Jury orders death for woman’s killer

After deliberating less than an hour, an Orange County jury Thursday ordered the death penalty for a registered sex offender who fatally stabbed a woman inside a trailer near a Fullerton church.

Steven Carl Evans, 61, who has spent his life in and out of custody, was convicted earlier this month in the August 2003 murder and sexual assault of Jeanette Elias, 24, of Sylmar. He is scheduled to be formally sentenced Oct. 24.

Evans met Elias when she got off a train in Fullerton. He took her to a trailer parked near a church, where authorities say he tried to rape her and stabbed her more than 20 times.

Elias’ body was found after police received a tip from Evans’ sister-in-law, who reported that he had come to the home she shared with Evans’ brother and revealed he had just gotten into a fight with a woman.

Evans spent eight years in a state prison for a rape conviction in San Bernardino more than 20 years ago, with time served concurrently for forgery and other fraud charges. He was paroled in 1988 but in the late 1990s was convicted again in Los Angeles County and sentenced to six years for grand theft. He was released in 2001.