A man who survived being burned alive by murder suspect Jason Billingsley has revealed his horrific injuries and told for the first time how he was forced to watch his girlfriend being repeatedly raped and tortured.
Sex offender Billinglsey, 32, was arrested last night for two shocking attacks that culminated in the brutal murder of aspiring tech CEO Pava LaPere in her exclusive Baltimore apartment on Monday.
The powerfully built sex offender managed to beat 26-year-old Pava to death despite being the prime suspect in a violent home invasion and arson attack that took place a week earlier.
With the 300-pound suspect finally under lock and key, surviving victim Jonte Gilmore, 26, described the moment he was pistol-whipped and handcuffed before Billingsley slashed, choked and raped his partner.
Jonte Gilmore, 26, spoke to from his hospital bed in a Baltimore burn unit after he and his girlfriend were bound and tortured in a gruesome arson attack by murder suspect Jason Billingsley
Gilmore was taken to the hospital, where he underwent surgery Tuesday to transplant skin from his right thigh to his arms
He described the moment he was pistol-whipped and handcuffed before Billingsley allegedly slashed, choked and raped his partner
He told he was angry at authorities for failing to track down Billingsley – and revealed for the first time how the brazen monster stole his phone and used it to text his mother and a friend, asking for money had asked.
“The cops screwed up. They said they tracked him through my phone, but they didn’t do their job,” Jonte told from his hospital bed in a Baltimore burn unit.
Fighting back tears, he added: “When I saw what happened to the young lady Pava, I was devastated.” I saw pictures of her face and it made me cry.
Jason Billingsley, 32, who was released from prison nearly a year ago, was arrested Wednesday on charges including first-degree murder
“After what he did to us, the police should have warned everyone that this guy was out there and he was dangerous.”
Police have confirmed that Billingsley – who had previous convictions for attempted rape and assault but was released on a 30-year sentence with a seven-year sentence – worked as a handyman at the townhouse where Jonte was attacked.
Jonte had been with the resident and was sleeping in her bed when Billingsley began banging on the door of her basement apartment on the morning of September 19, shouting “Maintenance – there was a flood in the kitchen.”
When the 26-year-old opened up, Billinglsey grabbed her by the hair, pistol-whipped her and forced her into a bathroom, where he demanded money and handcuffed her.
Jonte awoke to find the intruder had a gun pressed to his head. He wore a black ski mask and was equipped with a sinister “rape kit” consisting of gloves, handcuffs, duct tape and a pocket knife.
“He put the gun to my temple and said, ‘If you carry on or try anything stupid, I will rape your girlfriend.’ She’s upstairs and I’m going to kill you. “So I had him put the handcuffs on,” Jonte said.
“He started putting tape around my head, eyes, mouth and ankles, then put me on the floor, went upstairs and got my girlfriend.”
Gilmore, who was sleeping with his partner in their townhouse at the time of the attack, said the two were doused with a clear, colorless liquid before Billingsley set the room on fire
previously revealed that investigators were probing links between the murder of Pava LePere and an unsolved arson attack and sexual assault on a young couple. Images obtained exclusively by show the blackened shell where the horrific rape and arson took place
Pictures obtained exclusively by show the boarded-up windows of the house where Billingsley is believed to have raped a young woman at knifepoint while her partner watched, then doused the room with gas and fled
“He forced himself into her. He raped her, tortured her. He kept taunting her, saying things like, “Is this the kind of man you’re dealing with? He doesn’t even have no protection.”
“When she said she had to go to the bathroom, he told her to come over to me, bend over and pee on me.”
Jonte says Billingsley forced the woman to drink from a bottle of Bacardi he found next to the bed.
He stole weed from Jonte’s pocket, smoked a joint and drank the rum. To drown out the victims’ sobs, he turned on the television and played loud music.
As he briefly left the room, Jonte’s girlfriend asked him, “Do you think we’re going to die?”
She grabbed a pair of scissors from a drawer and began cutting the tape off his face before Billingsley angrily walked back into the room.
“He came in, put the gun to my head and said to my friend, ‘Didn’t I tell you I have nothing to lose?'” Jonte said.
“I said, ‘No, you don’t have to kill me.’ I didn’t see your face. You don’t have to shoot or kill me.’
Jonte was bundled into a closet but was able to watch with one eye through a small gap in the tape as Billingsley continued to rape his partner.
He pulled out his knife and began carving deep cuts into her leg and ankles.
Billingsley is the prime suspect in the brutal murder of 26-year-old Baltimore tech executive Pava LaPere, who was found on the roof of her apartment on Monday
Pava Marie LaPere, 26, was killed by blunt force trauma in her luxury apartment in Mount Vernon, Baltimore, and her body was found by police on Monday
Police sources confirmed to that LaPere’s badly beaten body was found on the roof of her luxury apartment building
He put on gloves and choked her, but when he couldn’t finish her off, he slit her throat twice.
“She lay on her stomach and pretended to be dead. But the whole time she was really fighting to stay conscious and stay alive,” Jonte remembers.
“He grabbed her body, lifted it up and dropped it to the ground. “She didn’t move, she just fell. At this point he must have thought she was dead. I did it that way too.’
Jonte said Billingsley began dousing them both in a clear, colorless liquid. He noticed that there was a smell of gas and realized that his tormentor was about to set the room on fire.
Billingsley fled the room as it began to fill with heat and smoke.
“I said, baby, listen, I’m in the closet.” Find an area of the house where there isn’t a fire. Do a drop and roll. Her hair was on fire, but she managed to put out the flames.
“I said, listen, you need to please get out of the house and get help.” She said, no, I’m not leaving you. I got mad at her, but she kept repeating, “I’m not leaving you behind.”
Eventually the girl managed to open a window and scream for help.
Jonte stormed out of the closet and, after several attempts, managed to bunny hop to safety, climbing out onto the street in just his underwear, his hands still tied behind his back.
He was covered in burns but had to wait for police to arrive to free him from the handcuffs.
Billingsley was described by the Baltimore Police Commissioner as a repeat violent offender
Billingsley has a criminal record since 2009 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison – but was released after just nine years
He wanted answers from his girlfriend about the man who almost burned her alive.
“She came to me and put her forehead on mine and then I asked her how he got into the house?” Jonte said.
“She said he let himself into the house. He’s the maintenance man. He has a key. And we kept crying and crying because the burns hurt my chest, my arms and my stomach.”
Jonte was taken to hospital where he underwent surgery on Tuesday to perform a skin graft from his right thigh to his arms.
He hoped he had given police a crucial clue to catching her husband: The arsonist had stolen Jonte’s phone and sent a text message to his mother, Latrice Johnson, asking for $50.
He also contacted another friend via TikTok to make a similar request, but the recipient thought it was suspicious and declined.
Acting Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley told reporters Thursday that investigators had done everything they could to track down Billinglsey.
He evaded capture long enough to allegedly murder young entrepreneur Pava, a rising star in technology who made Forbes’ prestigious 30 Under 30 list.
When Jonte is told her name, his voice shakes and he begins to cry.
“She doesn’t deserve this,” he told . “Who would do something like that to her?”