Accused in UNC student's death pleads guilty

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. - A man charged in the death of a University of North Carolina student body president pleaded guilty to state charges, avoiding a trial and any possibility of a death sentence.

Demario Atwater of Durham pleaded guilty Monday afternoon at a hearing in Hillsborough to first-degree murder, armed robbery, kidnapping and other charges in the death of Athens native Eve Carson. In a plea agreement with prosecutors, Atwater agreed to life in prison.

Atwater had already pleaded guilty in April to several federal charges, including carjacking resulting in death and kidnapping. He is to be sentenced in federal court Sept. 23. His agreement with prosecutors is for a life sentence.

Carson was found shot to death in a Chapel Hill neighborhood in March 2008, nearly a mile from campus.

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