Suspect in Paitin Fields murder in Pender Co. set to be released

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The only known suspect in the murder of a 5-year-old from Pender County will soon be released from jail on separate charges.

According to an autopsy, Paitin Fields was sexually assaulted and strangled in November 2017.

Documents reveal one of the family members who took fields to the hospital was her uncle, David Wesley Prevatte, 21, who is a person of interest in her murder.

In June 2018, the Pender County Sheriff’s Office named the uncle Prevatte as a suspect in the murder after they charged him with intimidating a witness and communicating threats. Detectives say, while in jail on another charge, Prevatte called his mother, Lisa Hunt and threatened the life of the lead investigator in Paitin’s death.

Prevatte is currently charged with intimidating a witness and communicating threats to the lead detective on Paitin Field’s case.

Det. John Leatherwood with the sheriff’s office said Prevatte is expected to be released from the Polk Correctional institute on January 29, 2020.