Vernon Lee Evans was born on October 11, 1949, in Baltimore, Maryland. Details about his early life are limited, but as an adult, he became involved in criminal activities, including drug trafficking. He developed connections with individuals in the drug trade, notably Anthony Grandison, a known drug dealer in Baltimore.

Evans had a criminal record and was known within certain circles. By the early 1980s, he was associated with serious criminal elements, and when Grandison needed someone to carry out a task while he was incarcerated, he turned to Evans.

On April 28, 1983, Vernon Evans carried out a double murder at the Warren House Motel in Pikesville, Maryland. The victims were David Scott Piechowicz and Susan Kennedy, both employees at a photo supply business inside the motel. Susan was 26 years old, and David, 22, was covering a shift for his wife, Cheryl Piechowicz. Cheryl and Susan were both scheduled to testify in a federal drug case against Anthony Grandison, who was already in custody at the time.

Grandison had arranged the murders to prevent the witnesses from testifying. Evans entered the motel and shot both victims at close range. Cheryl was not present that day, so David was killed in her place. The murders were intended to obstruct justice but instead led to more evidence against Grandison and Evans.

Evans was arrested on May 10, 1983. Phone records linked him to Grandison, showing that the murder had been arranged through calls made from prison. In May 1984, both men were convicted and sentenced to death.

Over the years, Evans remained on death row. His execution was delayed multiple times. In 2013, Maryland abolished the death penalty, and on December 31, 2014, then-Governor Martin O'Malley commuted Evans' sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Today, Vernon Evans remains incarcerated, decades after committing a double murder that had significant legal and social implications.