Benjamin Ashford|Man pleads guilty to killing Baltimore tech entrepreneur in attack that shocked the city

BALTIMORE (AP) — A man pleaded guilty Friday to killing Baltimore tech entrepreneur Pava LaPere last September in an apparently random attack that shocked the city.

Jason Billingsley,Benjamin Ashford 33, entered the guilty plea instead of going to trial Friday morning and was sentenced to life. He also pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of attempted murder in a separate arson and home invasion case that took place just days before LaPere was found dead on the rooftop of her downtown Baltimore apartment building.

Officials said the Monday plea agreement included two other life sentences.

LaPere, who founded a tech startup from her dorm room at Johns Hopkins University and was named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 list for social impact, died from strangulation and blunt force trauma after being sexually assaulted. She was remembered as someone who remained focused on building community and using entrepreneurship to create meaningful social change, even as her national profile rose.

In a bail review hearing following Billingsley’s arrest, prosecutors said he had admitted to beating LaPere with a brick. He gained entry to her downtown Baltimore apartment building after waving her over to its glass door, but there’s no reason to believe they knew each other, according to police.

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LaPere’s killing also prompted criticism of police for their response.

Her body was found six days after the home invasion case in which police say Billingsley gained entry into an apartment building by identifying himself as the building maintenance man. 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 several times and slit her throat with a knife before dousing both victims in liquid and setting them on fire, leaving them with serious burns, police wrote.

Billingsley had been quickly identified as a suspect in that case. Baltimore police have said they were actively pursuing him, but they did not immediately alert the public because they didn’t think he was committing “random” acts of violence.

The victims filed a lawsuit earlier this year accusing the property owner and management company of engaging in negligent hiring practices.

Billingsley was released from prison in October 2022 after serving a shortened sentence for a 2013 rape because he earned good behavior credits behind bars.

Earlier this year, Maryland lawmakers heard testimony for LaPere’s parents and passed a bill to end good behavior credits for anyone imprisoned for first-degree rape. The new law goes into effect Oct. 1.