Prosecutors rest case against Heidi Carter; Carter decides not to testify

Content warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of rape, sexual assault and violence

EVANSVILLE — Prosecutors rested their case Tuesday afternoon against Heidi Kathleen Carter, who stands accused in Vanderburgh County Circuit Court of aiding and abetting her romantic partner during a 2021 murder, kidnapping and rape.

Carter, 37, announced to the court just after 2 p.m. Tuesday that she had decided not to testify in her own defense and Carter's attorney, Barry Blackard, told Vanderburgh County Circuit Court Judge David Kiely he would rest his case, too.

Blackard said he expects to spend only a few minutes arguing for Carter's acquittal during closing arguments Wednesday morning. Lead prosecutor Stan Levco appears set to take a slightly different approach: He asked Kiely for 1 hour and 15 minutes to make his case to jurors.

Kiely appeared bemused by the request and granted Levco 45 minutes.

Trial Coverage:Heidi Carter's second kidnapping, murder trial sees nine witnesses called in first day

During the two-day evidentiary portion of Carter's trial, prosecutors presented more than 100 pieces of evidence and questioned more than a dozen witnesses in an attempt to portray Carter as Carrey Hammond's accomplice when he allegedly killed 50-year-old Timothy Scott Ivy and raped a woman on Oct. 19, 2021.

The female victim survived the ordeal and testified Monday. She told jurors Carter held a gun to her head while Hammond raped her. The woman said Hammond initiated the attack after he discovered Ivy, Carter and herself having sex.

Levco described Hammond as Carter's romantic partner, but he never stood trial for his alleged crimes: Evansville police shot and killed Hammond Oct. 19, 2021 after officers were alerted to the ongoing kidnapping and homicide. According to the Evansville Police Department, Hammond emerged from Carter's Stinson Avenue residence holding a selfie stick that had been twisted into the shape of a gun.

After the shooting, officers who testified during Carter's trial said they entered Carter's residence and found Ivy's body buried under a pile of clutter. The female victim was found in a nearby bedroom suffering from severe injuries, they said. According to prosecutors, Carter helped Hammond restrain the woman to a bed with velcro straps.

"I believe the only question is going to be, 'Did Heidi help (Hammond)?" Levco told jurors Monday. "We argue she did."

Carter's Arrest:One suspect faces rape, murder charges and another dead after Stinson Ave. incident

Levco sought to further that point Tuesday by supplementing eyewitness testimony with DNA evidence and by presenting nearly two hours of Carter's taped police interrogation.

At one point in the footage, Carter could be heard saying, "There's a lot of things I should've done different." Later, Carter appeared to say she may have "acted" like she was Hammond's accomplice out of fear.

After Levco and Blackard present their closing arguments Wednesday morning, jurors will consider whether Carter committed six offenses: aiding, inducing or causing murder, a Level 1 felony; two counts of aiding, inducing or causing rape, a Level 1 felony, and three counts of criminal confinement, a Level 3 felony.

Carter first went before a jury for her alleged role as Hammond's accomplice in November. Kiely ruled the case a mistrial after jurors failed to return verdicts in all but one count: carrying a handgun without a license. The mixed result led prosecutors to refile charges.

'You think I'm just like him'

EPD Detective Steven Toney took the stand Tuesday afternoon to answer questions about the interview he conducted with Carter on Oct. 20, 2021, just hours after Carter's initial detention. Levco played the footage for jurors on a courtroom television.

The initial portion of the interrogation focused on Carter's history with Hammond and how she met the two victims. Carter said she began dating Hammond in July 2021 and that in the weeks preceding her arrest, Hammond had "encouraged" her to meet new romantic interests online.

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Carter told Toney that she and Hammond met people for sex through dating apps twice before she ultimately met the female victim and Ivy. Hammond was uncomfortable with her having Ivy and the woman over while he was at work, according to Carter, but during the early morning hours of Oct. 19, 2021, she invited the couple over to her home anyway.

"It was really awkward," she said. "They just hung out; I took a shower."

Carter said she eventually engaged in consensual sex with Ivy and the female victim after one of her coworkers left the residence. About 30 minutes later, Hammond discovered the affair, broke down the bedroom door and began beating Ivy and the woman with a baseball bat, according to police.

"He was very mad," Carter told Toney during her police interview. "He hit him; he hit her."

"What kind of weapons did he use?" Toney asked. Carter said Hammond used a baseball bat, and she claimed it was Hammond who restrained Ivy and the woman. Carter said she tried to stop him.

"He got this crazy, enraged look," Carter could be heard saying during the recorded interview. "I'm just trying to calm him down."

