Parole Board to Consider Convicted Murderer and Rapist Evins

A man convicted in 1979 in the rape and murder of a mother of two in Fountain Valley will meet with the parole board Monday afternoon.

William Lee Evins, 57, is being held at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad. Evins was sentenced Sept. 25, 1985, to 15 years to life in state prison after he pleaded guilty Aug. 3, 1985, to one felony count of second degree murder and a sentencing enhancement for the use of a deadly weapon. The case was originally prosecuted by former Deputy District Attorney John Conley.

Early in the morning of March 8, 1979, Evins, then 25 years old, was at a friend’s house on Hemlock Street in Fountain Valley, two blocks from the home of 28-year-old Joan Anderson. While walking in the neighborhood, Evins broke into Anderson’s home.

Anderson was home alone with her 6-month-old daughter and 3-year-old son while her husband was away on a business trip. Evins
raped Anderson in the master bedroom and then killed her by hitting her in the head with a hammer. He left her dead body on her bed, wearing a blue pajama top but naked from the waist down. Evins fled the scene.

Deputy District Attorney David Porter will attend the parole hearing via video conference in behalf of District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, who has fomally opposed parole for Evins.