Chapters
Shownotes Transcript
This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Whether you're selling a little or a lot, Shopify helps you do your thing, however you cha-ching. From the launch your online shop stage, all the way to the we just hit a million orders stage. No matter what stage you're in, Shopify's there to help you grow. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash special offer, all lowercase. That's shopify.com slash special offer.
Warning. The following podcast is not suitable for all audiences. We go into great detail with every case that we cover and do our best to bring viewers even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects. Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children. This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned. Families can be complicated.
There can be conflicts, disagreements, and even fundamental differences. But for a lot of us, despite all of that, we love them, we want what's best for them, and we would never do anything to intentionally harm them.
But that's not the case for our story today. In fact, it's just the opposite. In October of 2012, 17-year-old Jake Evans of Aledo, Texas, had this reoccurring thought running through his head.
He wanted to murder his entire family. The thought was so encompassing, he could hardly think of anything else. "How would I do it? Should it be slow and painful or quick and easy?" he thought. Jake would later admit that these thoughts grew more intensely after watching a horror movie. The movie in question was Rob Zombie's 2007 remake of Halloween.
Jake was fascinated at the fact that the young Michael Myers could kill his family with such ease. Would it be like that for him? He thought. After going back and forth, Jake Evans finally made his decision. He was going to kill his mom and 15-year-old sister.
He wanted to kill everyone in his family, but they were the only ones home at the time. So on the evening of October 3rd, 2012, he shot them. However, afterwards, he quickly realized that he was no Michael Myers. The murders didn't give him a sense of euphoria like he thought he would feel, but it was too late. Jamie and Mallory Evans were dead.
His sister Mallory was riddled with bullets at the bottom of the staircase, and his mom was in the study. And the fantasy of murdering them wasn't at all what he expected. So this is the story of Jake Evans. I'm Courtney Browen. And I'm Colin Browen. And you're listening to Murder in America. ♪♪
Parker County 911, where is your emergency? My house. What's the address? 152 River Creek Lane. Okay, what's the emergency? I just killed my mom and my sister. What? I just killed my mom and my sister. You just killed your mother and your sister? How did you do that? I shot them with a .22 revolver.
And what is your name? Jake Evans. Jake Evans? Jake Evans. Are you sure they're dead? Yes.
Jake's parents, Darrell and Jamie Evans, were high school sweethearts. They were very loved and respected in their community of Aledo, Texas, and in 1986, they would get married. Following their union, the couple would go on to have four children, Emily, Audrey, Jake, and Mallory.
Jacob, who everyone called Jake, was their only son, born on May 22, 1995. And by all accounts, the Evans were your ideal all-American family. They lived an upper-middle-class lifestyle and were described as friendly, welcoming, and very devoted to their faith. When the children were younger, they all attended the Aledo United Methodist Church, but in 2011, they all converted to Catholicism. And from there, the family spent a lot of their time doing Bible studies and attending the Holy Redeemer Catholic Parish.
The Evans family lived a very normal life. They didn't have any scandals or big secrets, and they were good, honest people. They lived in a gated community on River Creek Lane in this beautiful 4,200 square foot home with five bedrooms and five bathrooms. The home was also nestled on a two-acre wooded lot, giving the children plenty of room to run around and play outside.
They had an oversized swimming pool and a 1,000 square foot pool house where they would host pool parties and family gatherings. It was truly the perfect place to raise a family, even more so because Jake's grandparents owned the house right across the street from them. So the Evans children grew up very close to their grandparents and it also gave them an extra sense of security.
even though they were in a gated community. It was nice having their grandparents so close because Jake's grandfather, Jim Stavins, had been a Fort Worth police officer for over 27 years. He had recently retired, but I'm sure there was a sense of security knowing he was just a couple hundred feet away if they ever needed him. But unbeknownst to them, dangers wouldn't come from outside of the home.
They would come from within.
Now, the matriarch of the family, Jamie Evans, had received her undergraduate degree from Stephen F. Austin State University and then went on to obtain a master's degree in education from Texas Christian University. And for 15 years, she worked as an educator in the Aledo School District, serving as both a first grade teacher and an assistant principal at Stewart Elementary and Coder Elementary.
So, Jamie was very equipped at handling children and she knew exactly what they needed in order to succeed in their education. And like any good mother, she had high expectations for her kids. She wanted them to not only do well in life but to be good people. And to Jamie, she felt it would be best to homeschool her two youngest children, Jake and Mallory.
If anyone was meant for this job, it would be her. So she decided to retire from the Aledo school district and dedicate her time to homeschooling. The youngest, Mallory, was actually the first to be homeschooled in January of 2010. And then two years later, her brother Jake would follow suit.
Now, it's unknown exactly what her reasoning was behind pulling her kids out of school. Just nine months before the murders, Jake Evans was a student at Aledo High School, where he was an active member on their golf team. Friends of Jake's would describe him as a quiet, reserved teenager who mostly kept to himself. Former classmate Clint McClellan said, quote, "'I really liked him, the nicest kid,'
Quiet, shy, kept to himself. But I like that about him." But then randomly in the middle of the year, Jake's mother Jamie decided to pull him out. It's possible she sensed Jake was going through something. Maybe even that he was dangerous. We don't know. But another important fact about Jamie was that she was very devoted to her family and her religion. And she was respected by everyone that knew her.
