Man Sentenced for Double-Murder in Palmdale Parking Lot

LANCASTER (CNS) - A man who pleaded no contest to fatally stabbing a father and daughter in a Kohl's parking lot in Palmdale was sentenced Monday to 30 years to life in state prison.

Superior Court Judge Emily Cole imposed the term on Carlos Francogonzalez, now 37, who pleaded no contest last week in a Lancaster courtroom to two counts of second-degree murder as prospective jurors waited outside for his trial to begin.

The case stems from an Oct. 27, 2022, attack on Kenneth and McKenna Evans in the store's parking lot in the 39800 block of 10th Street West.

The suspect -- subsequently identified by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office as Francogonzalez -- asked 54-year-old Kenneth Evans for assistance with his vehicle, during which an argument allegedly ensued that ended with both victims being stabbed, according to a statement released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department shortly after the crime.

McKenna Evans, 22, died at the scene and her father died at a hospital, according to the sheriff's department.

Both victims died from multiple sharp force injuries, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner.

Speaking on behalf of her husband and daughter, a visibly emotional Elizabeth Evans told the defendant, "You are the absolute embodiment of evil -- a monster."

"You are what you did," she told Francogonzalez.

Of the two large photos she had brought to court of her husband and daughter, she urged the defendant to take "a good, hard look" at the pictures and said she hoped he carried the images with him for the rest of his life.

"The damage you've done can never be undone," she told Francogonzalez.

Francogonzalez -- who turned 36 the day of the killings -- was taken into custody that afternoon and has remained behind bars since then, jail records show.