Uncle on Trial: Jury Hears Paitin Fields' Sister at 7 Tell an Interviewer Her Uncle Was Sleeping

Two days after that night, Paitin Fields' 7-year-old sister told an interviewer her uncle was sleeping and she did not see anything happen. Ten weeks later the interviewer told her somebody hurt her sister. This clip is from Day 5 of the trial of David Wesley Prevatte in Pender County, North Carolina. The uncle on trial is charged in the November 2017 death of his five-year-old niece, Paitin Fields, along with other charges. He has pleaded not guilty and he is presumed innocent. Investigators named him a suspect in 2018 and charged him in 2022. The State gave notice in February that it will not seek the death penalty (StarNews, Oct. 1). On Day 1 the State told jurors Savannah woke and saw David Prevatte standing by the couch, then saw her uncle walk back to his room. The defense said that in 2017 and 2018 Savannah said nothing about David at all. With the jury out, the judge ruled State's Exhibit 86 comes in as substantive evidence, and the defense noted its exception. The exhibit holds three recorded forensic interviews of Savannah by Julie Ozier of the Carousel Center: November 15, 2017, January 24, 2018 and February 18, 2022. The video was kept off the broadcast; the audio was heard. In the first interview Savannah names who lived in the house: Nana, Papa and Uncle Boo-Boo. She and Paitin slept in the living room; Uncle Boo-Boo was in his room. Paitin was purple and having a seizure, she says. What was Uncle Boo-Boo doing? "He was sleeping." Did you see anything happen to Paitin? "No." Did somebody do something to your sister? "No." Then she describes a mark she saw on her sister. Asked what Uncle Boo-Boo said, she answers that he said he would hurt somebody if they touched "the daughter," meaning Paitin. Back on the stand, Ozier said Savannah needed extra scaffolding with her questions, given her young age and some possible delays. She was avoidant: "I don't want to talk about this." "It makes me sad." In the second interview Ozier tells her the grown-ups figured out that somebody did something that hurt Paitin. Savannah: "Nobody didn't hurt her." Asked about the mark she described in 2017, she says, "My grandma told me." Here is what I am watching. On these tapes, a child two days removed says her uncle was asleep and she saw nothing, and ten weeks later says her grandma told her about the line. The State's half is real too: she was 7, avoidant and sad, and the third interview, from 2022, is still in this exhibit. Which version will this jury believe? --- KEY MOMENTS 0:00 Video starts: the judge rules on State's 86 2:28 Interview one: who was home and where everyone slept 11:42 She is asked what Uncle Boo-Boo said 12:30 Back in court: what the interviewer observed 14:23 Interview two: what the interviewer tells her 17:19 The mark she described comes up again 18:24 Three questions for you --- COMPLETE CASE COVERAGE justiceisaprocess.com SUBSCRIBE for daily trial coverage. 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