Jan Hudler, a woman who had worked with Jamie in counseling ministry said quote, "She was the kindest, sweetest person. I never heard her say a bad thing about anybody and her family was the most important thing to her." End quote. Jamie loved spending time with her family and she had recently become a grandmother, something she was very proud of. Her grandson Connor was her pride and joy.
And any chance she could, Jamie would always invite her loved ones over for pool parties and family cookouts. And during the holidays, she would always make her famous pies that everyone loved. She also loved to read and eat at her favorite restaurant in town called Joe T. Garcia's. But unbeknownst to everyone, as fall of 2012 approached,
Jamie's family, the people she loved more than anything, were about to fall apart in a way no one saw coming. As for 15-year-old Mallory, she was described as the life of the party. Mallory enjoyed singing, dancing, and goofing around with her siblings. She had attended Stewart Elementary and McAnally Intermediate School before being homeschooled by her mother, but she still enjoyed the social aspect of her teenage years. Mallory enjoyed playing all sports, and even though she was now homeschooled,
she still maintained a close relationship with her best friend Carissa. She and Carissa were very close, and they often spent many nights at the Evans home making silly home videos. And like her parents, Mallory was very devoted to her Catholic faith. According to Mallory's uncle, Philip Stavins, Mallory had recently spoken about a sense of peace she felt after converting to Catholicism in April of 2011, and she even talked about becoming a nun once she graduated.
If you're to have seen the Evans family walking around Aledo, Texas, you'd probably think to yourself, wow, what a lovely family. By all accounts, the Evans were loving people, and they all seemed to be very tight-knit, which is why no one could have ever predicted the events that transpired in the early morning hours of October 4th. Okay, do you, um, is there any reason that you were so angry at your mother and your sister? Uh...
I don't know. I wasn't... It's weird. I wasn't even really angry with them. It just kind of happened. I've been kind of planning on killing for a while now. The two of them or just anybody? Pretty much anybody. Okay.
On October 3rd, 2012, Jake's father, Darryl, was out of town in Washington, D.C. on business, and the two oldest sisters, Emily and Audrey, were already moved out of the family home. Interestingly enough, Emily actually lived across the street with her grandparents, and Audrey was away at college.
although she was due to come home the very next day. So the only people inside of the Evans home at the time were Jamie, the mom, and Jake and Mallory. And the day started out like any other. There were no big fights, no tension in the home, just your average morning.
But that would all change fairly soon. Now, according to Jake, he had been having really bad allergies at the time. So that morning, Jamie took him to see an allergist and 15-year-old Mallory decided to join them. In a later written statement, Jake confessed that on the way there, his sister had made a racist comment that had really upset him.
He stated, "She said, 'Ha, that black worker that was mowing the grass looked like a monkey.'" He also wrote in the confession, "In the past, Mallory has always said racist comments like that and would also make fun of homeless people." According to Jake, he was disgusted with his sister's comment. And he even told her that she was becoming "white trash" and a racist bitch.
Jake said he then told Mallory to look up the word "lynching" to see if she agreed with the punishment, and apparently she was appalled by her brother's response. Mallory admitted that she would never agree to something so horrific. But even though Mallory denied being racist, Jake said that he couldn't help but be disgusted with his family.
stating, "I felt like my own family were becoming people that I hate." Now, later that afternoon, after Jake's doctor's appointment, they would return home and he would make himself some lunch. But he didn't want to be around his mom and sister, so he took his food upstairs and ate it while he watched Rob Zombie's 2007 remake of the 1978 classic horror film, Halloween.
The movie depicts a psychopathic killer named Michael Myers, who infamously wears a white mask, blue coveralls, and is always seen holding a butcher knife. And in the remake, a young Michael Myers is shown brutally murdering his mother's abusive boyfriend, his older sister, and her boyfriend. Now, Halloween is considered to be one of the most iconic slasher films in cinematic history.
And while most of us who watch it have no desire to be anything like Michael Myers, that just wasn't the case for Jake Evans. He claimed that after watching it, he felt inspired. He was fascinated with the way Michael murdered his family with such ease, having no remorse for his actions. And Jake started daydreaming about what it would be like to murder his family. Could it possibly be that easy?
Jake had actually seen the movie three different times that very week. And according to him, after every time he watched it, he grew more and more interested in the thought of killing his family. But he would later admit that he didn't want anyone to know that the movie inspired him. So after watching it, he decided to throw the DVD in the trash can. But with these homicidal thoughts running through his head,
Jake decided to step outside for a little. It was around 4:30 p.m. when he went into his backyard and hit golf balls for roughly an hour. And with each swing of the club, Jake is fantasizing about murdering his family. With his father out of town, this would be the perfect opportunity to act on his homicidal urges. His dad would be the only one that he couldn't overpower.
But he was gone. So it's here where Jake decided that he was going to do it. He was going to murder them. Now at this point, it's around 5.30 p.m. and Jake decided to head back inside and sit down on the living room couch. And from here, he continues to plot their murder.
