Palm print found near mom killed in 2005 leads to NC inmate charged, GA cops say

A palm print found next to a mom stabbed to death in 2005 has now led to a murder charge against an inmate in North Carolina 20 years later, authorities in Georgia said.

Juan Renardo Chunn, 56, was already serving a life sentence after he was convicted of murder in Rowan County, North Carolina, records show.

Now, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office announced it has secured an arrest warrant charging him with another count of murder in connection with the killing of Catrina Beatrice Evans.

Deputies found Evans dead in her Augusta apartment the evening of Aug. 20, 2005 with multiple stab wounds, the sheriff’s office said in a Sept. 18 news release. Evans’ 1-year-old child was found alive in the apartment, according to deputies.

The case eventually went cold, but in July, investigators said they resubmitted a palm print found near Evans’ body to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for testing. The forensics team determined the print belonged to Chunn, who also goes by Juan Renaldo Tillman, according to the sheriff’s office.

Chunn was accused of beating his father to death in April 2018 in Salisbury, about a 45-mile drive northeast from Charlotte, officers with the Salisbury Police Department said.

Authorities notified Evans’ family that a warrant had been issued for Chunn’s arrest, deputies said.

Richmond County is on the border of South Carolina and includes the Augusta metropolitan area.