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On Friday, August 12, 2022, a North Carolina court dismissed charges against Mark Bradley Carver, the man convicted in the 2008 death of Ira Yarmolenko.
On May 5, 2008, 20-year-old Ira Yarmolenko's body was found on the banks of the Catawba River. The University of North Carolina student was discovered with a hoodie drawstring, a ribbon and a bungee cord wrapped around her neck. Police believed that she was strangled to death. Her car was also found at the scene.
Carver and his cousin Neal Cassada were fishing close by, and were both charged with first-degree murder after DNA testing confirmed that their DNA was found in various genetic mixtures in Yarmolenko's car.
What happened in the Ira Yarmolenko case?
DNA evidence found in Ira Yarmolenko's car had tied Carver and Cassada to the young student's death. However, Carver's attorney and the executive director of the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence (NCCAI) - Christine Mumma - spent years arguing that the methods used by the state labs to test the DNA were outdated.
Mumma told WBTV:
"Mark's case shines a light on the issues associated with the interpretation of DNA mixtures before standards were changed at our state lab and Charlotte-Mecklenburg lab."
Neal Cassada passed away in October 2010, just before his trial for Yarmolenko's death. His cousin, however, went on to spend eight years in prison after the conviction.
In 2019, Carver was granted a new trial by Superior Court Judge Christopher Bragg, following which he was released from prison but was required to wear an ankle monitor and remain under house arrest.
Gaston County District Attorney Travis Page formally dismissed the murder charge against Carver on August 12, 2022, citing that "the evidence no longer supports" the charge. The charge against Carver's cousin was also dropped.
In an official press release, Page said that "a sufficient amount of DNA" from Yarmolenko's car was not available for examination any longer.
On the afternoon of August 12, Carver arrived at the Gaston County Courthouse to remove his ankle monitor.
Responses to the dismissal of Carver
Following the dropping of the charge, Christine Mumma told the Gaston Gazette:
"I'm so glad he's got his name back and the word 'innocent' will be associated with it."
Carver's sister-in-law, Robin Carver, expressed her relief:
"We're happy it's finally over. It's been a long time coming."
With the dismissal of the charges against Carver and Cassada, Ira Yarmolenko's case opens up again. No other suspects besides them have been identified in Yarmolenko's murder. Gaston County District Attorney Travis Page stated that the search for her killer is ongoing.
While it was a victory for the Carver-Mumma camp, Mumma acknowledged that the actual killer still roams free and insisted that Yarmolenko and her family deserved justice.
Many are of the opinion that Ira Yarmolenko died of suicide, but Mumma is dismissive of the idea and stated that she found no evidential backup supporting the theory.
According to the Gaston Gazette, Mumma has offered to open up her case files to investigators, but is yet to be asked to see what she has collected. Without going into detail, the attorney said that the evidence in the case does point to others.
