ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, November 20, 1996 TAG: 9611200033
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on November 21, 1996.
Mark Lilly's sentence of 49 years in prison, imposed Tuesday for the
murder of a Virginia Tech student, is the maximum recommeded under state
sentencing guidelines. Lilly received a 97-year sentence, but was
ordered to serve 49 years, with the remainder suspended for 20 years
after his release. The maximum recommended sentence was incorrect in a
story Wednesday.
THE LAST DEFENDANT in the Dec. 5 carjack killing of a Virginia Tech student received the lightest sentence. Mark Lilly's relatives testified Tuesday about the harsh conditions of his childhood.
Mark Anthony Lilly was sentenced to serve 49 years in prison Tuesday for his part in the abduction and murder of a Virginia Tech student nearly a year ago.
Circuit Judge Ray Grubbs said the Dec. 5 shooting of Alexander V. DeFilippis is a tragedy that tears at the very fabric of society, and gave Lilly the maximum under the state's sentencing guidelines - 97 years in prison. But after Lilly serves 49 years, the remainder will be suspended.
Under the law, the sentence, could have amounted to three life terms plus 22 years.
Mark Lilly's trial was the last one in Montgomery County Circuit Court in the carjacking of the 22-year-old environmental science major from McLean.
A jury recommended Mark Lilly's 28-year-old brother, Benjamin Lee Lilly, be put to death for shooting DeFilippis in the head three times. A third man charged, Gary Wayne Barker, avoided a jury trial with his plea agreement; his 53-year sentence was the minimum a jury could have given him based on sentencing guidelines.
Monday, Mark Lilly pleaded guilty to eight charges, including capital murder as a principal in the second degree, abduction, robbery, carjacking and four related firearms charges. By pleading guilty, he avoided a jury trial and left his fate up to the judge. Lilly also waived his right to have the court review a pre-sentencing report, which would detail his criminal record and his background.
Instead, Lilly's attorneys, Brian Scheid and Pete Theodore, called several of the 21-year-old's family members, including his mother, to the stand to make a case for a lighter sentence, 39 years.
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Skip Schwab urged the judge to exceed the sentencing guidelines and give Mark Lilly 53 years - the same as Barker will serve.
The guidelines are suggested punishments for crimes based on information from previous cases. The guidelines would give Mark Lilly fewer years behind bars because, unlike Barker, Lilly had no prior convictions for felonies or violent offenses.
Mark Lilly's family said they never knew him to be violent. He was a quiet, polite boy who changed when his older brother committed suicide, several testified.
Frances Lilly said her son was always a "good boy," but the day 12-year-old Mark Lilly found his older brother hanging from a tree was a definite turning point.
A school official told Frances Lilly her son needed counseling and the boy spent about a month in a hospital, she said. The counseling improved things at school for Mark, Frances Lilly said, but he remained withdrawn and quiet and held his feelings inside.
Frances Lilly also testified that she divorced her husband, Donald, when Mark was 3. She said that was in 1978, 12 years after Donald Lilly had returned from active duty during the Vietnam War. Donald Lilly still lived in the same house, however, and believed at times he was still fighting in the war.
Phyllis Comer, Donald Lilly's sister, said her brother had a horrible drinking problem when he got out of the service and stayed drunk for months at a time. Through tears, Comer struggled to give details of her nephew's family life, which she said was nowhere near normal.
"I don't want to hurt feelings, but there's been neglect, violence. [The children] couldn't have been in worse hands," she said. "Every bit of this has to lay at my brother's feet and [Frances'] to some extent."
Mark Lilly's attorneys said their client was pleased with the sentence he got. They said Mark Lilly accepted responsibility for what he did, but felt he was the least culpable and should get the fewest years behind bars.
"We think the court truly took into account all the circumstances," Theodore said.
Schwab said the conclusion of Mark Lilly's case nearly completes the case for the commonwealth. Grubbs will formally impose Ben Lilly's sentence in January to officially conclude the trigger man's trial in Montgomery County.
Ben Lilly's appeals, though, could take about seven years.
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