Evelyn Martin (nurse)
Evelyn Martin (born 1924), a resident of 10th Court in College Hills in Birmingham, went missing, along with her husband, John, and grandson Ryan J. Evans, on June 13, 2006. Their bodies were discovered in a wooded area near Bessemer in December 2006.
History
Evelyn and John married in 1938. She worked as a nurse while he was employed by the U. S. Postal Service. They are both retired, and active at Green Liberty Baptist Church in Titusville, where John served as a deacon and Evelyn sang in the choir. The couple have three children, two sons, one named E. T., and a daughter, Tammy Duff. Martin had two hip replacement surgeries in recent years.
A few days after they were reported missing by family members, Police searched the home and found trace blood stains in a recliner, which led to the suspicion of foul play.
Rewards totalling $130,000 were offered by Tuscaloosa businessman Stan Pate, Barber's Dairy, the State of Alabama, and others for the family's safe return, or for information leading to the arrests of suspects in connection with their disappearance.
On December 13, 2006, Evelyn's body was found in an overgrown ravine just off Alabama Highway 150 near Bessemer. It was lodged under a bridge over the creek. After her body was identified, officers returned to search the ravine on December 15. They found John's and Ryan's bodies about 100 yards from where Evelyn's had been.
Derrol Shaw who may have been living secretly in their basement, was captured close to the 1600 block of 1st Avenue South, where police found Martin's 2005 Toyota Camry. Another man, Lovell Watkins, in jail for unrelated charges, was later named a "person of interest" in the case. Shaw, already serving time for a string of carjackings, was charged with capital murder in the deaths of Evans, the Martins, and 91-year-old church deacon Walter Hill. In January 2008 he agreed to plea guilty to all four murders in exchange for a sentence of life in prison without parole.
References
- Robinson, Carol. (September 5, 2006). "'It's not old news. Not to us.'" The Birmingham News.
- Gordon, Robert K. and Carol Robinson. (December 15, 2006). "Bodies of missing Martin family believed found." Birmingham News Breaking News Blog. Quoted in Dre's Ramblings (December 15, 2007 [1]), accessed September 18, 2007.
- Velasco, Eric. (September 18, 2007). "Prosecutors: Shaw killed to cover crimes." The Birmingham News.
- Velasco, Eric (January 14, 2008) "Derrol Shaw agrees to plead guilty to four Birmingham murders." Birmingham News.