Police have opened up a homicide investigation after the 26-year-old CEO of a tech company was found dead inside a Mount Vernon, Baltimore, apartment Monday morning, reports say.
EcoMap CEO Pava LaPere had been reported missing for some time prior to the discovery of her body, local outlet WBALTV reported. She was found showing signs of blunt-force trauma, police told CBS News Baltimore. The outlet confirmed LaPere was EcoMap’s co-founder and head. (RELATED: REPORT: Horrific Last Moments Before Cash App Founder’s Death Revealed)
Police said they identified Jason Dean Billingsley, 32, as a suspect in the case. Billingsley pleaded guilty in 2009 to first-degree assault and in 2011 to second-degree assault. In 2015, he plead guilty to a sex crime and was sentenced to 30 years in prison with 16 suspended, but was released early in October of 2022.
Billingsley “will kill, and he will rape. He will do anything he can to cause harm,” acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley said, according to The New York Times.
EcoMap Technologies released a statement regarding the loss of their cofounder. “The circumstances surrounding Pava’s death are deeply distressing, and our deepest condolences are with her family, friends, and loved ones during this incredibly devastating time,” the company wrote Sept. 26. LaPere earned a spot on Forbes 30 Under 30 List in the Social Impact Category, her LinkedIn shows.
It is with profound sadness and shock that EcoMap announces the passing of our CEO, Pava LaPere. We’ll honor her legacy; please keep her family and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers. pic.twitter.com/W8PKWOCKt3
— EcoMap Technologies | The Ecosystem Company (@EcoMapTech) September 26, 2023
“That’s pretty horrifying,” said Chris McNees, a tenant of the apartment building where LaPere’s body was reportedly found. “I mean, just for that to happen anywhere in the city is obviously a bad thing but it’s hard to imagine why this would happen specifically in this building,” he told the outlet.
#BREAKING Update: A homicide investigation is underway after Pava LaPere, the 26-year-old CEO of a Baltimore technology company, was found dead at a Mount Vernon apartment building Monday morning. https://t.co/E4h99WMezj
— WJZ | CBS Baltimore (@wjz) September 26, 2023
UpSurge Baltimore, another Baltimore-based tech company, released a public statement mourning the loss of the “shining star” of the city’s technology community, the outlet reported. LaPere “was a friend and inspiration to so many of us,” UpSurge wrote.
Further details surrounding LaPere’s death have not been released at the time of writing.