Berlin man, charged in July stabbing death of mother, arraigned in Worcester court

WORCESTER — A Berlin man accused in the July killing of his 68-year-old mother pleaded not guilty to one count of murder on Friday.  

John M. Evans, 28, was held without bail by agreement of his defense lawyer and a prosecutor, according to the office of Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. He was arraigned in Worcester Superior Court.

The count of murder stems from July 22, when Evans placed a 911 call around 10:30 p.m. from his Berlin home saying that he “killed his mother” after he had “stabbed her in the chest,” according to Clinton District Court records. 

Upon arrival at 14 Spofford Road, where the mother and son were living at the time, responding officers and firefighters found Evans standing outside by the driveway, according to court records. 

The 28-year-old had explained to crews that an argument between the two had led the mother to the back door, where Evans said to officers, “he followed her outside with a knife and stabbed her multiple times.” 

Evans’ mother was found unresponsive on the front lawn of the house, with multiple stab wounds, and was pronounced dead shortly before midnight, court records show.  

Evans was arrested that evening and charged with armed assault with intent to murder and assault and battery upon an elderly person. 

The charges were upgraded to murder on Sept. 20.  

He is due to appear again in court Nov. 7. 

An obituary for Karin Evans described her as someone who “had a passion for science” and had worked as a research immunologist at a biotechnology company in Cambridge.  

Obituary Karin Schiffer Evans

She held a master’s degree in microbiology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and could play the piano, the flute and the guitar, according to the obituary.  

“Karin could talk for hours, and always ended phone calls with at least three goodbyes.”