Utah death row inmate Douglas Carter released on bail after DNA tests exclude him in 1985 murder case

DNA findings prompt bail release

After spending 41 years in prison, 71-year-old Douglas Stewart Carter was released on bail from a Utah correctional facility late on 28 September 2026. Third District Judge Derek Pullan ordered the release after forensic reports received on 22 September 2026 excluded Carter's DNA from crime scene evidence. The testing eliminated Carter as the source of blood found on a doorknob and genetic material on the handle of the knife used in the attack. Under the terms of his release, Carter must wear an electronic GPS monitoring bracelet and is prohibited from contacting the victim's family. Prosecutors had withdrawn their request for the death penalty the prior week, acknowledging that a bail review was appropriate.

The 1985 conviction and investigative misconduct

Carter, a Chicago native living at his mother's home in Utah in 1985, was arrested and convicted for the murder of 57-year-old Eva Olesen. Olesen was the aunt of the Provo police chief and was found dead by her husband on 27 February 1985, having suffered ten stab wounds and a gunshot to the back of the head. Prosecutors framed the killing as a burglary that turned violent, securing a death sentence in 1985 and reaffirming it during a 1992 retrial. No physical or forensic evidence tied Carter to the crime scene, and his defense team called no witnesses during the original trial. The conviction rested on a signed confession, which Carter maintained was coerced by interrogators under threat, and on statements from two witnesses. The Utah Supreme Court ordered a new trial last year, citing serious misconduct by police investigators.

Witness recantations and alternative leads

The state's case weakened further in 2011 when prosecution witnesses Epifanio Tovar and his wife Lucia were located in Mexico and formally recanted. The couple admitted they lied under pressure from investigators, who had paid their rent, telephone bills, and utility expenses while threatening them and their son with deportation. Carter's defense attorneys argued that witness accounts and physical evidence pointed to an unidentified white man fleeing the residence, whereas Carter is Black. The defense also pointed out that detectives failed to investigate alternative suspects, including Olesen's husband, who died in 2009.

Relocation, family response, and upcoming retrial

Carter exited the prison dressed in a white shirt and sweatpants, accompanied by his defense counsel and his son Tyler Anger, who pushed a cart of personal belongings. Anger, who was adopted as an infant, learned of his father's imprisonment only as an adult. Defense attorney Neal Hamilton stated that Carter will reside in specialized long-term housing near his son and receive psychological support.

The State stole 41 years of his life and subjected him to the horrors of being on death row for more than 40 years, but tonight he is finally home.

Olesen's family opposed the bail order during court proceedings. The victim's daughter-in-law told the court that the absence of a DNA match does not prove Carter was never at the scene, urging authorities to continue investigating. A new trial to determine the murder charge is scheduled for 2027.