Heather Lavelle and the Killing of Christian Rojas
This page collects the documented facts about Heather Lavelle, her guilty plea, her sentence and her appeals. Christian Rojas, the man she was convicted of killing, is the reason this site exists. You can read more about him on the memorial home page.
Who is Heather Lavelle?
Heather Lavelle was Christian Rojas's former girlfriend. News coverage from June 2006 described her as a 35-year-old from Bensalem, Pennsylvania, with an engineering degree and a career in the insurance industry before she became addicted to crack cocaine (Bucks County Courier Times and The Intelligencer, June 2006).
A family friend told the Courier Times that Christian had ended the relationship after learning Lavelle used drugs, but still cared about her and let her stay at his apartment when she was homeless.
What happened to Christian Rojas?
Christian, 28, a computer programmer from Costa Rica, was killed in his Bensalem apartment in late August 2005. Court-era reports give the date as August 24 or 25. Lavelle and her boyfriend, James Savage, took his car, cash and belongings and fled. They were arrested on September 1 or 2, 2005, after a chase that ended in Nags Head, North Carolina (reports differ on the day).
We keep the details of the crime out of this site on purpose. This is about who Christian was, and about the people held responsible. See the case timeline for dates and sources.
Heather Lavelle's guilty plea and life sentence
In June 2006, Heather Lavelle pleaded guilty to first-degree murder before Bucks County Judge Rea Boylan. She admitted in court that she killed Christian Rojas. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, and the judge had to choose between death and life in prison. Her attorneys argued mitigating factors, including her drug addiction and that Savage had bullied her.
She was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Under Pennsylvania law, a first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of death or life without parole.
At his own plea hearing, James Savage told the court that Lavelle had told him Christian had raped her. He said he knew she had lied, and that she plotted the killing so she could take Christian's money to buy crack cocaine. This was reported by the Courier Times. Lavelle's own later writing presents a different account; see what her public statements say and leave out.
James Savage
James Savage, then 39 and from Bristol Township, also pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in June 2006. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on June 19, 2006. In 2020, the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the denial of his later petition for post-conviction relief, ruling it was filed too late (Commonwealth v. Savage, No. 1781 EDA 2019).
Heather Lavelle's appeals
On May 1, 2012, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied Lavelle's appeal (order). On May 5, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued its decision in Lavelle v. Giroux, No. 13-4773. She then petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied review on October 6, 2014 (docket 14-5610).
Where is Heather Lavelle held?
The 2014 Supreme Court docket lists her at SCI Muncy, and in a September 2021 essay she described herself as one of a community of women serving life without parole at SCI Muncy, Pennsylvania's maximum-security prison for women. We cannot confirm where she is held today. The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections inmate locator is the official place to check. For more, read the Heather Lavelle FAQ on parole and where she is now.
Our view
Christian Rojas was killed after trying to help someone he had cared about. We believe the story should begin and end with him: a sweet, generous son and friend who was working to better his life.