Suspect Arrested In Baltimore Tech Entrepreneur Killing

Baltimore police arrested Jason Dean Billingsley in the death of 26-year-old tech entrepreneur Pava LaPere, USA Today reports. Billingsley, 32, was considered armed and dangerous. Court records show he pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in 2009 and a sex offense in 2015. He was released from prison nearly a year ago and is listed on Maryland’s sex-offender registry, reports the Wall Street Journal. He was also wanted in connection with a violent crime last week, Baltimore police said. LaPere was found dead at a Baltimore apartment building Monday with signs of blunt-force trauma, hours after she was reported missing. Acting Police Superintendent Richard Worley said it didn’t appear that LaPere knew her killer. LaPere, the founder and chief executive of startup EcoMap Technologies, graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 2019. She was named to the Forbes “30 Under 30” list for social impact earlier this year for her work on EcoMap. “The circumstances surrounding Pava’s death are deeply distressing,” EcoMap saida. “Pava was not only the visionary force behind EcoMap but was also a deeply compassionate and dedicated leader.” The company held a memorial for LaPere Wednesday night in Baltimore.