Overview
- Prosecutors formally withdrew their notice of intent to seek the death penalty after receiving a DNA report, a move filed with the court on Wednesday that changes the state’s penalty posture.
- The Utah State Crime Lab compared Carter’s court-ordered sample to unknown profiles and excluded him as the source of blood on a doorknob and material on a knife handle found at the 1985 Provo crime scene.
- The county attorney says the new DNA findings do not automatically clear Carter because the case still includes his signed confession and an unrecovered .357/.38 handgun that prosecutors cite as key evidence.
- Carter’s lawyers have asked for dismissal or his release and are pursuing a bond hearing that prosecutors also requested to reexamine custody, while the judge will decide on motions about evidence including the contested confession.
- An eight-week retrial remains scheduled for July 2027, and the case now raises questions about past police and prosecutorial misconduct, the search for other suspects, and whether the office will ultimately dismiss, offer a plea, or proceed to trial.