CSI Tells the Uncle on Trial Jury He Saw Stretched Earbud Wires Only After Lab Reports | Pt 15

The jurors put on gloves and passed every cord from that bedroom floor down the row. Then the crime scene lieutenant told them when he took a second look at the red earbuds. Paitin Fields was five in November 2017, when her uncle, David Prevatte, and his stepfather, Dale Hunt, rushed her to the emergency room in Burgaw, North Carolina. David was named a suspect in 2018 and not charged until 2022. The uncle on trial is charged in her death and with other charges, and he is presumed innocent. This is the last block of court on Day 3, with Lt. Daniel Wells of the Pender County Sheriff's Office still on the stand for the State. Wells runs crime scene work for the Sheriff's Office and processed the family home on Nov. 13, 2017. Here he works down his property sheet: cheek swabs from both men who lived there, clothes from two bedrooms, then the red earbuds and three phone charging cords from the floor beside a bed. Each one goes to the jury in gloved hands. Listen for what he says he noticed when he picked them up, and what he noticed later. Both sides told this jury in openings to watch those earbuds. The State: "I urge you to pay attention to a pair of red earbuds." The defense: "Pay particular attention to what the witnesses say about the red earbuds," adding that a detective kept going back to the lab asking, "could this be it?" Now Wells says the stretched insulation was seen when they looked again, after lab reports came back. What did those reports say, and why was nothing noted the first time? Then the living room. On Nov. 13 he found nothing of the kind by the couch. A second warrant four days later turned up a hot glue gun with a cord under the table beside it. What happened in that house in those four days is not in this record yet, and the defense has not crossed him. --- WATCH WITH JUSTICE 0:00:00 What this video is, and a preview 0:00:22 Intro 0:01:22 to 0:09:55 - Video starts: Court resumes and Wells explains what a crime scene team looks for. Cheek swabs from David and Dale Hunt, State's 36 and 37, both go to the state crime lab. 0:09:55 to 0:18:05 - Down the property sheet: a child's jeans from a mattress, men's clothes from the northeast bedroom floor seized as one item and split for the lab, and a can from beside the bassinet. 0:18:05 to 0:26:29 - The floor beside the bed: the red earbuds and the charging cords. All four come in as State's 43 through 46, and the judge lets jurors glove up and handle them. 0:26:29 to 0:54:35 - "After they were sent to the lab and some reports were received, we did look at them again." The insulation, he says, "has been stretched and has small ripples." On the three charging cords he noted nothing, then or later. 0:54:35 to 1:00:38 - State's 47, a vacuum cleaner cord, laid out in front of the jury. Where was it? "I believe it was on the floor, but I'm not 100% positive." 1:00:38 to 1:09:42 - Ten items seized Nov. 13. Anything like that by the couch? "Not on that date." The second warrant on the 17th finds a hot glue gun under the table to the right of the couch, State's 48. 1:09:42 to 1:13:13 - Nothing else of the kind in the living room, he says. Court stops for the day with Wells still on direct, back at 9:30 the next morning. CASE BACKGROUND REPORT: https://justiceisaprocess.com/nc-v-da... Complete case overview including the charges, the timeline, the key players, and the legal questions this trial raises. State of North Carolina v. David Wesley Prevatte. Pender County Superior Court in Burgaw, North Carolina. Prevatte is charged with first-degree murder in the 2017 death of his five-year-old niece, along with other charges. Jury selection began on September 28, 2026. He is presumed innocent unless and until the State proves each charge beyond a reasonable doubt. LATEST ARTICLE: https://justiceisaprocess.com/desk-20... PLAYLISTS AND RESOURCES Website: https://justiceisaprocess.com/coverag... Full Trial Live Broadcasts:    • NC v. David Prevatte: Full Trial Live Broa...   No Breaks Edition:    • NC v. David Prevatte: No Breaks Edition   Trial Analysis Podcast:    • NC v. David Prevatte: Case Story Trial Pod...   Key Moments and Testimony:    • NC v. David Prevatte: Key Moments & Testimony   Commentary:    • NC v. David Prevatte: Commentary   Subscribe for Daily Coverage:    / @justiceisaprocess   FAIR USE AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE This content is produced under Fair Use (17 U.S.C. 107) for news reporting, criticism, and educational purposes. We provide transformative commentary on public court proceedings, advancing public understanding of the judicial process through timestamps, analysis, and educational context. #JusticeIsAProcess #DavidPrevatte #PrevatteTrial