Now, like we mentioned, Jamie and his sister Mallory were the only ones home at the time, but he wasn't going to stop there. After murdering them, Jake thought about going across the street where he would then murder his oldest sister, Emily, and his grandparents. The only surviving sister would then be Audrey.
who would be coming home from college the following day. Jake thought about how after he murdered his family, he would wait for Audrey to come home, then as soon as she walked through the front door, he would murder her too. The thought of it excited him. In his mind, it was the perfect plan. But he still had a few things to work out, like how he would murder them.
Perhaps he would take his father's folding knife that he kept inside of his parents' closet in their bedroom. But then he remembered that he had stolen his grandfather's .22 revolver and stashed it away in his closet. The gun, he thought, might be a quicker, less painful way for them to die. But then again, a slow and painful death also sounded pretty appealing.
Jake's thoughts of murdering his family were interrupted by a phone call. At around 6:30 p.m., his grandmother, Diane Stavins, called to ask if Jake wanted to drive into town and run a few errands with her. And he agreed.
Jake went over to their house and from there, the two got into the car and drove into town. Diane had no idea that earlier that day, her grandson had been plotting her murder. And nothing even seemed to be amiss with Jake. He was acting completely normal. The two would end up driving to the cleaners and then afterwards they would make a quick stop at the local post office before picking up dinner on the way home. But again, Jake didn't feel like spending time with his mom and sister.
When he got home, Jamie and Mallory were in the living room, watching the debate between President Barack Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney.
So he decided to take his dinner into the pool house, where he ate and watched Family Guy. Then after a while, he came back inside and went into his room. It was about 9pm, and Jake was still contemplating on how he was going to murder his family. The violent thoughts continued to swirl in his mind. Would he use a knife or a gun? Did he want it to happen fast or make it slow and painful? As he continued to contemplate how he wanted to move forward, there was a knock on his bedroom door. It was his sister Mallory.
Sadly, she wanted to spend some time with her brother and asked if he wanted to watch a movie with her, which is heartbreaking. She really loved him. Jake said he ultimately told Mallory no. Apparently, he was still upset about her racist comment she made earlier that morning. So Mallory shrugged her shoulders and then walked out of his room. From here, Jake began fantasizing about what it would be like to kill her.
He thought about her suffering. He would later admit that the thought kind of disturbed him. Mallory was a good sister to him, in the end. She had a sweet side to her, and she cared deeply for the people in her life.
but then he reminded himself of all the nasty comments she had made in the past. He also thought about the times where Mallory had been annoying and pestered him, and those thoughts quickly erased any hesitations. In fact, Jake began specifically replaying his sister's shortcomings over and over in his head until he felt that homicidal rage once again. And at around 9:30 PM, he was ready to kill. From here, he walked downstairs to his parents' bedroom and retrieved a folding knife from their closet.
He then returned upstairs and began pacing the hallway outside of Mallory's bedroom. He would later admit, "I got my dad's blue foldable knife and I went back upstairs and kept pacing back and forth, imagining killing Mallory. Thoughts of causing her pain kept entering my mind and were really bothering me, but then I'd think about the times she hurt my feelings or really pissed me off." Ultimately, he knocked on her bedroom door and asked her if she wanted to watch The Waterboy.
Being a good sister, Mallory agrees and the two turn on the movie. But as they are sitting there watching it, Jake can't stop thinking about the knife in his pocket. This would be the perfect time to do it, but he's frozen, unable to act on his urges. So after a few minutes, Jake announces that he needed something from downstairs and that he will be right back.
And from there, he leaves the room and goes downstairs to the art room. Now Jake would be down there for about 30 minutes, going back and forth on whether or not he should follow through with the murders. In one moment, he would have empathy for his sister, but then in the next, he was filled with rage, ready to kill her. Now after this inner turmoil, Jake composes himself and heads back upstairs.
And for whatever reason, possibly so she wouldn't be suspicious of him, Jake grabs a pillow and playfully throws it at Mallory. And she playfully throws one back. And it's here where Jake makes a decision.
In his confession, he writes, quote, After a while, I thought to myself that if I were to kill my mom and Mallory, I wouldn't want them to feel anything. So I decided to kill them both with a .22 revolver I stole from my grandpa. After the playful pillow fight with his sister, Jake decided that the quick and easy kill was the best way to go.
So once again, he excused himself from the bedroom and went downstairs to locate his mom. 48-year-old Jamie was in the study and Jake takes a mental note of her location before returning back to his bedroom to retrieve the gun hidden in his closet. He took the weapon, studied it, and then sat down on the edge of his bed. He began casually opening the cylinder, spinning it, and then shutting it again.
He was nervous. And then once again, he thought about Michael Myers. Michael didn't seem to be this nervous before he killed his family. And Jake even took this time to think about the consequences of his actions. He knew that his life would never be the same after killing them. But even so, his homicidal thoughts continued to consume him.
and he would nervously pace in his room for another hour with the gun tucked away in his pants. Why? I don't know. I don't really like people's kind of attitude. Right. I think they're kind of, they're very...
like, you know, emotional, I don't know, verbally rude to each other and stuff like that. Right. And, uh, I don't know. It's okay. It's just my family, I don't know, they're just kind of really, I guess this is really selfish to say, but to me, they, I felt like they were just suffocating me in a way. I don't know.
