DNA links cousins to slain Charlotte student

GASTONIA, N.C. — An investigator says DNA links two cousins to the car of a University of North Carolina at Charlotte student whose body was found on a North Carolina riverbank last year.

State Bureau of Investigation agent David Crow testified Monday at a bond hearing for 40-year-old Mark Carver of Gastonia and 54-year-old Neal Cassada Jr. of Mount Holly. The men are charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the May 5 death of 20-year-old Irina Yarmolenko.

Crow said the men’s DNA was found inside her car, which was discovered on the bank of the Catawba River in Mount Holly. Crow said the men told him they were fishing near the scene.

Carver’s lawyer said during the hearing that DNA from another person also was found in the vehicle.

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