BURGAW, N.C. (Court TV) — Under tough cross-examination, an investigator admitted that important evidence in a North Carolina man’s murder trial was likely thrown away at the hospital and never tested.
David Prevatte sits in court on Oct. 12, 2026. (Court TV)
David Prevatte, 27, has pleaded not guilty to murder, statutory rape of a child and statutory sexual offense of a child by an adult in the death of his 5-year-old niece, Paitin Fields.
Prevatte and his stepfather rushed Paitin to the emergency room on Nov. 13, 2017, after Prevatte’s mother woke up and screamed when she saw the child seizing on the couch. When the family couldn’t reach 911, Prevatte and his stepfather drove Paitin to the hospital. Once there, doctors immediately noted bruising and signs of strangulation around Paitin’s neck and transferred her to a second hospital for more advanced care.
Prosecutors have said they believe red earbud headphones were the strangulation weapon, but Prevatte’s defense disputes that conclusion. Eric Short, an investigator with the district attorney’s office, testified on Monday that he saw the headphones as being consistent with the ligature marks on the victim’s neck. Those earbuds carried Prevatte’s and Paitin’s DNA and were found on a table next to Prevatte’s bed, with nothing nearby to plug them into.
Prevatte’s attorney suggested that prosecutors had identified the wrong weapon, noting that the medical examiner initially believed the ligature used was a belt. Prevatte’s attorney, Luther Johnson Britt III, also pointed out that investigators found no leashes in the family’s home, despite the family having three dogs.
Testimony on Monday highlighted the lack of available DNA in the case: A small amount of male DNA was found on the victim’s genitals, but the amount was too small to be tested for comparison to a person. Britt noted that the underwear Paitin had been wearing when she was brought to the hospital was never tested; Short acknowledged this was the case, but also said that the victim’s own bodily fluids may have “damaged” any DNA potentially available.
Paitin’s DNA was found on the defendant, who had been carrying the child into the hospital when she urinated and defecated on him; his attorneys have argued that this was the source of any DNA found on his body.
Britt also attempted to challenge the credibility of S.F., Paitin’s sister. S.F. was 7 years old when her sister died and has developmental delays caused in part by fetal alcohol syndrome. S.F. told investigators she saw Prevatte standing over her sister in the hours before her body was found, but Short conceded under cross-examination that S.F. never mentioned that happening in her first two interviews with detectives.