Ultimately, after much contemplation, Jake Evans decided to act on his dark fantasy. At around 11:15 PM, he approached his sister's bedroom
and then just stood there for about five minutes, preparing himself for what he was about to do. Then when he was ready, he knocked on her bedroom door. - Mallory, mom needs you downstairs. She wants to talk to you about something.
Mallory eventually emerged from her room. But as soon as she stepped out into the hallway, she saw her brother's silhouette in the corner. And even though it was dark, she could see that he was holding something that resembled a gun. In that quick moment, Jake lifted up the gun and aimed it in her direction. Seeing this, Mallory thought her brother was playing some sick kind of joke.
"Stop it, Jake. You're freaking me out," she says. But Jake wasn't joking. And as Mallory went to walk downstairs, he took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. The bullet ended up going through Mallory's back.
Then a second bullet hit her in the head. The next thing Jake knew, Mallory was tumbling down the stairs. And once she hit the bottom, a loud thud echoed throughout the home. From here, Jake runs downstairs past his sister's body and into the study where his mom is. And as soon as he sees her, he shoots his mom three times.
Adrenaline was rushing through his body and according to Jake, he then ran to his room where the reality of the situation started to settle in. In his confession, he wrote, quote, end quote.
Jake said he then emptied the remaining shells onto his bed and he was immediately filled with regret. He realized he had taken it too far. He also didn't feel the euphoria like he had always pictured. In fact, it was quite the opposite. As he paced around his room, Jake then heard noises. They were these breathy moans coming from his sister at the bottom of the stairs.
So he peers over the banister and he realizes that Mallory isn't even dead. He then quickly runs back to his room, puts the bullets back inside of the gun, and then runs downstairs. Mallory was on her back. And seeing her brother rush towards her, she begins to scream.
Jake then stands over her, telling her he was sorry over and over again, before firing a fatal shot into her head. Then, just to be sure she was dead, he shot her again. After all of that chaos, the house was eerily silent. Jake Evans had fulfilled his fantasy of murdering his family, but instead of euphoric bliss,
Jake was anxious and paranoid. Once Mallory was dead, Jake was nervous that his mom might still be alive as well. So he walks back over to the study and fires another round into Jamie's head. He admitted, After the shooting, I walked outside for a few minutes and then came back inside. Very shocked and scared, I placed the gun on the counter and walked into the living room to dial 911. The call ended up coming into the Parker County Police Department at 1234 a.m.
Okay, you have my undivided attention. Were your mom and sister in their beds? No.
No, this is really going to mess me up in the future. See, my sister, I told my sister that my mom needed her. She was in her room, and she came out of her room, and I shot her and killed her.
She rolled down the stairs and I shot her again. And then I went down and I shot my mom about maybe three or four times. But I'll never forget this. Okay, that's fine. My sister, she came down the stairs and she was screaming and I was telling her that I'm sorry, but to just hold still. Mm-hmm. That, you know, I was...
Just going to make it go away, you know, but she just kept on freaking out. But finally she fell down and I shot her in the head about probably three times. So they're both downstairs? Yes. Okay, where are you? In the kitchen. Okay. Okay.
You're not sitting by the gun, are you? No, it's about like 10 or 15 feet away from me. That's all right. Where's your dad? He's out of town.
Do you know where he is out of town? Washington, D.C. Okay. And for, I guess, future reference, I don't really went...
to see any of my family members, you know, like it and visiting or whatever. I don't know how it works or anything, but I just don't want any type of visitors. I don't want to see. As Jake spoke with the dispatcher in a calm, monotone voice, he admitted that he wasn't suicidal. In fact, after seeing the damage the gun did to his mom and sister, they kind of freaked him out. You don't want to hurt yourself, do you?
I don't know. I'm a little freaked out about guns now. Oh, sure. But you don't want to hurt yourself? I don't know. I definitely, you know...
I assure you, I definitely don't like myself, you know. But I'm just so freaked out by guns now. And just to let you know, like, I hate the feeling of killing someone. You know, I'm going to be messed up. There are people that will help you. Oh, God.
Well, you just take a deep breath. We have deputies coming and they're going to help you. We're here to help you too, okay? We're going to help you. We're not going to hurt you. All
All right. I understand if y'all want to, you know. No, we're not going to hurt you. We're there to help you, Jake. All right. All right. Everybody thinks that, you know, we want to do bad things, but we don't. We want to help people. Right or wrong, we want to help people. And we're going to help you. Okay.
Okay. Do you understand that? Yeah. We're also here to help. Okay. Jake, where is the kitchen in the house? Is it the back of the house? No.
Yeah, kind of to the back, I guess. Okay. We're talking with our sergeant now. He's almost at your house. What I'll probably ask you to do, Jake, is when he gets there, turn your porch light on. All right. Okay. Okay.
While Jake waited for police officers to arrive, he continued to speak with a 911 dispatcher.
