BALTIMORE — A man pleaded guilty Friday to the murder of Baltimore tech entrepreneur Pava LaPere last September. seemingly random attack which shocked the city.
Jason Billingsley, 33, pleaded guilty instead of going to court Friday morning and was sentenced to life in prison. He pleaded guilty on Monday to two counts of attempted murder in a separate arson and home invasion that occurred days before LaPere was found dead on the roof of her downtown Baltimore apartment building.
Officials said Monday’s settlement included two additional life sentences.
LaPere, who founded a tech startup from her Johns Hopkins University dorm room and was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for social impact, died of strangulation and blunt force trauma after being sexually assaulted. She was remembered as someone who continued to focus on building communities and using entrepreneurship to create meaningful social change even as her national fame grew.
At a bail review hearing after Billingsley’s arrest, prosecutors said he admitted to hitting LaPere with a brick. He entered her downtown Baltimore apartment building after waving her toward the glass door, but there is no reason to believe they knew each other, police said.
LaPere’s killing also sparked criticism of the police response.
Her body was found six days after the home invasion, in which Billingsley entered an apartment building by identifying himself as the building’s maintenance man, according to police. According to his arrest warrant, he pointed a gun at a woman inside and used duct tape to restrain her and her boyfriend. He then raped the woman multiple times and slit her throat with a knife, before dousing both victims in liquid and setting them on fire, causing severe burns, police wrote.
Billingsley was quickly identified as a suspect in that case. Baltimore police said they were actively pursuing him, but they did not immediately warn the public because they did not believe he was committing “random” violent acts.
The victims a lawsuit filed Earlier this year, he accused the property owner and management company of negligence in hiring staff.
Billingsley was released from prison in October 2022, after serving a reduced sentence for a 2013 rape because he had behaved well behind bars.
Earlier this year, Maryland lawmakers heard testimony on behalf of LaPere’s parents and a bill passed to end good behavior credits for anyone incarcerated for first-degree rape. The new law goes into effect on October 1.