ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, November 19, 1996 TAG: 9611190112
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
Mark Anthony Lilly entered eight guilty pleas Monday in Montgomery County Circuit Court for his part in the abduction and murder of a Virginia Tech student in December.
Lilly avoided a jury trial with his pleas; his sentence will be decided by Circuit Judge Ray Grubbs. The sentencing phase of Lilly's trial begins today, when the defense is expected to call witnesses on Lilly's behalf.
There is no plea agreement in the case, according to Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Skip Schwab. Lilly faces three life sentences plus 22 years. Schwab said if the court gives Lilly the maximum, he would be eligible for geriatric parole when he turns 60.
Lilly, 21, was arrested on murder, abduction, robbery, carjacking and related firearm charges Dec.5.
On that night, Alexander V. DeFilippis was abducted at gunpoint from a Blacksburg convenience store by three men. DeFilippis was found dead on a pile of debris near some railroad tracks in Montgomery County's rural Whitethorne community, shot in the head three times.
Benjamin Lee Lilly, 28, was convicted last month in a jury trial for the capital murder of DeFilippis. The jury recommended Lilly be sentenced to death. A sentencing hearing in the case will be next month.
Gary Wayne Barker, 20, of Christiansburg pleaded guilty for his part in the crime spree and agreed to testify against the Lilly brothers. He was sentenced to 53 years as part of a plea agreement, and his testimony was a key part of the prosecution's case against Ben Lilly.
Mark Lilly also faces armed robbery charges in Giles County where two small convenience stores were robbed. Police arrested Ben Lilly and Barker shortly after the robberies when they fled from DeFilippis' car. Mark Lilly was arrested on U.S. 460 a few hours later.
Grubbs recessed the court briefly Monday when Lilly failed to answer yes when asked if he was pleading guilty "because he was, in fact, guilty" of the charges against him.
Mark Lilly said he felt he already had been found guilty. But after the recess, during which he consulted with his attorneys, Lilly said through co-counsel Brian Scheid that his remark was not directed at the court.
"I understand the question now, and the answer is yes," Lilly said.
Scheid said his client meant that the pressure he felt was from the public's perception that he is guilty.
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Mark Lilly. color.by CNB