Cheryl Jennings gets jail for 2016 killing of Malcolm Evans; denies pulling the trigger

Xerxes Wilson | The News Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Top stories for today Here are some of the top stories we're following for today. 1/29/19

A Bear woman will spend 15 years in jail for the 2016 shooting death of 19-year-old Delaware State University student, though she maintains she did not pull the trigger.

At her sentencing on Monday, Cheryl Jennings' attorney tried to shift some blame for the killing to her husband, Ralph, despite her April plea of no contest to manslaughter charges. That plea came days before her trial on first-degree murder, which carried a potential sentence of life in prison.

"She has maintained her innocence," said Joseph Hurley, her attorney, at Monday's hearing. "Ralph said he pulled the trigger."

Malcolm Evans, a junior at DSU who aspired to be a neurosurgeon, was shot in his car at about 4 a.m. on July 9, 2016, on Country Path Drive near the Jennings' home, police said. He was on his way to work at the FedEx facility in New Castle, his family told police.

In court filings, Hurley said the killing stemmed from Cheryl thinking someone was trying to break into her home.

Evans' mother, Terry Evans, spoke about her family's "incredible loss and hurt." She said her son lived to help others in contrast to Cheryl, who she described as "a child killer and a dream killer."

"She worked in the dark and killed a young man headed to work so he didn't have to ask his parents for money," Terry Evans told the court.

She asked Rocanelli to apply the harshest sentence possible to deter others from "taking the law into their own hands."

Hurley said Cheryl took the plea as a way of letting Evans' family avoid the pain of a trial.

"Even with her husband pulling the trigger, she caused the situation," Hurley conceded.

New Castle County Superior Court Judge Andrea Rocanelli said she was not going to entertain factors "shifting blame" in her sentence.

Deputy Attorney General Brian Robertson said Cheryl could have called 911 had she believed someone was trying to get into her house or after Evans' car crashed. Instead, she "secreted" away in a hotel near the Philadelphia airport in the days after the shooting, Robertson said.

She later told investigators she knew nothing about the shooting, he said, adding that her actions have served only to "hide, obfuscate and escape responsibility."

"It was Cheryl Jennings' actions, plural, that led us to where we are today," Robertson said.

Rocanelli said she considered that the killing happened "without any provocation from Malcolm" in giving Cheryl a 15-year sentence.

After the hearing, Evans' parents said they were pleased with the sentence, appreciate the "hard work" and "dedication" of the police, but feel "a little bit of disappointment."

"We still don't feel justice is fully served because someone out there who is partially responsible is still walking the streets," said Kevin Evans, Malcolm's father, after the hearing.

Robertson said the case was "one of the most difficult" he's encountered. There was no forensic evidence identifying who fired the single shot that killed Evans.

"Establishing who did this was an exceptional challenge," Robertson said.

In separate police interviews, Ralph and Cheryl gave similar stories about what led to the shooting, according to court documents submitted by Hurley.

On the morning of the killing, Cheryl had consumed alcohol and cocaine and was doing laundry. Ralph was upstairs watching television, Hurley wrote in court filings.

Cheryl heard a "boom," and saw a black car on the street outside. That was followed later by what she thought was a jiggling of the handle of her kitchen door. She said she saw a figure running from her porch toward the street, according to court documents.

She alerted Ralph Jennings', who grabbed a handgun and told her to stay inside. Instead, Cheryl ran out to the street with Ralph behind her, according to Hurley's court submissions.

PRIOR COVERAGE:

Woman pleads guilty to manslaughter in 2016 death of DSU student

Woman arrested in fatal shooting of DSU student

Enraged and standing in the street, Cheryl forced a car being driven by Evans to stop, Hurley wrote.

In statements to police, Ralph Jennings said Cheryl was standing in front of the car shouting questions at the driver.

Ralph Jennings said he saw the brake lights dim, heard the engine rev and he pulled the trigger, Hurley wrote, quoting a police interview with Ralph Jennings.

After the shot, Evans' car sped off and crashed into an embankment. He died in the hospital days later. In court documents, prosecutors said Evans' phone data showed he left his parents' home too late to have been "harassing" the Jennings' home.

Robertson noted evidence of Cheryl as the shooter was limited to a statement by one of her confidants. But he rejected Hurley's assertion that Ralph "confessed" to pulling the trigger.

While Ralph told investigators he fired the shot, the interview was part of trial preparation for his wife with the legal agreement that his statements could not be used to prosecute him for the crime, court filings show.

"Ralph Jennings statement is not a confession that would be admissible at trial were he to be charged," Robertson wrote a memo to the court.

Ralph has not been charged with a crime, was not present at the hearing and did not return a phone call seeking comment.

New Castle County Police Chief Col. Vaughn Bond Jr., whose department investigated the killing, said he was "comfortable and confident" that Cheryl was the killer.

Manslaughter carries a sentence of two to 25 years. Sentencing recommendations for the crime prescribe up to a five-year sentence.

Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com. Follow @Ber_Xerxes on Twitter.