No verdict yet in David Prevatte trial as jurors request additional evidence

BURGAW, NC (WWAY) — Jurors in the murder trial of David Wesley Prevatte have requested additional evidence as deliberations continue Wednesday in Pender County.

The jury has asked to review DNA test results, photographs and evidence related to internet searches presented during the trial.

No verdict has been announced.

Prevatte, 27, is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree statutory sexual offense in connection with the 2017 death of his 5-year-old niece, Paitin Fields.

Jurors began deliberating Tuesday after hearing closing arguments from prosecutors and the defense. Court adjourned that afternoon without a verdict, and deliberations were scheduled to resume Wednesday morning.

Fields was found unresponsive inside a home on Blackwater Drive in Pender County on Nov. 13, 2017. She was taken to Pender Memorial Hospital before being transferred to New Hanover Regional Medical Center, where she died three days later.

Prosecutors allege Prevatte strangled and sexually assaulted Fields.

His defense attorneys have argued that he did not harm his niece and instead tried to save her life after she was found unresponsive.

During closing arguments Tuesday, District Attorney Jason Smith pointed to physical evidence and testimony from Fields’ older sister, Savannah, who described seeing Prevatte near Fields that night.

Prevatte’s public defender, Luther Johnson Britt III, challenged the state’s investigation and questioned why additional items were not collected and tested from the bedroom where prosecutors allege the strangulation occurred.

A separate first-degree statutory rape charge was dismissed Monday following a defense motion citing insufficient DNA evidence.

Jurors must reach a unanimous verdict on each remaining charge.

WWAY’s Kamy Smelser is following the trial at the Pender County Judicial Annex in Burgaw.

For previous coverage, visit WWAY’s Paitin Fields coverage.