A military judge sentenced Lance Cpl. Darren Evans to life in prison on Thursday for the brutal murder of his roommate, Lance Cpl. Mario Arias, reports Camp Pendleton Patch.
A spokesman for MCAS Miramar, where Evans is imprisoned, told Patch that in addition to his sentence of life with the possibility of parole...
...[Evans] will be reduced from lance corporal to private. He will also forfeit all pay, [and] will receive a dishonorable discharge from the Marine Corps.
As Home Post previously reported, Evans pleaded guilty to the murder, even though he told a military judge he did not remember committing the crime. But the overwhelming amount of forensic evidence (including Evans's fingerprints on the murder weapon) persuaded the Marine that he was the perpetrator.
Toxicology reports showed Evans was drunk when he committed the crime, and Evans has attributed his heavily intoxicated state to not being able to remember the night of the murder.
Arias, 19, was found dead in his Camp Pendleton barracks on November 6, 2011. The evidence showed Evans had attacked Arias with the claw end of a crowbar, which left the victim with nine different head wounds.
After Evans beat Arias to death, he jumped from the third-floor of the barracks - either to escape or to commit suicide. Evans was hospitalized for weeks with injuries sustained in the fall.
