A Maryland man watched his partner go through hell before his eyes on Sept. 19 during a violent attack by a man who allegedly committed murder seven days later.
Jonte Gilmore, 26, told The Baltimore Banner how he managed to escape the night of the attack in an interview.
According to the New York Post, the man behind this brutal attack is Jason Dean Billingsley, who was arrested on Wednesday evening in Bowie, Maryland.
The latter is the main suspect in the murder of a 26-year-old woman, Pava LaPere, who was found unresponsive on Tuesday.
Pava LaPere Photo by Meta
Her body was scantily clad and she showed signs of violence. She was the founder of EcoMap and was named to Forbes magazine’s list of 30 People Under 30 Who Are Changing the World.
BPD announces first-degree arrest warrant for 32-year-old Jason Billingsley in the murder of Pava LaPere. WATF and US Marshals are actively trying to arrest him. Billingsley is armed and dangerous. Contact 911 if you come into contact with this person. https://t.co/6pFynzudRr pic.twitter.com/AqOZwN63sv
– Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) September 26, 2023
Jason Dean Billingsley, 32, who had just been released on conditional release after serving a sentence for rape, was still wanted after a violent attack on September 19. He is said to have raped and beat a woman in front of her partner before attempting to burn his two victims.
hell
Jonte Gilmore was sleeping with his partner when a man knocked on the bedroom door of his basement home in West Baltimore. The intruder claimed that he needed to carry out urgent maintenance work. As the woman went upstairs, a man pointed a gun at her, then threw her to the ground and asked her where her money was.
The victim was then awakened with a gun to his forehead. The attacker asked him where the money was.
“If you try to do anything stupid, I’ll rape your bitch upstairs,” the man said, according to Jonte Gilmore.
The latter was then tied with his hands behind his back. He had to kneel on the ground.
The attacker then placed duct tape on Jonte Gilmore’s face and ankles, then turned on music and repeatedly raped the woman.
The man is said to have slit the woman’s throat as she fought him to avoid being strangled. Jonte Gilmore saw the man drop the body of his partner, who was pretending to be dead.
The attacker wiped his face with a cloth containing a flammable liquid. Before leaving the scene, he set the house on fire.
The woman managed to roll on the ground toward the exit while Jonte Gilmore was trapped. She later returned with another person. On Wednesday, Jonte Gilmore had skin grafts performed on his thighs and other body parts at the hospital. His partner also had to be taken to hospital for burns.
Police investigation
Jason Dean Billingsley, a 6-foot-tall, 300-pound hulk, knew both victims. The police assumed that the attacker had committed a targeted crime. They did not believe that the Colossus could attack other people indiscriminately. They therefore searched for Jason Dean Billingsley without notifying the population.
Jonte Gilmore burst into tears when he learned his attacker was the prime suspect in the murder of Pava LaPere.
Gilmore’s mother, Latrice Johnson, regretted the authorities’ work.
“The police did not do much in this case and waited until there was another victim,” she emphasized.