New details surrounding the murder of Irina Yarmolenko were made public on February 2.  Two suspects continue to insist on their innocence, while the DNA evidence allegedly proves the opposite.

Cassada	Carver

Two murder suspects, Neal Leon Cassada, 54 years old, and Mark Bradly Carver, 40, were arrested on Dec. 12, 2008.  They were charged with the murder of Irina Sergeevna Yarmolenko, a 20-year old UNC Charlotte student.  Irina immigrated with her family from Ukraine in the beginning of the 1990s.

Apparently Ira was taking pictures for her student project when she was suffocated on the banks of the Catawba River, where her body and her vehicle were found.  More details in the previous news.

In the course of the investigation certain evidence, including DNA evidence, was recovered at the crime scene.  The DNA evidence specifically points at the presence of the suspects near or in the Irina's vehicle.

Both suspect insist on their innocence and claim there were just fishing in the area.

Meanwhile, another person confessed to the murder of Yarmolenko.  Cristopher Cooper, an inmate in Mecklenburg County jail, wrote a letter to a Charlotte TV station newscaster where he confessed that he and his cohorts murdered Irina and got rid of her body near the Catawba River.  However, Cooper refused to cooperate with the SBI agents investigating the murder.