Attorneys: Buncombe County defendant in 2020 murder case was dating victim

Ryan Oehrli, Asheville Citizen Times
·2 min read
The front of the Buncombe County Courthouse on Jan. 31, 2023.
The front of the Buncombe County Courthouse on Jan. 31, 2023.

ASHEVILLE - The defendant in a 2020 first-degree murder case was dating the man who died, according to opening statements in the Feb. 1 trial in Buncombe County Superior Court.

Shannon Daves, now 49, of Candler, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Roger Michael Evans, whom she had been living with.

Daves’ defense attorney, Joel Schechet, made clear to the jury that Daves was not denying that she shot Evans and that he died. But it was a self-defense case, Schechet said.

The shooting happened Dec. 23, 2020, after the two had been out drinking, attorneys said.

Both the defense and prosecutors referenced a video of the shooting that would be used at the trial.

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Schechet said that Evans, in a “drunken rage,” told Daves, "I will kill you, I swear to God.” One of the prosecutors in the case, Assistant District Attorney Amy Collins, said that Daves’ last words to Evans were a profanity. She shot him three times.

Early in the trial, the jury also heard audio of the 911 call that Daves made after shooting Evans.

In the audio, she broke into crying and screamed. The dispatcher repeatedly told her that responders were already on the way, and urged her to do CPR on Evans.

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But as prosecutors noted in their opening statement and in questions to one of their witnesses, Daves never mentioned to the dispatcher on the call that she shot Evans, nor that he had been shot at all.

Without that information, only EMS and firefighters arrived on scene at first, and they later let law enforcement know that they should be on scene as well.

Ryan Oehrli covers public safety, breaking news, courts and other beats for the Citizen Times. Comments? Questions? Tips? Send them to coehrli@citizentimes.com. 

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Buncombe County defendant, deceased in murder trial dated