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17-Year-Old Girl Murders Mom On Christmas Day, But Family Upset About Murder Charges

By Meaghan Ellis
Published on: 12:52 PST, Dec 30, 2016

Delilah Evans is making headlines for the disturbing murder of her disabled mother. According to Detroit News, the 17-year-old brutally stabbed her mother — identified as Sonia Riang, 45 — on Christmas Day. It has been reported that on Sunday evening, officers with the Clinton Township Police Department were dispatched to Riang’s home at Washington Place Apartments on Washington Square in Michigan.

Riang was reportedly found dead on her bedroom floor after she’d last been seen alive around noon earlier that day. Initially, her daughter wasn’t a suspect, but a number of factors raised suspicions about Evans’ involvement in her mother’s death. According to the Daily Tribune, this wasn’t the first time officers had been dispatched to the home. Back in October, a similar incident occurred.

At that time, Delilah Evans was arrested after she allegedly stabbed her brother. She was arrested on suspicion of felonious assault for the stabbing, according to the publication. Her brother sustained non-life threatening injuries and ultimately chose not to attend the court hearing. So, the previous charges were ultimately dismissed. Clinton Township Police Capt. Richard Maierle shared details about Evans’ previous arrest during a news press conference.

“We arrested her in October,” Capt. Maierle said of the chilling foreboding that led to Evans’ previous arrest. “It’s a very big issue,” Maierele said. “We arrest someone and then for whatever reason, a couple gets back together, or someone is afraid, people fail to press charges.”

However, this time around, Evans will be facing a much more serious situation. Due to the nature of her mother’s death, which is quite similar to the injuries her brother sustained, she is now a murder suspect.

Despite the current charges and the past incident, which is eerily similar to her mother’s murder, Delilah Evans’ family has a different perspective of the charges that have been brought against her.

On Dec. 28, Delilah Evans was arraigned in 41B District Court during a video conference from Macomb County Jail. As Magistrate Daniel Goulette announced the official charge of first-degree murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of Evans’ mother, she reportedly appeared “numb,” reports the Daily Tribune. The murder charge reportedly includes “premeditated first-degree murder,” reports Fox 2 Detroit. However, the grieving family is distraught because, in addition to losing a loved one, they believe Evans could be wrongfully convicted because of her presumably unstable mental state.

Members of the teen’s family claim she suffers from an untreated mental illness. At the arraignment, Evans insisted she understood the murder charge, but her aunt, Kenitha Molden, argued that her niece is totally unaware of what’s going on.

“They haven’t let us talk to her, we haven’t seen her, she haven’t made a phone call,” Moldin told reporters. “She’s sitting there — she did not understand anything that was said to her. She doesn’t understand anything.”

In fact, Evans’ sister, Roseanna, also voiced concerns about her well-being since they haven’t been allowed to talk to her.

“She needs a lawyer,” said Roseanna Evans. “They haven’t let us talk to her.”

After the hearing, Evans family — which included Molden, Evans’ sister, and her two brothers, Demarcus Evans and Demarco Evans — left the courtroom visibly upset with the outcome and the direction it appears the case is going. At this point, Delilah Evans has a court-appointed attorney. She is currently being held without bond in Macomb County Jail. Evans has two court appearances scheduled — a probable cause conference on Jan. 11, and a preliminary examination on Jan. 18. As of now, no psychiatric exam has been scheduled. If convicted of first-degree murder, she faces the possibility of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

[Featured Image by Clinton Township Police Dept.]

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