Nearly 16 minutes into the phone call, she asked if he was okay, and he said he was thinking about his 15-year-old sister, Mallory. He was also worried about the nightmares he would have after committing such a heinous crime. Are you okay, Jake? I'm just thinking about my sister. Yeah. How old is she? She's...
Fifteen. Fifteen? Yeah. She was, I don't know, she had a really sweet side, but, you know, she was kind of racist and, I don't know, kind of rude to me sometimes, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, man. Yeah.
How long ago did this happen, or how long ago did you shoot your sister and mom? Just a little while ago? Yeah. When you called? About 30 minutes ago. About 30 minutes ago? Yeah. About 30 minutes ago. Okay. Okay.
You'll be all right, Jake. Okay? You'll be all right. I'm, like, really worried about, like, you know, like, nightmares and stuff like that. Are there any type of medication for that and stuff? Well, I think there is. I don't know. I'm not a doctor, but, you know, the justice system, and I'm sure your family will get you the support you need.
Throughout the entire call, the dispatcher reassured Jake that everything was going to be alright. In his four-page confession, he admitted, quote,
"I know now though that I'm done with killing. It's the most dreadful and terrifying thing I will ever experience. And what happened last night will haunt me forever." So apparently his conscience weighed heavily with guilt.
Deep breaths, honey. In through your nose, real deep. I just thought it'd be quick, you know? I didn't want them to feel anything. That's why I used a gun. Okay. But it was like everything went wrong. It's all right. Keep breathing for me. Okay, just in through your nose, real slow out through your mouth.
Jake remained on the phone with 911 for nearly 25 minutes before police finally arrived. And once they were there, the dispatcher instructed him to walk out the front door with his hands in the air. Outside, responding officer Sergeant Fletcher was waiting for him in the front yard. Jake did as he was told and emerged from the house in bloodied clothing.
and from there he was arrested without incident. He was taken to the Parker County Police Station, where he wrote out a four-page confession of the murders. He also admitted that the movie Halloween had been his inspiration, and that each time he watched it, which was three times that week, he grew more excited to kill his family.
But other than that, he really didn't have a motive. The Evans household was far from tumultuous. There wasn't any violence or abuse, and Jake lived a good and privileged life. He would later admit that he wasn't even angry with his mom and sister. They'd
They just happened to be there when he decided to act on his homicidal fantasies. He did say that his family was turning into the type of people he loathed, writing, "...I look at people, especially teenagers. I see them as being very cruel to one another emotionally. It seems that their favorite hobby is picking on someone else. The people who are racists, bullies, and who are full of themselves are the really evil ones. And it amazes me because those three qualities are extremely common today."
But according to people who knew the Evans family, they claimed quite the opposite. Friends and family members said that both Jamie and Mallory were some of the most loving people they had ever met, and that Jake's claims are just simply not true. And you do have to keep in mind that this rendition of the story is coming from a murderer, so we have to take what he says with a grain of salt.
Following Jake's arrest, he was booked and charged with one count of capital murder and two counts of murder. Which is a little confusing, but for the capital murder charge, a grand jury decided that Jake intentionally murdered Jamie and Mallory during the same criminal transaction.
which according to the Texas Penal Code is grounds for capital punishment. Then the other two counts of murder were for killing Jamie and Mallory individually. Now, he was originally held without bond, but in January of 2013, Judge Graham Quisenberry granted Jake's attorney's wishes and set the bond at $750,000. But Jake's father, Daryl, refused to pay it.
His son murdered his wife and daughter, and Jake was right in prison where he belonged. So from here, he was forced to stay in prison until trial. It was also reported that Jake didn't want any of his family members visiting him.
likely because he was ashamed of what he did and didn't want to be confronted. So they granted his wish and no one came to visit because he believed that it could influence potential jurors and interfere with a fair trial. Although he admitted to the Daily Mail, quote, the problem is the 911 tape. Anybody in America can punch a button on the computer and hear it.
Anybody in America can now punch a computer and see the statement. They may or may not get into evidence at the time of the trial, but you certainly don't want the jurors seeing stuff like that before you ever get the chance to talk to them or to tell them to don't consider stuff like that until you see it at the time it's introduced."
However, Judge Graham Quinzenberry ordered the confession to be unsealed and it was released to the public on January 24th, 2013. And when everyone read it, they were shocked. The callousness in his words, combined with his monotoned 911 call, made everyone realize that a monster was living among them and no one even knew.
Neighbors inside their gated community rallied together to protect the surviving family members, and they also refused to speak to news reporters. However, one neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Dallas News, "...we are good friends with the family, and this is just a tragedy to all of us. We're just in a state of shock here in the community. They're a fine family all around."
The media reached out to the Catholic church that the family attended, but they refused to comment. However, everyone close to Jake was left utterly shocked beyond measure. According to them, he had never been violent or showed any signs of mental illness. He even admitted to the 911 dispatcher that the only medication he took was Zyrtec for his allergies and occasionally Tylenol for headaches.
