Douglas Carter Released on Bail After DNA Tests Exclude Him from 1985 Murder

A Utah judge ordered 71-year-old Douglas Stewart Carter released on bail after a DNA analysis received on September 22 showed his DNA does not match blood on a doorknob or the knife handle used in the 1985 killing of Eva Olesen in Provo. The judge also required Carter to wear a GPS monitor while a new trial proceeds.

CNN

Carter, a Chicago native, was arrested in 1985 for the murder of Eva Olesen, the aunt of a former Provo police chief. He signed a confession after a June interrogation in Nashville, Tennessee, and was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. A 1992 retrial resulted in the same sentence. Repeated appeals cited coerced confession, witness bribery, and prosecutorial misconduct. In 2022 a court vacated his conviction, and the Utah Supreme Court upheld that decision in 2025, ordering a new trial.

KUTV Salt Lake CityDouglas Carter, who spent decades on Utah’s death row, ordered released on bail The Guardian

The September 22 DNA test examined six pieces of evidence, including blood on a doorknob and DNA on the knife handle. The results excluded Carter as a possible contributor. Prosecutors withdrew their intent to seek the death penalty and are reassessing whether to pursue the aggravated murder charge. The state has not disclosed whether the DNA profile will be used to search for other suspects.

KUTV Salt Lake City

• Prosecutor Erwin Petilos called the bail reassessment “necessary and fair” while the office continues to review remaining evidence.

Douglas Carter, who spent decades on Utah’s death row, ordered released on bail

• Attorney Neal Hamilton argued the DNA findings prove Carter’s innocence and urged dismissal of the pending charge.

KUTV Salt Lake City

• Theresa Olesen, daughter-in-law of the victim, expressed “serious concerns” about the release, stating that the DNA results do not exonerate Carter.

KSL-TV

Victim-family members, including Theresa Olesen, contend that the DNA exclusion does not prove Carter’s non-involvement and that the family “still wants justice for Eva.” They fear the release could allow a potentially guilty person to remain free while the investigation continues.

KSL-TV

• February 27, 1985 – Eva Olesen was found stabbed and shot in her Provo home.

KUTV Salt Lake City

• September 22 – DNA analysis excluded Carter from key forensic samples.

Douglas Carter, who spent decades on Utah’s death row, ordered released on bail

• July 26, 2027 (scheduled) – Retrial is set for an eight-week period beginning on this date.

New York Times

• “The system was designed to prevent this. The Common Law was clear: it is better than 10 guilty people go free than one innocent person be convicted. And we now know that that’s happened,” — Neal Hamilton, Carter’s attorney

KUTV Salt Lake City

• “We ask the court to set that innocent person free today," Attorney Neal Hamilton said.” — Neal Hamilton, Carter’s attorney

KUTV Salt Lake City

Prosecutors have indicated they will decide by Nov. 10 whether to move forward with the aggravated murder charge. The upcoming trial, scheduled for July 26, 2027, will consider the new DNA evidence alongside the contested confession and witness testimony. Carter will remain under GPS monitoring and subject to a no-contact order with the Olesen family while awaiting the next court decision.

KSL-TV