Mother of murder suspect Jason Billingsley begs son to turn himself in to the Baltimore Police
BALTIMORE -- WJZ spoke with the mother of first-degree murder suspect Jason Billingsley.
Billingsley's mother, Scarlett Billingsley, is begging her son to turn himself in.
WJZ spoke with her by phone.
"I told him that he needs to turn himself in, but I really don't think he's going to do that because he's scared," Scarlett Billingsley said.
She said she found out her son was the suspect in the brutal murder of tech CEO Pava LaPere from friends and from seeing his face on TV.
"I screamed," Scarlett Billingsley said. "I cried. I can't understand what happened that he would do something like that."
She tells WJZ she last heard from Jason on Tuesday.
"I don't know where he is," Scarlett Billingsley said. "He don't even call me because I've been trying to call him and talk to him. He text me one time saying that he's OK.
Baltimore Police are frantically searching for Billingsley. They said he's extremely violent based on his criminal past.
Court records show he pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in 2009 when he was 18.
In 2011, he was convicted of second-degree assault and served two years in prison.
After he was released, just months later in 2013, Billingsley was convicted of a rape attempt. The sentence was 30 years, meaning a 2043 release.
But, records show that 16 years of that sentence was suspended and he was given five years probation. He also had to register as a sex offender.
During a news conference on Tuesday, Mayor Brandon Scott said that Billingsley should still be in prison.
"The conviction should be the conviction and we have to make sure that folks are held accountable in every single way because we are tired about hearing the same people committing the same type of crimes over and over again," Scott said.
Meanwhile, Billingsley's mother, still in disbelief of the accusations against her son, is offering a tearful apology to LaPere's family.
"I'm so sorry that this happened to her, and if my son did it, I really apologize because I don't know what happened to make him do that," Scarlett Billingsley said.
Scarlett Billingsley tells WJZ she has not spoken with Baltimore Police about her son yet.
Police are still out right now searching for Billingsley. They want anyone with any information on his whereabouts to not approach him. Instead, they should call 911 immediately.