Camp Pendleton Marine Lance Cpl. Darren J. Evans, accused of savagely beating to death roommate Lance Cpl. Mario Arias, will be court-martialed for the crime.
The North County Times reports Lance Cpl. Evans, 19, will be tried on charges of premeditated murder for allegedly attacking Arias with the claw end of a crowbar, resulting in nine different head wounds on the victim.
Arias, 19, was found dead in his Camp Pendleton barracks on November 6, 2011. Home Post reported previously that investigators believed Evans beat Arias to death, then jumped from the third-floor of the barracks - either to escape or to commit suicide. Evans was hospitalized for weeks with injuries he sustained from the fall.
At Evans' Article 32 hearing last month, several Marines testified they believed Evans had a drinking problem and was depressed to the point of being suicidal, according to Camp Pendleton Patch.
