On Friday, the man who murdered Baltimore it entrepreneur Pava LaPere was given three life sentences, the first two of which were continuously served.
Jason Billingsley, 33, pleaded innocent to first-degree death of the investor on Friday night. He even entered a plea on August 26 to two attempted murder counts in connection with a separate home invasion and fire that occurred just before LaPere’s body was discovered on the roof of her house in downtown Baltimore.
Baltimore country’s attorney Ivan Bates said after the hearing, as quoted by The Guardian,” Let me be clear – Mr Billingsley should never see the light of morning again”.
LaPere’s close friend, Shrenik Jaim, expressed his pain to the jury, saying,” We’ll not know what she could have accomplished”.
” I hold myself firmly guilty”
Billingsley, who appeared in a golden suit in court, expressed his grief, saying,” I hold myself fully guilty”.
On Friday, the prosecution learned Billingsley admitted to attacking LaPere with a cement. Although police have no proof that they knew each other, he allegedly contacted the 26-year-old entrepreneur by calling her over to the crystal door in her house building. When Billingsley and LaPere first met on camera as she left a nearby arts celebration, surveillance footage captured their first encounter. He followed her, and afterwards, while she was in the developing entrance, he attacked her.
Earlier crime
LaPere’s body was discovered six weeks after the house war during which Billingsley, posing as a repair employee, gained entrance into an apartment building. According to the arrest warrant, he threatened a person with a gun and tied both her and her sweetheart with duct tape. He finally set the couple on fireplace, resulting in severe burns. The home owner and management company were sued for shoddy hiring practices by the patients.
After receiving a reduced statement for a rape in 2013 and being eligible for parole in October 2022, Billingsley was released from prison. This time, Maryland legislators, influenced by evidence from LaPere’s families, passed a bill to reduce fine behavior credits for those convicted of first-degree assault. The new legislation will become effective on October 1.
Who was LaPere?
From her Johns Hopkins University dorm room, LaPere founded a software company. She was even featured on Forbes ‘ 30 Under 30 roster for social impact. After being sexually assaulted, LaPere was killed by strangulation and harsh power stress. She is renowned for her commitment to social change and her use of entrepreneurs to achieve real social change.
