The man charged with brutally attacking a Baltimore couple last year pleaded guilty Monday to attempted murder and is expected to plead guilty later this week to killing tech entrepreneur Pava LaPere.

Jason Dean Billingsley, 33, entered the plea on what would have been the first day of his trial in Baltimore on charges of attempted first- and second-degree murder, home invasion and arson. He was accused of holding Jonte Gilmore and April Hurley hostage in the basement of a home in West Baltimore last September. Billingsley also allegedly sexually assaulted Hurley, cut her throat, poured gasoline on Gilmore and Hurley and then set the two on fire.

The Baltimore Banner does not identify people who report that they’re survivors of sexual assault without their permission. Hurley spoke to The Banner earlier this year about her recovery.

Billingsley is also expected to plead guilty on Friday in the killing of LaPere, a tech entrepreneur who had been named to the Forbes “30 Under 30″ list, as part of a plea agreement, according to the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office. He was charged with first-degree murder and carrying a dangerous weapon openly with the intent to injure.

On Monday, Hurley sat near the front of the courtroom, with family and friends next to her, wearing a blouse that partially covered her scars from the attack.

Billingsley walked in the courtroom wearing an orange button-up shirt and smiling at his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Jason Rodriguez. Hurley’s aunt placed her hand on her niece’s back.

Rodriguez asked his client a series of questions to determine that Billingsley was pleading guilty on his own accord. Billingsley reiterated he was pleading guilty to attempted murder.

Hurley rose to deliver an impact statement, saying life since the attack has been “nothing short of devastating.” Sleep doesn’t come easy, she said, and she often wakes up from vivid nightmares. She described staring at her door for hours, scared someone will walk into her room to kill her, even though she checks the locks repeatedly.

Hurley said she had to cut her hair because part of it was burned, and that people always ask her about the scars on her neck. It is hard to work, making it difficult to provide for her daughter, she said. Every day, she said, has been a struggle.

“But I’m alive and glad justice is being served,” she said.

Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Robert K. Taylor Jr. asked Rodriguez if his client had anything he wanted to say. Billingsley did not.

“I don’t see point on giving any lecture,” Taylor said. “The facts speak for themselves.”

Hurley’s attorneys said in a statement they are relieved Billingsley pleaded guilty. They said Hurley is “one step closer to justice for the brutal attack.”

“Yet, no sentence can undo the trauma she endured — not only at the hands of Jason Billingsley, but also due to the negligence of those who were responsible for property where she lived,” attorneys William Murphy, Andrew O’Connell, Malcolm Rudd and Phylecia Faublas said in a joint statement. “We will continue to hold Eden’s Homes and Property Pals accountable and press them to do what is right by adequately compensating Ms. Hurley for the devastation she has suffered.”

Hurley and Gilmore earlier this year filed a lawsuit against Eden’s Homes and Property Pals, the landlord and property management company that oversaw the home where the attack occurred, alleging negligence, premise liability and a breach of lease. Billingsley was hired by the property companies for maintenance work, according to the suit.

LaPere’s family said in a joint statement that her death has deeply impacted them, as well as her friends and communities.

”Justice may be served, but it will never fill the void, erase the grief, or replace the impact Pava would have had if given the full life that she deserved,” the statement reads.

In 2015, Billingsley was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with all but 14 years suspended and five years’ probation, for first-degree sex offense. He was released in 2022 after having enough good behavior credits.

Correction: This story was updated to correct that Jason Billingsley intends to plead guilty in the killing of tech entrepreneur Pava LaPere as part of a plea agreement. The last name of attorney Phylecia Faublas was also corrected.