His former friend and golf buddy at Aledo High School, Cole Wooten, admitted that what Jake had done did not align with the person he knew at school. After the murders, the Aledo ISD released a statement that read: "Aledo ISD is deeply saddened to learn of the death of a former employee and a former student. Jamie Evans was a dedicated elementary teacher, an assistant principal who worked in Aledo ISD for 15 years serving students at both Coder and Stewart Elementary.
from 1989 to 2004. Her dedication to her students and her love of learning was an inspiration to all who knew her. We also mourn the death of Mallory Evans, a former elementary and intermediate school student. She was a sweet child that will be missed by her friends and school family. The suspect in these shootings, Jacob Evans, is a former Aledo High School student who withdrew from the school in January 2012 to be homeschooled. He attended Aledo schools from elementary school until his withdrawal in January.
He played football in middle school and played on the golf team in high school. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Evans family in this difficult time." In an article for ABC News, Dr. Lawrence Steinberg, an expert on adolescent psychological development, admitted that it is extremely common for people to assume there were no apparent issues with the perpetrator. However, he went on to say that the signs often show up days after the event. Dr. Steinberg stated,
It's extremely unlikely that a perfectly normal 17-year-old kid would take out a gun and kill members of his family. There's a little bit in what he said that sounds a little psychopathological in a sense that he does not seem to have the emotional response to what he did. Being callous and unemotional is a classic sign of a psychopath, so maybe he has some tendencies in that direction.
On Wednesday, October 10th, 2012, hundreds of people from Aledo, Texas and the surrounding communities packed into the Holy Redeemer Catholic Parish for a funeral mass that was held to honor and remember Jamie and Mallory Evans. Their white caskets were covered in an assortment of pink lilies and roses, and next to them were two framed pictures of Jamie and Mallory.
As the church filled that morning, members of the choir sang, and many people in the audience shed tears as they took their seats. The pastor of the Aledo Methodist Church, Jason Jones, stood up and spoke about 15-year-old Mallory. He said, quote, "She had the soft, gentle hands of her mother. Jamie and Mallory, if we had to count the ways we love you, we'd be here forever."
During the service, Jake and Mallory's father, Daryl, spoke about his love for his wife. He also attributed his success to the encouragement she gave him during their 26 years of marriage. Jamie's brother, Philip Stavins, also spoke about his sister and niece. He described Mallory as a, quote, bundle of joy, truly free inside and out.
As for his sister, he joked that the two fought a lot as children, but after she left for college, the two developed a warm and loving relationship. He went on to say that she would always be remembered for her mouth-watering pies and her hesitation to take credit for her numerous accomplishments. To end his speech, he stated, "I will always be proud to be Jamie's little brother. Thank you for joining us."
Peace be with each of you." After the service, Jamie and Mallory's bodies were taken to the Aneta Cemetery in Parker County, Texas, where they were officially laid to rest.
And it's hard to imagine what the Evans family was truly going through during this difficult time. Not only did they have to lay their two loved ones to rest, but they also had Jake sitting in prison for their murder. And then to learn that Jake's original plan for that night was to kill everyone. It's a scary thought. For the next two years, Jake would sit in prison as everyone prepared for trial. And there was a lot of debating over his mental health status during the time of the murders and whether or not the capital murder charges against him were unconstitutional.
You see, since Jake was 17 years old when he committed the murders, he was still technically a minor. And there was a huge debate going on whether or not minors can be charged with capital murder.
And while Jake was incarcerated, the US Supreme Court and the state of Texas were both making adjustments to capital murder punishments for 17 and 18 year olds. So Jake's fate was kind of in limbo for two and a half years. Many people claimed it was unconstitutional to charge minors with the death penalty or life without parole. And that's because their brains weren't fully developed when they committed the crime.
We've had this discussion in previous episodes, but it's a pretty controversial topic because some of these minors, like Jake Evans, have committed absolutely heinous crimes. So it's scary to think about them one day walking around free. So Jake Evans' attorneys were pushing to drop the capital murder charges and just charge him with murder. But the prosecution didn't want that. According to them, the punishment for murder charges could be as little as five years. But here's Jake's defense attorney, Larry Moore.
He had filed a writ, a pre-trial writ of application for writ habeas corpus discharging from custody
because the United States Supreme Court has in two decisions, Roe v. Virgil sentence and another version of Alabama, indicated that the only two statutory punishment provided in Texas for capital murder are inapplicable to a person under the age of 18 at the time of the commission of the crime. So the state is in a situation where they don't have a punishment that they can apply to him if they try him in convicting of capital murder. And what they're asking the judge to do is hold him in jail
And make him answer to that charge until they have the opportunity to go to the legislature and try to get a new statute passed to establish a punishment that they can apply for him in the firm.
In September 2014, his court-appointed attorney, Larry Moore, was building an insanity plea for his client, and he hired a forensic pathologist named Dr. Steven J. Cartney to evaluate him. After speaking with Jake, Dr. Cartney expressed concerns over Jake's competency, and he ultimately decided that he was not competent to stand trial.
the judge presiding over the case wanted a second opinion, so he requested that Jake be evaluated by another psychologist named Dr. Jim Womack. But again, during that evaluation, the psychologist also agreed that Jake wasn't competent to stand trial, and he even ordered him to be sent to a mental health facility for 120 days.
