walked out of jail wearing a white shirt and grey sweatpants. His son, Tyler Anger, accompanied him, pushing a cart with his father’s belongings. Carter did not speak to reporters and left in a vehicle with his son and attorney. He is prohibited from contacting Olesen’s family.

Carter’s attorney, Neal Hamilton, expressed hope that prosecutors would dismiss the pending aggravated murder charge. Hamilton noted that his client had been awaiting a retrial previously scheduled for next year, but county prosecutors withdrew their intent to seek the death penalty last week.

Utah County prosecutor Erwin Petilos described the reassessment of Carter’s bail as "necessary and fair" while the state continues to review the remaining evidence. Carter, originally from Chicago, was living in Utah when Olesen was killed on Feb. 27, 1985. He was apprehended in Nashville, Tennessee, in June of that year, where he provided a confession that he claims was falsely obtained under duress.

He was convicted and sentenced to death after a trial where the defense presented no witnesses. A subsequent retrial in 1992 again resulted in a death sentence, and numerous appeals over the years were rejected by Utah courts.

A significant development occurred in 2011 when the two key witnesses from Carter's original trial were located in Mexico. They testified that they had been pressured to lie in court and had received cash and gifts from police, with instructions to conceal these payments. They also claimed that police and prosecutors threatened them and their son with deportation if they did not implicate Carter.

This led to more than a decade of legal proceedings, culminating in the Utah Supreme Court's order for a new trial last year, citing "multiple instances of intentional misconduct" by law enforcement and a prosecutor. The DNA analysis was performed in response to that order. Prosecutors have not stated whether they intend to use the DNA results to search for other potential suspects.

Carter's defense attorneys have asserted that witnesses observed a white man fleeing the crime scene and that an investigator allegedly withheld evidence pointing toward other individuals, including Olesen’s husband, Orla Olesen. They contend that prosecutors were nearing charges against the husband when a police lieutenant requested they delay to pursue further investigation. Carter reportedly became a suspect shortly thereafter.

Orla Olesen, who died in 2009, had told police he discovered his wife deceased in their home, partially undressed with her hands bound. Theresa Olesen, a daughter-in-law of Eva Olesen, expressed "serious concerns" about Carter's release during the bond hearing, stating her family had hoped for a conclusive DNA match and that the current results "doesn't mean he wasn't there."