Double-Murder Defendant Denied Bail Ahead of Retrial Due to Police Misconduct

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On July 21, a Baltimore City Circuit Court judge denied bail for a defendant charged with murder ahead of a retrial granted due to a detective’s failure to share files with the court.

Baltimore City Circuit Judge Christopher L. Panos ruled defendant Willie Lewis Billinger will be held without bond given the nature of the charges, evidence and his criminal record.

Defense attorney Deborah Levi argued for the 46-year-old defendant’s bail by claiming he wanted to spend time with his mother, who is in hospice and see his six children. She added there were no eyewitness accounts or forensic evidence against Billinger, who has maintained his innocence over the past seven years.

Judge Panos ruled there were no appropriate conditions for Billinger to be released.

A jury previously found Billinger guilty on two counts of second-degree murder in a September 2018 trial, when he was sentenced to 60 years in prison. A judge granted Billinger a retrial because a detective investigating the case had withheld evidence.

The officer who testified against Billinger in his original trial was included on former state’s attorney Marilyn Mosby’s list of over 300 officers whose integrity had been questioned. The officer had allegedly made false statements, falsified information and attempted false arrests in a 2004 case.

Billinger is charged in connection to a March 5, 2017, incident that occurred on the 2400 block of Paul Street. According to court documents, a 911 caller reported a “suspicious death.” A man advised officers of an apartment where a foul odor was coming from. Police discovered the bodies of Earline Thomas and Howard Martin, both 53, who had suffered multiple stab wounds.

Investigators developed an anonymous witness who claimed they were present during the beating and stabbing of the victims. The witness positively identified Billinger from a photographic array as the one responsible and claimed the murder was over mistaken or misplaced controlled dangerous substances.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn previously ordered the trial to begin on either Aug. 29, 30 or 31.

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