Killer shot Duke grad student in head
The Duke University graduate student found slain in his off-campus apartment in January was shot point-blank between the eyes by a killer who wrapped a gun in a pillow and pressed it up against his victim's head.
The details of Abhijit Mahato’s death were revealed in an autopsy report released today by the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Mahato, 29, an engineering graduate student from Bengal, India, was found fatally shot Jan. 18 during what Durham police have called a citywide robbery spree.
Two men have been charged with first-degree murder in the case, including Laurence Alvin Lovette Jr., the 17-year-old also charged in the March 5 homicide of Eve Carson, the UNC-Chapel Hill student body president.
Assistant District Attorney Tracey Cline offered new details in court today about how police connected Lovette to Mahato’s killing.
She said investigators discovered that Mahato’s stolen cell phone was used to call Demario James Atwater — Lovette’s co-defendant in the killing of Carson. Atwater, 21, of Durham has not been charged in Mahato’s death.
Cline also said that other property belonging to Mahato was found in Lovette’s possession. And a vehicle tied to Mahato’s slaying was seen at a residence frequented by Lovette, she said.
Lovette was in Durham District Court this morning for a first appearance on the murder and robbery charges in the shooting of Mahato and a series of unrelated charges, including larceny, threats and robbery. Judge Craig Brown set Lovette’s bond at $3 million and appointed the Durham Public Defender's Office to represent him.
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I hope this vicious beast (Lovette) is put to death. He's rabid.
Actually, I hope he's put some place where he can be preached at morning, noon and night, and somebody makes him a Christian and he understands the horrible things he has done and repents. That would be the best scenario.
But the state doesn't allow that.