Gary Evans (serial killer)

Gary Evans
Mugshot
(New York State Police)
Born Gary Charles Evans
(1954-10-07)October 7, 1954
Troy, New York, U.S.
Died August 14, 1998(1998-08-14) (aged 43)
New York, U.S.
Cause of death Suicide (jumped off bridge)
Criminal penalty None (died before trial)
Details
Victims 5
Span of crimes
 February, 1985–October, 1997
Country United States
State(s) New York
Florida
Massachusetts
Date apprehended
 May 27, 1998

Gary Charles Evans (October 7, 1954 – August 14, 1998) was a confessed serial killer in and around the Capital District, New York. His penchant for stealing antiques and his multiple escapes from custody — including one that ended in his death — made him headline news in the area on numerous occasions. He disturbed the lives of many; a well known documentary on "Destination America" describes the life of a family who was terrorized by the killer.

Early life

Evans was born in Troy, New York to Roy Evans and Flora Mae Lee. As a child, he suffered beatings at the hands of both parents, and claimed that he was raped by his father when he was eight. Flora Mae Evans was a mentally ill woman who attempted suicide on numerous occasions, once misfiring a weapon and accidentally shooting her husband in the shoulder. His parents divorced in 1968, and his mother remarried and divorced four times before coming out as a lesbian when Gary was seventeen.[1]

1990s

In October 1991, Evans spent two weeks on the roof of a building in Little Falls, New York casing a coin and jewelry shop on the first floor which was owned by Gregory Jouben, 36. On October 17, 1991, Evans walked into Jouben's shop, asked him to price a piece of merchandise, and then shot him to death. The small community in sparsely populated Herkimer County was outraged by one of the few murders of the year in the area.

In 1993, Evans stole over 800 antiques from a group shop in Quechee, Vermont. Evans used an engine crane to steal a thousand-pound bench out of an Albany cemetery, but he was arrested when his fence became nervous and turned him in. In early 1994, Evans agreed to assist the authorities by obtaining information on Jeffrey Williams, who was implicated in the high-profile murder of Karolyn Lonczak. When Williams was found guilty, Evans was released on February 12, 1994, with police still unaware that Evans himself had killed at least four people at that point.[2]

Final escape and death

In 1998, Evans was rearrested. In custody, he confessed to five murders and then led police to the scattered bodies of his dismembered victims. His final escape was from a prison transport van. Manacled and chained, Evans used a key secreted up his nose, kicked out a window and then jumped from the prison van. Evans was later cornered by police and leaped to his death.[3]

Media

Evans' life is dramatized in the season 1, episode 8 of "I Killed My BFF" titled "My Best Friend the Serial Killer".[4] He is also featured as the 'DreamCatcher' on My Haunted House S4 E2 To Catch A Killer s1e2

References

  1. ↑ http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Psyc%20405/serial%20killers/Evans,%20Gary%20-%20fall,%202005.pdf
  2. ↑ "[untitled page]". Marijuana Library.org. quoting and republishing: Fitzpatrick, Edward (1998-12-06). "Snitches come with a price". Times Union. Albany, NY.
  3. ↑ Blanco, Juan Ignacio. "Gary Evans | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers". murderpedia.org. Retrieved 2017-07-22.
  4. ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2889096
  • M. William Phelps (2005-06-05), Every Move You Make, Pinnacle Books ISBN 0-7860-1695-7
  • Albany Times-Union, 1998-06-28, page A6
  • Stewart, Barbara (15 August 1998). "Shackled Convict Leaps to Death in Hudson". The New York Times.
  • "[Report of Evans's murder indictments]". MSNBC via Findlaw. 13 August 1998.
  • Utica Observer-Dispatch report about Phelps's book and Evans's murder of local jeweler Jouben
  • "New York State Troopers report on Evans" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-01-16.  (752 bytes)
  • Hewett, David (April 2002). "Top Lot in Northeast's Big March Sale Has Grisly History". Maine Antique Digest. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Article regarding the Audubon book auction and Evans's theft
  • "You Can Run, but You Can't Hide". Maine Antique Digest. 1998. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Report of Evans's death and thefts
  • AP report during Evans's confessions
  • Albany Times-Union report of Evans's indictments and facing the death penalty
  • Albany Times-Union report of Evans's indictments and confession
  • Lists three of Evans' terms in state prison
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