WEATHERFORD — Seventeen at the time he shot his mother and sister dead, Jacob Ryans Evans has received a 45-year sentence after the state and his family agreed to a plea bargain.
Evans, 19, looked tall and skinny to the point of frailty as he faced a judge in Weatherford. He pleaded guilty to two counts of murder for the deaths of his younger sister and their mother.
Evans' father and other close relatives wiped away tears. Evans answered the judge softly.
Police say Evans called 911 on Oct. 4, 2012 to report he killed his mother, Jami Evans, and 15-year-old sister, Mallory Evans.
"I felt they were just suffocating me, in a way," he told the dispatcher. "Obviously, you know, I'm pretty, I guess, evil."
After his arrest, Evans was evaluated by two separate psychologists, who deemed him incompetent to stand trial, and he was transferred to a state mental hospital. More than two years later on April 20, hospital officials announced Evans was ready and fit to stand trial.
None of the attorneys would discuss motive or Evans' mental state.
Evans pleaded guilty Thursday before Judge Graham Quisenberry.
Defense attorneys read a statement saying the family supported the plea deal. Prosecutor Robert DuBoise said it's best for everyone and that the family has shown awe-inspiring forgiveness.
The state dropped a capital murder charge in favor of two counts of murder. DuBoise said it would have been difficult to try Evans for capital murder, because the state did not allow execution or life without parole for 17 year olds. Those are the only two options for capital murder.
The plea agreement means he and his family will not have to endure a trial for the shootings.
According to a statement to the district attorney, family members feel it's "a fair plea bargain, under all circumstances, even though our family would support a lesser sentence than 45 years..."
Evans will be eligible for parole after serving at least half of the 45-year sentence.
"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 interests," read the statement signed by Evans' father, grandparents, sisters, aunts and uncle.
Evans attended Aledo High School as a teen and will turn 20 in May.
