THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 27, 1996 TAG: 9603270407
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ATLANTA LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Nine months ago, Delores Evans faced a bank of television cameras and wept for the death of her only child, who had been vacationing in Virginia Beach, Va., when she was slain.
On Tuesday, she again faced the cameras, this time to offer thanks for keeping alive her daughter's name and her daughter's dream.
In that time, residents and businesses in Hampton Roads contributed more than $16,000 to a memorial scholarship fund in the name of Jennifer Evans.
Lou Thurston and Mike Carey, the Virginia Beach police officers who established the fund, presented the check to Emory University officials at a news conference.
A scholarship honoring the Tucker, Ga., native will be given each year to a senior at Emory University who best exhibits Jennifer's passion for helping children and whose grades reflect a dedication to excellence. The first scholarship will be awarded next year.
``These past nine months would have been unbearable if not for our faith that Jennifer is in a better place and for the love and support from our family and from people we've never met,'' Delores Evans said.
After the scholarship was established, Carey and Thurston received hundreds of donations, ranging from $5 checks to a $5,000 windfall. One check was mailed from Maine.
``This award perpetuates Jennifer's life in a very real way,'' said Bill Fox, an Emory vice president who accepted the check. ``Her life and the work she had begun will not be undone.''
Jennifer was among the university's top pre-med students. She volunteered her time and knowledge to work with sick and injured children, a path she wished to continue as a physician.
On June 19, while visiting friends in Virginia Beach, she disappeard from an Oceanfront-area bar. For nine days she was listed as a missing person until a suspect in the case led police to Newport News Park and Jennifer's body. Police say she had been sexually assaulted and then strangled.
Police have charged Dustin Turner and Billy Joe Brown Jr. with murder. They have yet to be tried.
Both men were Navy SEAL candidates at the time of Jennifer's death.
They now blame each other for the slaying.
``Last June we lost Jennifer,'' said Fox , the vice president, addressing the residents of Hampton Roads. ``We miss her and we grieve her absence.''
``We owe such a debt of gratitude for all the support shown to us in the past nine months,'' Delores Evans said.
``We hope in some small way this will inspire another young student to strive for some of the characteristics and goals Jennifer strived for.'' ILLUSTRATION: IN MEMORY OF JENNIFER EVANS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mike Carey, a Beach police officer who helped set up a memorial
fund, stands beside a picture of Jennifer Evans.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Delores Evans, Jennifer Lea Evans' mother, hugs Brian Harcourt after
the news conference in Atlanta on Tuesday. A scholarship will be
given each year to an Emory University senior who works to help
children, and who makes good grades. The first money will be awarded
next year.
ABOUT THE CASE
Police have charged Dustin Turner and Billy Joe Brown Jr. with
murder. They have yet to be tried.
Both men were Navy SEAL candidates at the time of Jennifer's
death. They now blame each other for the slaying.
by CNB