BOSTON, March 20, 2018—The man who killed 39-year-old Pippin Roe was sentenced to prison today after admitting yesterday to her homicide, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

RICHTER BAEZ, 25, most recently of New York City, was sentenced to 17 years in state prison today for taking Roe’s life during a 2014 physical assault. He pleaded guilty as jury selection in his murder trial was scheduled to begin.

Had the case proceeded to trial, Assistant District Attorney Mark Lee, deputy chief of the DA’s Homicide Unit, would have presented evidence and testimony to prove that on July 13, 2014, a homeless man discovered Roe’s body in a wooded area near a Columbus Avenue construction site. Her body was partially decomposed and covered in leaves and debris.

During the course of an investigation into Roe’s death, Boston Police homicide detectives determined that late in the evening of July 3, 2014, and into the morning of July 4, Roe and Baez met in the area of Haymarket and were captured together in security camera footage at an ATM, where Roe used her bank card. They made their way toward a wooded area near a Columbus Avenue construction site. There, prosecutors would have argued, the two became involved in an altercation during which Baez struck the victim in the head repeatedly, causing her death.

Records showed that Roe’s bank card was used again on July 9, 2014, after her death. Security footage capturing the transaction showed Baez in the company of two other women as he used Roe’s bank card.

After a full examination of Roe’s remains, toxicological evidence, and investigative reports relating to Roe’s death, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide on Jan. 15, 2015. A warrant issued for Baez’s arrest and he was taken into custody in New York City, where he was living at that time, days later on Jan. 19.

Elise McConnell is the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Baez is represented by Elda James. Sentencing before Judge Linda Giles will take place at 10:00 tomorrow morning in courtroom 808 of Suffolk Superior Court.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.