Evan Chapel is a doctor who was widowed after his wife, Monica, died. He then starts dating Nicole Wallace, with whom he is raising his young daughter Gwen. Evan appears to accept and forgive Nicole's past as a murderer; a recovering heroin addict, he says that everyone deserves a second chance. When Evan's brother, Larry Chapel, a fellow addict, is murdered, Robert Goren theorizes that Nicole killed him, as well as Evan's wife Monica, and is planning to kill Gwen as well in order to collect on a multi-million dollar trust fund that was set up for Gwen when she was exposed to a drug that left her susceptible to cancer. Evan appears horrified by the suggestion, and comes to Nicole's defense.
It turns out, however, that Evan is in fact the mastermind of a plot to collect on the trust fund; he murdered his wife, allowed Nicole to kill Larry, and is planning to kill Gwen, which would leave him the sole beneficiary. Nicole has by this time formed a bond with Gwen, however, and thwarts his plan. She gives Goren evidence implicating him in his wife's death and the assault of his daughter. When Goren and Alexandra Eames arrest him, he coldly says that he can always have another child, but getting millions of dollars is a once in a lifetime opportunity. (CI: "Grow")