Assistant District Attorney Robert Du Bois issued a statement that said, We agreed to the incompetency finding and temporary commitment after reviewing the evaluation and conclusions reached by the court-appointed psychologist. It is important to point out that this finding does not mean that Mr. Evans will not face trial on the capital murder charges. It just means that he will not face trial until the professionals at the North Texas State Hospital can assist him in regaining competency.
Now, after this, Jake would stay at the Rusk State Hospital, which is a maximum security hospital in Vernon, Texas. And believe it or not, this is the mental hospital that my great-great-grandma was committed to after she axed my great-great-grandpa to death.
If you have been a fan of the show for a while now, then you've probably heard me talk about that story, but if not, yes, there was a murder in my family, and I could not mention it after hearing that Jake stayed here. But nonetheless, after his stay, Jake was re-evaluated on April 29th, 2015, and by then they found that he was now competent to stand trial.
On April 30th, Jake Evans pleaded guilty to two counts of murder for the brutal shooting deaths of his mother and sister.
The prosecution ultimately decided to drop the capital murder charge in exchange for Jake's guilty plea. But during his sentencing hearing, his defense attorney, Max Smith, read a letter from Jake's family members that he had been addressed to the Parker County District Attorney, Don Schnellby. It read, "Dear Mr. Schnellby, the undersigned family members of Jacob Jake Evans, Jamie Evans, and Mallory Evans appreciate the state's plea bargain offer of 45 years on two counts of murder to run concurrently as the disposition of this case.
We feel that this is a fair plea bargain under all the circumstances, even though our family would support a lesser sentence than 45 years if it was possible to do so in this case. The family realizes that Jake will have to serve at least half of the assessed time before he becomes eligible for parole. We are unanimous in our support of Jake's decision to plead guilty and be assessed 45 years by the judge, rather than have a capital murder trial.
None of us want Jake and our family to be subjected to a capital murder trial, which we feel would not be in his and our family's best interest. We wish to close this chapter of our lives in order to continue healing as a family. Interestingly, the letter had been signed by 11 of Jake's family members, including his father Daryl, sisters Emily and Audrey, and his grandmother and grandfather, Jim and Diane Stavins. So ultimately, Jake Evans was given a 45-year prison sentence,
but would be eligible for parole after serving only 22 and a half years. The Parker County teenager who murdered his mother and sister pleaded guilty to the crimes and will be sent to prison. Jacob Evans called 911 after the murders and described himself as evil. Bill Alvarado, first on Fox 4 News in Weatherford with today's Flea Hearing.
Clarice Jacob Evans will turn 20 years old next month and he's on his way to prison for 45 years for the murder of his mother and his sister. The family supports the plea agreement saying that they want to save him and the family from a capital murder trial.
Jacob Evans walked into the courtroom still looking much like the frail 17-year-old teenager of two and a half years ago when he killed his mother and 15-year-old sister. He came to court to enter his plea. Guilty. And you're telling me that while I'm here?
Yes, sir. Evans had been in a maximum security mental hospital after he was ruled incompetent to stand trial. A competency evaluation was filed this week. Before the plea agreement, the judge ruled Evans is now competent. Evans and the attorneys agreed he will serve two 45-year prison sentences running concurrently. His attorney read from a letter from Evans' family.
We feel that this is a fair plea bargain under all circumstances, even though our family would support a lesser sentence than 45 years if it was possible to do so in this case. The prosecutor says he understands why the family would have preferred less prison time.
I think what that really tells you is the absolute power of forgiveness of this family, given the circumstances of the father and the siblings of Jake Evans to have lost a sibling and their mother. They have forgiven him. It's a depth that just should inspire everybody in this case.
Jacob Evans shot his mother and sister at their Aledo home in October of 2012. He called 911 and confessed. I just killed my mom and my sister. What? I just killed my mom and my sister. Prosecutors say the 911 call may be all we ever know about why Evans killed his mother and sister.
He gives his explanation of why he did it. He wanted to see what it was like. I don't know that we'll ever get much further beyond that in terms of understanding what exactly happened that night. Evans has to serve at least half his prison term before he's eligible for parole. He's been in jail for two and a half years, which means he has to do a solid 20 years before he's eligible if he gets parole then. Clarice? Bill Evans was up for capital murder. Why did it end as two murder charges?
Well, the Supreme Court says that you can't put a 17-year-old in prison for the rest of his life without parole, or you can't sentence him to death. And basically, those were the only two punishments for capital murder in Texas. The legislature has tried to fix that, but prosecutors just didn't want to chance it. And for the family, it would have meant either a capital murder case or two murder trials. Phil Alvarado, thank you.
Dropping the capital murder charges brought about a lot of heated conversations. Many people thought that Jake deserved to rot in prison until his dying breath. Others thought that because of his age, he deserved a second chance. But a common question I see asked is, where was Mallory's second chance? She was only 15 years old when she was savagely murdered by her older brother.
And what about Jamie? She lived a life dedicated to her children, only to be murdered by her only son. But I do think it's important to think about the surviving members of the Evans family.
