BALTIMORE — She had been bound, sexually assaulted and left for dead allegedly at the hands of Jason Billingsley—-the same man accused of killing Tech CEO Pava LaPere six days later, and now, April Hurley is seeking justice.
“The fact that I’m sitting here in front of you guys today is honestly a miracle,” said Hurley, “Sometimes it’s still unbelievable that I’m here. Jason Billingsley literally tried to take my life.”
On September 19 of last year, Billingsley, who was serving as the maintenance man at Hurley’s apartment building, awoke her in the middle of the night claiming the kitchen was flooding upstairs.
When she ran up the steps he grabbed her at gunpoint, slammed her to the ground and bound her with duct tape, before subduing a male companion, Jonte Gilmore, in much the same manner.
He proceeded to sexually assault Hurley and then tried to strangle her before cutting her throat with a knife.
He then doused both victims in gasoline and set the apartment on fire.
Once Billingsley left the home, Hurley sprang into action initially trying to put the fire out, and then making her way to a basement window where she pried it open and was able to escape.
She would return with help to pull Gilmore out of the window to safety as well.
While the couple seeks justice from their attacker, they are also trying to hold others accountable for giving him the keys in his role as a maintenance man to gain entry into their home.
RELATED: The violent criminal past of Pava LaPere's alleged killer
“He tried to take my life and this could have been prevented and he would have never had the chance if these people, my former landlord and former property manager did not hire him,” said Hurley.
In addition to Billingsley, the civil lawsuit filed in Baltimore Circuit Court on Monday also names manager/operators Eden’s Homes and Property Pals as defendants.
“She was living her best life and then it was all turned upside-down, because of negligence, because of apathy and because of a psycho killer being out there and no one taking the time or care to insure that he didn’t have access to her most private place on the Earth,” said Attorney Malcolm Ruff.
While state law may not mandate background checks for building maintenance workers, attorneys argue the companies had a duty to vet applicants and Billingsley’s violent criminal past should have raised a red flag.
Those named in the suit could not be reached for comment.
