NEW DETAILS: Arrest made in rape and murder of Paitin Fields

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The Pender County Sheriff’s Office has announced an arrest in the murder of Paitin Fields.

The 5 year-old child was sexually assaulted and strangled in November of 2017.

During a news conference on Friday afternoon, Pender County Sheriff Alan Cutler announced that the previously named suspect in the case, David Prevatte, has been arrested and charged with first degree murder, first degree statutory rape, and statutory sex offense with child by adult.

Prevatte is Paitin’s uncle.

Fields died November 16 of 2017. That was three days after her family took the unresponsive five-year-old to Pender Memorial Hospital. The initial reports said the family alerted the staff that Paitin had been fighting a respiratory issue for days, but the autopsy showed signs of sexual trauma and strangulation.

Prevatte was named a person of interest in the case in 2018, after he was charged with intimidating a witness and communicating threats.

He was released from prison on separate charges one year ago.

David Prevatte (Photo: Pender Co. Sheriff’s Office)

Prevatte was taken into custody by the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana. He is awaiting extradition to Pender County.

We’ll have more tonight on WWAY News.