Crime Scene Lt. Tells Uncle on Trial Jury Someone Moved Things Before the Second Search | Pt 17

Four days after the first search, investigators went back into the house where Paitin Fields was found. The crime scene lieutenant told the jury someone had been inside and moved things around. 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. The State gave notice on Feb. 9 that it will not seek the death penalty, StarNews reported. Lt. Daniel Wells of the Pender County Sheriff's Office is back on the stand for the State. What a jury hears about a piece of evidence should match the record. Before the break, the defense told the jury Savannah made the letters on the State's 24 couch photo. With the jury out, the judge put on the record that Lisa Hunt made those marks, and Savannah the ones on State's 34, and said he may give the jury a quick correction. The jury went to break with the wrong name. The cross also asks what investigators knew before they searched, and whether the house was held between searches. --- WATCH WITH JUSTICE 0:00:00 What this video is, and a preview 0:00:19 Intro 0:01:19 to 0:09:49 - Video starts: Day 4 opens on Christmas lights on a bedpost. No shoe covers on the 13th: "No, sir. I didn't that day." A second cheek swab and nail scrapings from David, State's 49 and 50. 0:09:49 to 0:12:48 - Nov. 15: Paitin's nail clippings and a pink blanket, listed as "a blanket from the couch per Lisa Hunt." State's 51 and 52. 0:12:48 to 0:20:11 - The Nov. 17 second search: "You can tell somebody had been inside the house and had moved some things around." Then the red car that took Paitin to the hospital, State's 53 and 54. 0:20:11 to 0:35:52 - What the second search took: couch sheets, Christmas lights, children's tops, a camo nylon bracelet, a pillow and its case. 0:35:52 to 0:40:39 - Anything else of the kind? "Other than the hot glue gun, no, sir." The other cords "appeared to be just where they ordinarily are." 0:40:39 to 0:53:01 - Reference swabs from four other people, State's 64, and a tan canvas belt, State's 65. 0:53:01 to 1:00:04 - Standards from Lisa Hunt, Savannah Fields and Robert Fields. A vacuum DNA filter from the belt, State's 69. Direct ends. 1:00:04 to 1:05:06 - Cross. Did the lead detective share his opinion before the first search? "No, sir. Not initially." Important to have known on the 13th? "Yes, sir." 1:05:06 to 1:11:57 - David's nails on the 14th "looked like they had already been cut." He never took the pink blanket out of the bag to examine it. What moved by the 17th: a ketchup bottle. 1:11:57 to 1:17:47 - The bracelet: "Ms. Hunt actually is the one that pointed it out." The glue gun: "I don't specifically remember seeing it there on the 13th." 1:17:47 to 1:26:44 - One belt, the lab's test unknown to him. Other cords in the house? Yes. "We didn't search under every single little piece of everything there." 1:26:44 to 1:32:24 - State's 24 and the letters on the couch. The defense says Savannah made them. With the jury out, the judge puts on the record that Lisa Hunt did. Part 18 picks up there. 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