‘It’s not time to try to save face’: New DNA results reveal a chilling reality behind the murder trial that put a man on death row for forty years
Four decades later.
Prosecutors in Utah have officially dropped their plan to seek the death penalty against Douglas Stewart Carter, a 71-year-old man who has spent nearly four decades on death row. This major shift follows the arrival of new DNA evidence that excludes Carter as a contributor to biological material found at the 1985 murder scene of Eva Olesen. The decision marks a massive turning point in a case that has been plagued by allegations of misconduct and coerced testimony for years.
According to The Independent, the DNA results, which were received by the state on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, showed that Carter’s genetic profile does not match blood discovered on a doorknob at the crime scene. Furthermore, he was excluded as a match for material found on the handle of the knife used to stab Olesen. Olesen, the aunt of a former Provo police chief, was also shot during the attack, though the handgun used in the crime has never been located.
Carter was originally sentenced to death in 1985 after a jury convicted him of the murder. At the time, there was no physical evidence connecting him to the scene. The prosecution relied heavily on a signed confession from Carter and the testimony of two witnesses who claimed he bragged about killing Olesen. Carter has consistently maintained his innocence throughout his long imprisonment, arguing that his confession was coerced by authorities.
The narrative surrounding those two key witnesses has since fallen apart in an alarming manner
The couple, who were living in the United States without legal status at the time, later revealed that they were coerced by police and prosecutors. They alleged that officials offered to pay their rent and coached them to lie on the stand. Perhaps most disturbingly, the witnesses claimed that investigators threatened them and their young son with deportation if they did not implicate Carter in the murder.
Adding to the complexity of the case, defense attorneys pointed toward evidence of a botched investigation from the start. Witnesses reportedly saw a white man fleeing the crime scene shortly after the murder occurred. Furthermore, legal filings allege that an investigator suppressed evidence that pointed toward other potential suspects, most notably the victim’s husband, Orla Olesen.
It appears that prosecutors were actually on the verge of filing charges against the husband before a Provo police lieutenant intervened and asked them to hold off. Shortly after that request, Carter was identified as the primary suspect. Orla Olesen, who told police he discovered his wife’s body with her hands tied behind her back, passed away in 2009.
Last year, the state Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Carter, specifically citing misconduct by investigators. Following the recent DNA findings, Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray filed a notice stating the state would withdraw its intent to seek the death penalty. While Gray noted that the new evidence does not necessarily exonerate Carter because of the original confession and the missing weapon, the state is now reexamining its decision to move forward with the case entirely.
Carter’s attorney is seeking immediate action
Carter’s attorney, Neal Hamilton, has been vocal about the need for immediate action. On Thursday, Hamilton urged the state to dismiss the charges against his client and requested a formal bond hearing.
He believes the prosecution is clinging to a case that has been fundamentally broken by years of manipulation and hidden truths. “It’s not time to try to save face and continue with a tainted prosecution,” Hamilton said. He added, “They know they don’t have a case. The moral obligation is to dismiss.”
Judge Derek Pullan has scheduled a bond hearing for Monday. If things go as expected, Carter could finally be released from custody while awaiting an eight-week retrial, which is currently slated to begin in July 2027. The Olesen family, who previously testified that Carter posed a safety risk, has expressed their own turmoil regarding these developments.
According to the New York Post, in a statement released through the Utah County Attorney’s Office on Thursday, the family noted, “The latest developments have raised difficult questions and once again left our family without the sense of resolution we had hoped for after so many years.” The family also stated that they will not comment on the actual guilt or innocence of any individual while the legal process continues to unfold.
Forty years is a lifetime
The fact that a man spent that long on death row based on coerced testimony and suppressed evidence is a chilling reality. When you consider that physical evidence now explicitly excludes him, the path forward seems clear.
If the state continues to pursue this, they are ignoring the very evidence they just acknowledged. It is a top-tier example of how a justice system can fail when it prioritizes securing a conviction over finding the actual truth. For now, it is clear that the foundation of this decades-old case has completely eroded.
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