November 13, 2017, Paitin Fields was sexually assaulted and strangled; she died in the hospital three days later.
At the time, authorities did not formally charge anyone — but did name Paitin's uncle, David Wesley Prevatte, then 19, after the Sheriff's office claimed Prevatte threatened the lead detective on the Paitin murder case in a phone call to his mother in April of 2018.
Related: Uncle of Paitin Fields named as a suspect in the toddler's death (WECT)
Prevatte later served about ten months for an unrelated charge — but otherwise there was little movement on the case, although public interest in the case remained intense.
Today, Pender County Sheriff Alan Cutler announced that Prevatte had been charged with Paitin's murder.
"Today I am announcing the Pender County Sheriff's Office secured a warrant for arrest for David Wesley Prevatte on the following charges," Cutler said during a brief press conference today.
Cutler said Prevatte was charged with First Degree Murder, First Degree Statutory Rape, Statutory Sex Offense with Child by Adult. According to Cutler, Prevatte was taken into custody by the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. Prevatte will be extradited back to Pender County to face prosecution.
Cutler did not make any further comments on the investigation and did not take questions.
