Man who killed girlfriend with beer mug sent to prison

A man who admitted to beating his girlfriend to death with a beer mug was sentenced to up to 25 years in prison Monday.

Dana “Doc” Baker, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in July, said he had quarreled with 56-year-old Jennifer Evanson about their relationship before hitting her seven or eight times with the mug. He will be eligible for parole after serving 10 years.

“I’m sorry for what I’ve done,” the 62-year-old Baker told District Judge Elissa Cadish at a sentencing hearing. “I wish I could change it and take her place.”

Evanson’s family has struggled to cope with her death.

“I don’t think any person deserves to die in such a violent way, especially an innocent person,” her brother, Ronald Benson told the judge.

Benson recalled returning to his sister’s motor home after the killing to collect her belongings.

“We saw the spot where she died and saw the blood stains on the carpet. It was very traumatic,” Benson said. “I still have trouble dealing with that image.”

He asked Cadish for a “sentence that reflects the violence of this murder.”

Evanson’s sister-in-law, Diane Benson, called her “a child of promise,” who loved music and performed in a band, but fell in with the wrong people.

“It finally ended with Mr. Baker,” she said. “She died alone in a filthy, filthy trailer.”

Baker had moved into Evanson’s motor home about three months before the September 2013 slaying, according to police. He told detectives that he became upset with her sleeping with other men, and he dragged her out of bed by the hair.

After Baker struck her with the mug, Evanson pleaded for him to stop. He left her lying on the floor for about two hours before she asked him to call 911.

Baker called 911, grabbed a few belongings and fled the scene because he was scared, according to police. He said he did not intend to kill Evanson.

Evanson was found bleeding from her head, according to police. She died at the scene.

Police found Baker in a tent in a desert on Las Vegas Boulevard North, near Lamb Boulevard, with blood on his socks and shorts. They also found a pair of bloody tennis shoes inside his car.

“I would refer to him as an animal, but animals do not do this,” Diane Benson said. “They do not kill because someone hurts their feelings or bruises their ego. He could have walked away that night. And there would still be hope in this family.”

Contact reporter David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker.