Man found guilty in 'heinous' murder, rape, arson in Salisbury
An Eastern Shore man has been found guilty in the May 2021 murder of a Salisbury woman and arson of her home.
On Friday, Kenneth Evans, formerly of Delmar, Maryland, was convicted of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, home invasion, robbery, first-degree arson and other related offenses, according to an Oct. 28 press release from the Office of the State’s Attorney for Wicomico County. The seven-day jury trial was presided over by Judge S. James Sarbanes, administrative judge of the First Judicial Circuit.
In the early morning of May 21, 2021, Evans traveled from the Delmar area to a neighborhood near Glastonbury Drive in Salisbury. He entered the home of Helen Riggins, where he "heinously offended her over a course of hours," the State's Attorney's Office said. Riggins was bound, strangled, raped and murdered.
Evans then doused Riggins and part of the inside of her home with gasoline and set it ablaze, in an effort to conceal evidence of his crimes, the Wicomico State’s Attorney's office said.
“The strong collaboration and cooperation among agencies charged with protecting and serving our community resulted in a just and swift verdict. I am grateful for the jury who spent the better part of two weeks hearing and seeing difficult evidence of the Defendant’s torture of an innocent grandmother," said Wicomico County State’s Attorney Jamie Dykes.
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The 911 call reporting the house fire was made at about 6:46 a.m., according to court documents. First responders found the home's back door open and once the fire was suppressed, found the victim's body lying next to the bed in the master bedroom.
State fire marshals were called to investigate and noticed there was a "wire cable" wrapped around the victim's neck, court records state. Fire marshals determined the fire was intentionally set and had started at the victim's feet.
"The jury’s verdict and the Defendant’s forthcoming sentence will ensure that the public is safe from this Defendant,” said Dykes, who assisted the lead prosecutor, assistant state's attorney Lauren Bourdon, in the prosecution.
Sentencing was deferred pending the completion of a pre-sentence investigation. Evans will remain in custody pending sentencing.
This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: In Salisbury murder, rape, arson, Delmar man found guilty
