The David Prevatte Trial Recap!
Current Status: Day 7 – The State Rests – Last Updated 12/Oct/2026, 19:57 BST
Case Summary
The trial of State of North Carolina v. David Wesley Prevatte centers on the November 2017 death of five-year-old Paitin Fields in Pender County, North Carolina, who died from strangulation, blunt force trauma, and severe sexual assault three days after being brought unresponsive to a local hospital. Prevatte, who is the victim’s uncle, maintained that he found the child unresponsive and attempted CPR before helping transport her to the medical center; however, law enforcement named him as the primary suspect in 2018 and arrested him in Louisiana in February 2022 following a multi-year joint investigation. Prosecuted in Pender County Superior Court, Prevatte faces First-Degree Murder alongside felony child sexual offense charges.
Key Testimonies & Evidence! (Day-by-Day Summaries)
Updated daily!
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Key Testimonies & Evidence! (Day 1)
Krystal Beck – Registered Nurse
Beck testified that she heard a banging on the ambulance door, upon checking it out she saw two men holding a non-responsive child.
Beck testified that she observed bruising around Paitin’s neck.
Brian McGrath – Emergency Room Physician
McGrath testified that Paiton had an unmistakeable petechial line on her neck.
McGrath testified that his concern seeing the petechial line was that she had been strangled.
McGrath testified that he prayed that Paitin would survive and thought she would be braindead.
Dr. Michael Stoiko – Paediatric Critical care physician
Stoiko testified when Paitin arrived at the paediatrician unit, she was not alive or responsive. When lights were shined to her pupils, they were sluggish to react.
Jessica McAlear – Clinical Nurse Educator
McAlear testified that Paitin’s vaginal injuries likely resulted from penetration with an object, a finger, or a penis.
Colleen Mistovich – Registered Nurse
Mistovich testified that there was redness to the periureteral bands in the vagina.
Key Testimonies & Evidence! (Day 2)
Lisa Hunt – Defendant’s Mother
Hunt testified that she went to turn the TV down in the living room and she saw Paitin on the couch seizing.
Hunt testified that Paitin’s eyes were rolling in her head; she grabbed Paitin and screamed.
Hunt testified that Paitin didn’t have anything around her neck when she grabbed her.
Hunt testified that David held Paitin and was doing life saving measures on her. – Cross Exam
Hunt testified that a doctor came out and told them that the daughter was very sick and was having seizures, and needed to be taken to New Hanover. – Cross Exam
Key Testimonies & Evidence! (Day 3)
Nothing of note.
Key Testimonies & Evidence! (Day 4)
Det. Roy Brandenberg – Crime Scene Investigator
Brandenberg testified that he swabbed the defendant’s penis and it turned pink: he added that the defendant told him that it turned pink for blood because he had sex with his girlfriend whilst she was menstruating.
Dr. Karen Kelly – Medical Examiner
Kelly testified that the petechial haemorrhages as a result of ligature strangulation.
Kelly testified that the petechial haemorrhages in the gums indicates that this was a significant strangulation.
When shown the a pair of headphone/earbud wires, Kelly testified that it could create a horseshoe pattern seen on Paitin’s body.
Key Testimonies & Evidence! (Day 5)
Steve Clinard – Retired Detective
Clinard testified that the swabs were taken from Michael Hall and Melissa Brown is because they had been around the house and David Prevatte before all this happened and that’s why their swabs were necessary.
Key Testimonies & Evidence! (Day 6)
Kristin Meyer – Forensic DNA Analyst
Meyer testified that the swabbing of the earbuds contained 3 DNA contributing profiles, major profile was David Prevatte and the minor profile could not be interpreted due to DNA quality. Meyer testified that Dale Hunt, Paitin Fields, Michael Hall were excluded as contributors.
Shane Wilcox – Forensic Scientist
Wilcox testified that the penile swab from David Prevatte was put under a starmix and 3 contributors were found; David Prevatte, and Hailey Faucette were the contributors and Savannah Fields, and Larry Huggins were excluded as contributors.
Wilcox testified that the swab from the inner thigh of the jeans had 4 DNA profiles: 1 from David Prevatte and 1 from Paitin Fields and the other 2 profiles were inconclusive.
Key Testimonies & Evidence! (Day 7)
Lyndsey Saney – Senior DNA Analyst
Saney testified that there was no male DNA detected for the rectal swab and vaginal swab.
Eric Short – Lead Investigator
Short testified that he found the earbuds with two knots in them.
Short testified that he did not find any ligature matching Dale, and Dale was in bed with Lisa which can’t be refuted.
The state rests!
Statutory rape charge has been dismissed!
The defence rests!
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