Baltimore man pleads guilty to attempted murder in burglary, admits killing businessman Pava LaPere – Baltimore Sun

A man pleaded guilty Monday to attacking and setting fire to a couple in West Baltimore. He is expected to admit in court Friday to killing technology entrepreneur Pava LaPere.

Jason Billingsley, 33, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted first-degree murder. The charges stemmed from a home invasion in September in which authorities said Billingsley forced his way into a basement apartment in Upton, tied up a couple at gunpoint and raped the woman before dousing them with gasoline and setting them – and the house – on fire.

Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Robert K. Taylor said Monday's confession was part of a “package deal” with prosecutors that will result in Billingsley admitting in court Friday that he killed LaPere three days after the break-in. He is accused of intentionally killing LaPere.

In the home invasion case, Taylor sentenced Billingsley to two life sentences, to be served concurrently rather than consecutively. Taylor's sentence followed a plea agreement Billingsley made with prosecutors that could give him a chance at parole much later in life.

“I don't see any point in lecturing. The facts speak for themselves,” Taylor said.

People convicted of violent crimes in Maryland are eligible for parole after serving half of their sentence, but the parole board has the discretion to grant someone early release.

Prosecutors for Baltimore District Attorney Ivan Bates had previously indicated they would seek a life sentence without the possibility of parole – the maximum penalty under Maryland law – if they secured convictions in both the home invasion and murder cases.

In a statement, Democrat Bates said his office's “heart continues to be with the survivors” and he hopes the outcome “brings some degree of closure and healing to them, their loved ones and their community.”

“Today's confession ensures that a dangerous man will spend the rest of his life behind bars and will not be able to harm anyone again,” said Bates. “The cruel acts of deprivation of liberty, assault and attempted murder have left a lasting mark not only on the lives of the victims, but also on the lives of our city as a whole.”

In the early morning of Sept. 19, 2023, Billingsley identified himself as a maintenance worker when he banged on the door of the basement apartment and yelled that there was “a flood upstairs,” Assistant District Attorney Tonya LaPolla said in court.

When April Hurley came to the door, according to the indictment, Billingsley forced his foot in and pointed a gun at her and her then-boyfriend Jonte Gilmore. Billingsley then bound Hurley with duct tape and handcuffed Gilmore before repeatedly sexually assaulting Hurley and slashing her throat with a knife.

“When Ms. Hurley pretended to be dead,” LaPolla said, “the defendant doused her and Gilmore with gasoline and set the apartment on fire.”

LaPolla said Hurley fled out a window to get help. Paramedics took her to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center and Gilmore to the burn center at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Both suffered second- and third-degree burns, charging documents state, and LaPolla said Gilmore required multiple skin grafts.

The Baltimore Sun does not normally release the identities of victims of sexual assault without their consent, but Hurley and her lawyers held a press conference to announce their lawsuit against Billingsley and the companies that employed him as a building maintenance worker.

“The impact of this heinous attack on my life is simply devastating,” Hurley told Taylor on Monday, adding that she suffers from constant fear for her safety, has many sleepless nights and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder that requires therapy and medication.

She said she now finds it difficult to appear in public because “when people talk to me, I see their eyes are focused on the scars on my neck.”

Hurley also stated that the thought of intimacy repulsed him.

“My body was desecrated,” she said.

LaPolla said Hurley and Gilmore identified Billingsley “as their attacker.”

In charging documents, investigators wrote that they found “fruits of crime” in a backpack found in the bushes in the backyard of the Upton row house. Inside the black and lime green backpack, investigators found a serrated knife, rolls of duct tape, several pieces of used duct tape with hair on it, handcuffs, a hooded sweatshirt and condom wrappers, charging documents said. Next to the backpack, they found a bleach container, a gas can and a lighter.

LaPolla also said police recovered a used condom and a DNA test showed Billingsley had used it, suggesting he had sexually abused Hurley.

Billingsley's attorney, Public Defender Jason Rodriguez, informed his client of the various rights he gave up with his guilty plea, but did not comment in court on the charges or on Billingsley. A spokesman for the public defender's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Six days after Billingsley broke into the basement apartment, on Sept. 25, 2023, Baltimore police rushed to a Mount Vernon apartment building where someone found a woman's body on the roof, covered in blood from “obvious head injuries,” charging documents say. Paramedics immediately pronounced LaPere dead.

Her murder rocked Baltimore's close-knit tech community, where LaPere, 26, was popular and seen as an emerging leader.

As the community mourned her loss, homicide investigators reviewed surveillance camera footage from her apartment complex. The video showed LaPere entering the lobby of the building around 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 22 and later a man in a gray hoodie waving her toward the front door, according to charging documents. Investigators saw the man get into the elevator with LaPere.

Investigators later wrote of the footage: “The male suspect can be seen exiting the stairwell with his gray hoodie in hand and walking into the lobby looking for an exit. The black male found the front door and could be seen wiping his right hand on his shorts before exiting the building.”

Witness review of surveillance video and department databases helped investigators identify Billingsley.

Billingsley spoke with investigators for about two hours after his arrest near a train station in Bowie on Sept. 28. Taylor had previously ruled that prosecutors could play a video of his interrogation in the murder trial, rejecting a request from his attorney not to release the footage.

LaPere's assassination inspired two bills in the Maryland General Assembly last year, one of which, supporters say, is designed to prevent people like Billingsley from being able to attack LaPere if he does so.

In 2015, Billingsley was sentenced to 30 years in prison for a first-degree sex offense, with all but 14 years suspended. He was granted early release in October 2022 after receiving privileges or “good time” points while serving his sentence.

One of the bills passed in LaPere's honor will prohibit people convicted of first-degree rape from receiving mitigation credits. The law was signed by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore and takes effect on October 1.

This article is being updated

Originally published: August 26, 2024 at 10:36 am