More details come to light in murder of Elizabeth Carter; suspect transported to Purgatory

June 17, 2018 Utah Channel 3

ST. GEORGE — The arrest warrant for the man allegedly responsible for the murder of Elizabeth Carter has been released and contains more details of the scene discovered by detectives Wednesday.

Booking photo of Kevin Ray Mcatlin taken June 17, 2018 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

Kevin Ray Mcatlin, 28, was taken into custody Saturday in the Moab area on suspicion of murder. Mcatlin is now incarcerated at Purgatory Correctional Facility in Washington County.

The body of Elizabeth Carter, 33, was discovered in an apartment near 500 N. Bluff St. on June 13 at 2 p.m. by employees of a property management company, according to the affidavit in support of the arrest warrant filed Friday. The employees were conducting a inspection of the apartment, and following the discovery, police were called.

Responding officers confirmed that a body was in the bathtub, covered by cushions, blankets and other items, and the St. George Investigations Unit was called in to process the scene.

“There was so much stuff that led me to believe that this person didn’t put the items on top
of herself,” St. George Police Detective Joshua Wilson stated in the affidavit.

After identifying the body to be that of Carter, the decedent was sent to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Salt Lake City for autopsy.

The Medical Examiner found more than 15 puncture wounds on the right side of her neck and rear shoulder, varying from superficial to “at least three centimeters in depth,” the affidavit said. There were also several slash marks on the back of her neck. At this point the Office of the Medical Examiner classified the death as a homicide.

Meanwhile, instigators processing the scene found a bloody fingerprint on the back of the apartment front door that the crime lab positively matched to the suspect. Additionally, friends of the decedent told detectives Carter and Mcatlin were seen together at a gathering in Toquerville on June 1, the affadavit said, adding that the witnesses also confirmed that Carter and Mcatlin left the gathering together.

Another male friend of Carter told police that he had seen her on the morning of June 2 and that there was a male in the apartment at the time, according to the affidavit, but when the friend returned to Carter’s apartment later, he said no one answered and the door was locked. When police showed the friend a photo lineup, he was unable to identify the man he had seen in the apartment.

Police suspected that the suspect was in the Moab area, and early Saturday morning he was located in Moab and taken into custody.

The investigation is ongoing as detectives continue to process evidence and develop the case, according to Saturday’s statement.

An initial court appearance for Mcatlin has yet to be scheduled, nor have official charges been released. St. George News was unable to reach the Washington County Attorney’s Office for more information.

This report is based on statements from police or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Email: cblowers@stgnews.com

Twitter: @STGnews