RALEIGH, N.C. -- The man convicted and sentenced to death for the 1987 murder of a Concord cafeteria worker died last month at a Raleigh hospital, North Carolina corrections officials say.
Ernest Paul McCarver, 54, died of natural causes at a Raleigh hospital on Nov. 14, a state Department of Public Safety official said.
McCarver was convicted in September 1992 in Cabarrus County and received the death sentence for the Jan. 1987 murder of 71-year old Woodrow Hartley. McCarver was also convicted of robbery with a dangerous weapon in the case.
His execution was scheduled twice in 2001 but then stayed by actions of the courts amid growing questions about his mental capacity.
On Jan. 2, 1987, McCarver and another man entered through the rear entrance of K&W Cafeteria shortly after Hartley arrived at 5 a.m., according to court records. McCarver walked up to Hartley and talked to him for a few minutes. Then the other man grabbed Hartley from behind in a headlock and tried to strangle him.
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McCarver then attacked Hartley and stabbed him in the chest several times. Hartley died within minutes, and both men were arrested a short time later.
McCarver was sentenced to death, but the execution was stayed first by the U.S. Supreme Court then by a local court.
He remained on death row until his death.
