CLEVELAND — It’s been five years since Sheila Wallace was shot and killed while walking her dog at McGowan Park.
Sheila’s daughter, Katie, described her as kind, patient, faithful to God, and the “moral compass” of her family.
The man who murdered Sheila, DaJuan Evans, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Wednesday.
Evans pleaded guilty to the following charges:
- One count of involuntary manslaughter with a 3-year firearm specification
- One count of felonious assault with a 1-year firearm specification
“I feel like I got more closure from hearing him say he was guilty. That was the closure I needed more than any amount of time they could have given him,” Katie said.
Katie said she and her family had half an hour to decide whether to move forward with Evans’ plea deal.
“We were hoping he would get life. They explained to us they had evidence, but it was a hard case. They couldn't promise either way. They said they had cases with that amount of evidence that was clear cut. ‘Yes, guilty.’ They've had that same amount of evidence and jurors just couldn't see the full picture and didn't convict. We're not really gambling people in my family. We figured it was a sure thing, a sure 15 [years] with no chance of parole. That is enough that it's his adult life. His adult life will be gone. He's not going to get out until he's almost 40,” Katie added.
Katie said while she and her family will likely never forgive Evans for taking her mom’s life, Sheila would have forgiven him and shown mercy.
RELATED: Family pleads for answers a year after 58-year-old Sheila Wallace was killed in McGowan Park
She even believes her mom showed her a sign that she accepted Wednesday’s sentencing.
“When we came out of the sentencing, there was a guy that had a sweatshirt on in front of us crossing the street that said, ‘Too blessed to be stressed.’ That was something my mom had on a T-shirt and something she used to say all the time. We all collectively were like, ‘Oh my God. Look at his shirt. Oh my God.’ It felt like a sign from my mom that my mom was okay with the outcome of everything,” Katie explained.
There are a few musicians who play on the radio, like Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, and Willie Nelson, who remind her of her mom.
“My mom worked at the Cleveland Clinic and got tickets from somebody she knew. They hooked her up with tickets and they were actually backstage passes. We got to go see Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan and stuff backstage, which was just a really fun experience,” Katie remembered. “I just hope she's proud of us for the way we handled things. I hope she's proud of us and that she's at peace where she is, that this can allow her to be at peace.”
Katie told me she now feels like she’s in a state of healing, “thriving instead of surviving,” as she liked to put it.
The shooting
Shelia Wallace was walking her dog, Winston, in McGowan Park on Jan. 17, 2019, around 7 p.m. While she was walking through the park, Evans and another man walked towards her.
According to video evidence, Evans and the other man crossed paths with Sheila. The video shows Evans stopped, turned around, and fired four shots at Sheila. One bullet struck her in the head, while another hit her in the chest. The two additional shots missed her.
RELATED: Cleveland Clinic employee fatally shot while walking her dog in a Cleveland park
“Even if it was an accident or whatever, I just want to know what possesses a person to fire that many shots at somebody you don’t know for no reason. Like what triggered you, dude?” Katie said.
Records reveal Evans and the other man ran off. Soon after, residents near McGowan Park discovered Sheila and called the police.
Cleveland police responded to the scene, and she was pronounced dead.
At the time of the murder, the gun that was used to kill Sheila had not been located.
On April 3, 2019, there was an unrelated shooting near West 48th Street and Storer Avenue in Cleveland. That gun was later linked through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network to Shelia’s murder.
The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office announced in May of 2023 that Evans was indicted in the fatal shooting.
RELATED: Bond set at $1 million for man accused of killing Sheila Wallace in McGowan Park in 2019
Evans was 18 years old at the time of the shooting. He’s now 24 years old.