They are victims in this story too, and they seem to be pleased with Jake's sentence. In reference to dropping the capital murder charges, Assistant District Attorney Robert Du Bois stated, quote, we weren't sure whether that fix is going to hold up and stand in constitutional scrutiny, given that, along with the family's wishes, Jake's age and lack of criminal history, the plea agreement reached Thursday was the best solution, end quote.
And that's where our story ends. Today, Jake Evans is no longer that young teenage boy who police encountered outside of their family home in October of 2012.
He is now 28 years old, serving out his sentence at the Memorial Unit Facility in Rosheron, Texas. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Jake's sentence technically ends on October 4th, 2057, but he is eligible for parole on April 5th, 2035.
Since being incarcerated, Jake Evans has slipped out of the spotlight and hasn't spoken publicly about the murders. But according to Realtor.com, the Evans family home at 152 River Creek Lane was sold on March 27th, 2013, nearly six months after the murders of Jamie and Mallory Evans. And although it's unknown if Jake Evans was ever diagnosed with a mental illness, the senseless murders that occurred on October 3rd, 2012 are a sobering reminder that we really never know what people are going through.
On the outside, Jake seemed to be fine, but unbeknownst to everyone, even the people closest to him, he was spiraling with homicidal fantasies, and he acted on them, an action that would forever change the course of his life. But one can only hope that by the time Jake is released back out into the world, he's changed. We hope that the darkness that filled his teenage mind is gone, and that he truly has been rehabilitated.
As a lot of you probably know, Courtney and I's time is already really stretched thin. We have multiple projects that we're working on. I'm working on a documentary. We're posting a video every week on YouTube, a podcast, a second podcast. So we don't have a lot of extra time in our lives, especially when it comes to cooking. I know that for myself at the end of a long workday, the last thing that I want to do is get in the kitchen and cook myself something. And meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking can be a huge hassle.
But Hungry Root makes it possible to spend less time doing all of that and more time doing what you love. Hungry Root is simply the easiest way to eat healthy. They send you fresh, high-quality groceries, simple, delicious recipes, and essential supplements.
It's like having someone else do all the planning and shopping so you don't even have to think about it. And something that Courtney and I love is that Hungry Root gets to know your personal health goals, dietary restrictions, favorite foods, how much time you want to spend cooking, and more. Then they build you a personalized cart with all your grocery needs for the week, including easy four-ingredient recipes to put those groceries to use. Each order is free,
fully customizable so you can take their suggestions or just choose anything you want. They've got fresh produce, high quality meat and seafood, healthy snacks, smoothies, sweets, ready to eat meals, kids snacks and meals, vitamins and supplements, and much more. The groceries that Courtney and I received from Hungry Root were of the highest quality and the meals that we made from them not only were quick and easy, but they were delicious to boot. And that's because everything from Hungry Root follows a simple standard.
It's got to taste good, be quick to make, and contain whole trusted ingredients. Right now, Hungry Root is offering Murder in America listeners 40% off your first delivery and free veggies for life. Just go to HungryRoot.com slash MIA to get 40% off your first delivery and get your free veggies. That's HungryRoot.com slash MIA. Don't forget to use our link so they know we sent you. Anyways, let's get back to today's episode.
Go to your happy place for a happy price. Go to your happy price, Priceline.
This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Whether you're selling a little or a lot, Shopify helps you do your thing, however you cha-ching. From the launch your online shop stage, all the way to the we just hit a million orders stage. No matter what stage you're in, Shopify's there to help you grow. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash special offer, all lowercase. That's shopify.com slash special offer.
Hello, I'm Shelby Scott, the host of Scare You to Sleep, a podcast where I tell you spooky bedtime stories full of creepy sound effects and music that is soothing yet unsettling to help immerse you into a world of horror. This is a show for those of us who have realized horror is a
Horror can be a strange but relaxing escape from reality. Speaking of escapes, sometimes I lead you through guided nightmares, like a guided meditation, but instead of flowery meadows, I take you on a journey through your own personal nightmare.
So come get lost in the terror with me. Listen to Scare You to Sleep wherever you listen to podcasts or find us online at bloody.fm. Sweet screams.
Welcome to Bloody FM's The Hotel, a horror podcast with new episodes on the 1st and 15th of every month. Each night a guest dies a horrifying and fantastic death in a hotel, that's me, who assumes the shape of anything from a five-star resort down to a roadside roach motel. Listen on the 1st and 15th of every month on Bloody Disgusting's Bloody FM network, wherever you listen to podcasts.
Get in, losers. This is the Lady Killers of Feminine Rage podcast. I'm Jen. I'm Sammy. I'm Rocco. And I'm Mae. Our podcast is a tribute to the female-identifying killers in horror and more. Each episode will feature us, your Supreme Court of female murderers, discussing our favorite lady killers from your Julia's and Jennifer's to your Carrie's and Christine's.
We'll tell her story, decide if it's good for her horror, and answer the most important question of all. Would we die for her? Join us on Thursdays as we pull on our sweaters, snatch our ice picks, sharpen our scissors, and honor the lady killers who live on the silver screen. No boys were harmed in the making of this podcast. Yet.
