 |
 |
July
9, 2002 |
 |
Richard Marc Evonitz died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Thursday,
June 27 after fleeing from police through three states. Married
and steadily employed, Evonitz was the recipient of two Navy Good
Conduct Medals during his eight years in the service, according
The Washington Post.
He may also be the serial killer investigators have been searching
for in the 1996 and 1997 abduction and murder of four teenage girls.
We seem to be learning about this guy from back to front. The only
reason we know about Marc Evonitz is that his final victim gathered
the incredible courage and wherewithal to escape, though handcuffed,
from his Columbia, South Carolina apartment.
His Last Assault
According to Columbia's newspaper, The State, Evonitz lured the
15-year-old girl from her friend's lawn by posing as a magazine
salesman. Once she was close enough, he pulled a gun and forced
her into a large rubber storage box in his trunk, drove her to his
apartment, carried the box with her in it into his bedroom where,
according to The Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star, he tied her up
in a bondage device attached to his bed and assaulted her. Other
details have been reported, but in the interest of not rehashing
more than necessary for the sake of the young victim, I think I'll
stop there-except to say that when Evonitz passed out or over-confidentally
drifted off to sleep, the young girl escaped.
I'm amazed by her bravery, and my thoughts are with her as she tries
to survive the emotional burden that monster has left her with.
I've worked with a large number of victims and their families, and
the horror certainly does not stop when the attack is over. I hope
she receives the support and compassion she unconditionally deserves.
In only one respect was this girl fortunate-she got away with her
life. Four earlier victims did not, and authorities now have evidence
linking Evonitz with the 1996 kidnapping and murder of Sofia Silva,
16, and the 1997 kidnapping and murders of sisters Kristin and Kati
Lisk, 15 and 12.
These crimes all occurred in Spotsylvania County, VA, and DNA evidence,
according to The Washington Post, has established that the same
person killed all three girls. There is also evidence linking Evonitz
with the 1996 abduction and murder of student Alicia Showalter Reynolds.
The Post reports that notes at Evonitz' apartment outline directions
to the Lisk neighborhood and to the site where Reynolds' body was
found.
As a longtime Northern Virginian, I remember the cases well, and
the public's frustration that they went unsolved. I hope the families
and our communities at large get some closure soon. Forensic reports
are due in any day.
If that happens, we have an intrepid supervisor at the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children (www.ncmec.org) to thank,
according to The Post. Responding to an inquiry from South Carolina
investigators, Cathy Nahirny made connections between the M.O. in
the unsolved Virginia cases and the scenario in Columbia, and saw
a correlation between the years of the Spotsylvania murders and
the time Evonitz lived in the area. This gave investigators a context
for the evidence they were finding at his apartment.
The Stressor
It seems the murders of Silva and the Lisk sisters coincided roughly
with Evonitz' marital problems and separation from his first wife,
Bonnie, who was 17 to his 24 when they married (evidencing his obsession
with teenage girls). I've often talked about the role of the precipitating
stressor in a serial killer's career, especially in triggering the
first murder. You may recall that the two most common stressors
are losing a girlfriend or wife and losing a job.
One instructive case on this point was that of Monte Rissell, a
serial killer whose committed his first murder on the day he saw
his ex-girlfriend with another man. A young man with several convictions
for aggressive crimes, including burglary, on his record, Rissell
was nineteen at the time. The girlfriend had just broken up with
him via letter, and the reality of the break-up hit Rissell when
he drove up to her college and spotted her with her new boyfriend.
But instead of taking his anger out on her, he drove back home to
Alexandria, VA. There, sitting in his car in the parking lot of
his apartment complex, he steamed, drinking and getting high.
When he saw an unaccompanied woman pull into the lot, the fantasy
kicked in-and he was just emboldened enough by his anger and inebriation
to act on it. What he didn't know at first was that she was a prostitute,
a sick coincidence given that prostitutes are victims of choice
for many serial killers.
Rissell told us he was shocked when the woman tried to defuse the
situation by making the sex act seem enjoyable, by trying to make
him feel good. It just made him madder, and he ultimately killed
her. He chased her, and they fell down a ravine, where he bashed
her head against a rock and held her head under water until she
drowned.
Rissell had gotten the first one out of the way, and his inhibitions
were gone. He killed five women before he was caught. Evonitz is
dead, so it'll be nearly impossible to find out when his fantasies
began and, if he was a killer, who his first victim was. But I wouldn't
be surprised to find out that he is the murderer they've been looking
for in those 1996 and 1997 crimes, given the coincidental stressor
of being left by his wife, current evidence, and the similar scenario
in the Columbia attack.
Losing the Thread
Evonitz had been arrested once, in Florida in 1987. It was a sex
crime; he exposed himself and performed a sex act in front of two
young girls. He completed a court-ordered three year probation and
underwent sexual counseling, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Evonitz was in the Navy at the time of his arrest but was not discharged
for it. He remained in the service and was ultimately honorably
discharged.
Unfortunately, he was not listed as a sex offender because, as reported
in the Free Lance-Star, the law establishing such a registry was
six years away. He was, however, on a list of potential suspects
in the Lisk killings, but was never called in for questioning due
to the lack of any evidence connecting him with the crimes. When
he left Virginia and moved home, to Columbia, South Carolina, the
chances that investigators would find more to link him with those
crimes, or that they would be able to keep track of him, greatly
decreased. If he committed any violent crimes between 1997 and now,
or prior to 1997, we don't know about them-yet.
If there were signs that he was committing such crimes, they were
apparently very difficult to spot. As further news stories come
out, more acquaintances may come forward with what they may have
dismissed as nothing but now realize were indications that something
wasn't right with him. But as I mentioned, Evonitz was gainfully
employed and married. He seemed pretty normal, except for one glaring
item-something he told the police.
The Red Flag
When he was arrested in 1987, Evonitz apparently made a statement
that could've foreshadowed a career of sex crimes against children.
According to the Free Lance-Star, the police report includes a confession
from Evonitz that he had "a problem with masturbating in front of
girls" and that he would search for girls to expose himself to when
he felt "the urge."
Certainly all exhibitionists aren't rapists or killers. But Evonitz'
admission that he had an urge he couldn't control indicated that
his crimes would only continue and escalate, especially since his
"urge" targeted children. This wasn't a one-time thing. The suspect
himself said so, practically in as many words. Yet he was allowed
to resume his life as a "model" citizen, free to fulfill his fantasies
for another fifteen years.
Convicted Sex Offender Registry
Fortunately, things are tougher these days on sexual predators.
As I discuss in my newsletter about safety, posted separately on
my site, it's a good idea to check with your local police department
to find out how you can access a list of convicted sex offenders
in your area. Be aware that the registries vary from state to state
as to which crimes warrant a criminal's inclusion-and as to how
far back they go.
Nonetheless, there's always more information there than we've previously
had access to. Many states post their lists in searchable databases
on the internet, with pictures to accompany an individual's data.
Let's take advantage of the tools law enforcement offers us to protect
ourselves. Without becoming paranoid, we owe it to ourselves and
our kids to stay informed.
|
|
|