More:Amid potential retrial in homicide case, Heidi Carter sentenced on firearms charge

After Carter recounted her side of what happened, Toney began to confront her with statements made by the surviving victim. Toney said he interviewed the woman from a hospital while she recovered from a severe head injury.

"There's some things she's told me that don't exactly line up with what you're telling me," Toney told Carter.

"Like what?" Carter queried.

"That you helped restrain her... that you encouraged (Hammond) while he raped her," Toney replied. "The way she tells it, you're a lot more involved than you're telling me."

Throughout the interrogation, Carter framed herself as a victim who was terrified of Hammond and unable to prevent his violence: "Either he's gonna kill me, or I'm gonna kill him," she said at one point during the police interview.

But at other points, Carter indicated that she may have "acted" as Hammond's accomplice out of fear. When Toney asked if she directed any comments toward the victims that could have been interpreted as threatening, she replied by saying: "Sure, to a certain extent."

Carter also said she "can be a very violent person if someone does something wrong." But, Carter added, Ivy and the woman "did nothing wrong." She also repeatedly denied ever pointing a gun at the surviving victim.

Carter never dialed 911 to report Hammond's alleged crimes even though she had to freedom to do so, according to her statements during the interview. Carter told Toney she left the female victim restrained inside her residence to travel to a job site, but she returned hours later without ever having alerted the authorities.

While she was gone from the home, Carter said Hammond informed her that he had strangled Ivy to death.

"Did you call 911?" Toney asked Carter. "No," she replied.

"Did you ever try to call 911?" Toney asked again. Carter said she did not.

More:How Heidi Carter's second trial could differ from first

As the interview concluded, Toney told Carter in no uncertain terms that he did not believe her story; he believed the surviving victim and other eyewitnesses, who he said had no reason to concoct false allegations against her.

"You were gone (from the home); you could have done a million things differently," Toney said.

"You think I'm just the same as (Hammond)?" Carter asked.

"I think you're just as responsible as him for crimes that happened in your home," Toney said.

DNA evidence indicates Carter may have touched bloody rag

Prior to presenting the interrogation footage Tuesday afternoon, Levco questioned Indiana State Police forensic scientist Nicole Hoffman, who said she examined restraints, duct tape, a baseball bat, a sexual assault test kit and other evidence police collected from Carter's residence.

With regard to the victim's sexual assault test kit, Hoffman said her analysis showed there was "moderate" to "very strong" supporting evidence to believe Carter's DNA was present on the victim's body. But, since the victim said she engaged in consensual sex with Carter prior to the attack, this evidence did not indicate if Carter sexually assaulted the victim, Hoffman said.

A bungee cord police recovered from the crime scene carried DNA from four individuals, according to Hoffman. Her analysis concluded there was "very strong support" that Carter's DNA was present on the item. There was also "very strong support" to conclude Carter's DNA was present on a bloody rag recovered from Ivy's neck.

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Hoffman said her testing showed there was "moderate support" indicating Carter's DNA was present on the baseball bat that was allegedly used to beat Ivy and the female victim.

During his cross examination, Blackard downplayed the importance of Hoffman's analysis insofar as it relates to Carter's guilt.

"This may seem like an obvious question, but would it be common to find someone's DNA in all kinds of places inside their house?" Blackard asked Hoffman.

Her answer was simple: "Yes."

Digital evidence submitted, but not discussed in open court

Minutes after Carter's trial began Monday morning, Levco entered hundreds of digital records into evidence. The move was significant, in part, because Kiely blocked prosecutors from submitting many of those same documents as evidence during Carter's first trial in November.

At the time, Kiely said the documents lacked certifications showing they were accurately compiled, which effectively prevented then-lead prosecutor Emily Hall from concluding Carter's trial as she intended.

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According to Levco, the files contain hundreds of messages Carter and Hammond sent to each other via Facebook Messenger, along with complete copies of data stored on the victim's cellphones.

Prosecutors entered the documents into evidence Monday without issue, but Levco did not discuss their contents in open court during the evidentiary portion of Carter's trial. However, because the records were entered as evidence, Levco and Vanderburgh County Deputy Prosecutor Audrey Beckerle can discuss them during closing arguments.

The surviving victim previously testified that Carter and Hammond searched through her smartphone for blackmail material while she was being held captive, a claim the prosecutor's office may have been able to verify with mobile device forensic tools.

Carter's trial is scheduled to resume at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. Jurors will begin deliberations after Kiely reads them their final instructions. If convicted on all counts, Carter could face a decades-long prison sentence, according to Indiana's sentencing guidelines.

Houston Harwood can be contacted at walter.harwood@courierpress.com.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Stan Levco rests case against Heidi Carter who decided not to testify