A mother mourned the death of her husband and daughter after they were both stabbed to death in a Kohl’s parking lot in Palmdale, just north of Los Angeles.
Ken Evans and his 22 year-old-daughter McKenna were killed in a seemingly random attack that happened just just before noon on Thursday, LA County Sheriff’s Department have said.
Elizabeth Evans, who is Ken’s widow and McKenna’s mom, said: ‘I am completely destroyed.’
‘(McKenna) wasn’t just my daughter, she was my best friend,’ she added.
She described how McKenna was an ambitious young woman and that she was studying to be an aesthetician.
‘She was an absolute beacon,’ she said. ‘She didn’t know a stranger. Everybody became her best friend.’
‘He loved playing pool, he loved mountain biking, he loved spending time with his daughter,’ said Elizabeth of her husband Ken.
The father and daughter were spending the morning together working on a car in the lot when the a man approached them asking for assistance with his own vehicle, cops said.
After an ‘argument ensued’ the man stabbed both the father and daughter multiple times before being apprehended by sheriff’s deputies responding to the call.
McKenna’s mother and Ken’s wife, Elizabeth Evans, said she saw the suspect ‘smirk’ as he was lead away in cuffs.
McKenna was pronounced dead at the scene and Ken was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead later.
Ken Evans (left) and his 22 year-old-daughter McKenna (right) were killed in a seemingly random attack that happened just just before noon on Thursday
Elizabeth Evans, who is Ken’s widow and McKenna’s mom, said: ‘I am completely destroyed.’ ‘(McKenna) wasn’t just my daughter, she was my best friend’
McKenna and Ken were both in their own cars parked next to each other. The suspect that ended up stabbing them both was parked nearby and appeared to be living from his car, detectives said
McKenna’s mother and Ken’s wife Elizabeth Evans said the two were in the Kohl’s parking lot working on a car when somebody she believed to be on drugs attacked them both
Elizabeth also described the moment she saw the man suspected of killing her daughter and husband suspect smirk as he was handcuffed by deputies.
‘When he was in handcuffs, he smirked,’ she said. ‘He had a smirk on his face. How dare he? I hope he never gets out of prison.’
Elizabeth Evans spoke about the attack after it happened. She said that Ken was a loving father and described McKenna as her ‘best friend.’
The two were working on one of their cars when they were approached by the man seeking help.
McKenna and Ken were each in their own cars parked next to each other. The suspect that ended up stabbing them both was parked nearby and appeared to be living from his car, detectives said.
The man that attacked her daughter and husband was on drugs and it was totally random, Elizabeth told KTLA.
A woman who witnessed the brutal stabbing but wanted to remain anonymous described to the news channel how the attacker was seemingly targeting the woman.
She recounted how she saw McKenna screaming and running around the parking lot. She said that he then stabbed her ‘in the back, on the side of her ribs and in her stomach.’
‘He walked away from it, came back and started stabbing her again.’
‘Then walked away again. Came back. Kicked her, stabbed her two times in the abdomen and walked away,’ she added.
She also mentioned how Ken was stabbed by the same man.
‘He got stabbed a couple of times, and then he was trying to get back into his vehicle where he continued to stab him,’ she said.
A witness who wanted to remain anonymous told KTLA news that Ken tried to escape the attack by getting into a car but continued to be stabbed
McKenna’s mother described her as ambitious and said that her 22-year-old daughter was training to become an aesthetician
McKenna Evans during her graduation from Highland High School
McKenna’s boyfriend of eight months Jesse Mercado held Elizabeth in his arms as he tried to hold back tears.
‘The first time I met her was at work,’ said Jesse. ‘The moment she presented herself was the day I fell in love with her.’
He told ABC7: ‘All I want from this is just one more time. Just one more time. Can’t I just hold her one more time? And say my goodbyes and that’s it. Tell her I love her. I’ll always love her.’
McKenna with her mother Elizabeth Evans, who said she was ‘completely destroyed’
The attack comes in the wake of spiraling issues with crime in Los Angeles.
Statistics provided by the LAPD indicated that until on October 10 there had been a total of 24,450 violent crimes committed, up by 3.9 percent from the total in the same period last year, 23,526.
Robbery is up by 14.9 percent since last year and aggravated assault 0.9 percent.
Changes in crime since 2021 as reported by the LAPD. Statistics are from October 1