EcoMap Technologies CEO Pava Marie LaPere, 26, who also spoke out against the "criminalization of Black bodies," was assaulted with apparent signs of "blunt-force trauma." Baltimore Police said they found LaPere around 11:30 a.m. after a missing person's call was made. They found her partially clothed body on the roof of her apartment building in the 300 block of West Franklin Street in the Mount Vernon neighborhood late Monday morning, according to sources with knowledge of the investigation." Though police are not stating it outright, the implication appears to be that she was raped before she was murdered.
Cops said Tuesday an arrest warrant has been issued for Jason Dean Billingsley, 32, on first-degree murder and additional charges. Officials warned that the suspect should be considered armed and dangerous. "This individual will kill, and he will rape," Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley warned at a news conference. "He will do anything he can to cause harm. We implore residents to be aware of their surroundings at all times."
BPD announces 1st Degree Murder warrant for 32 y/o Jason Billingsley in the killing of Pava LaPere. WATF & US Marshals are actively attempting to arrest him. Billingsley is armed & dangerous. Contact 911 if you come in contact with this individual. https://t.co/6pFynzudRr pic.twitter.com/AqOZwN63sv
— Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) September 26, 2023
In 2015, Billingsley was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with 16 years suspended, after he pleaded guilty to a first-degree sex offense, court records show. He was released early from prison under George Soros-funded State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, the Baltimore Banner reported, citing Parole Commission Chairman David R. Blumberg.
"The state corrections department lists Billingsley as a registered sex offender who lives in the 1500 block of Baker Street in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood of West Baltimore," the news outlet noted. "According to the department, he was released on Oct. 5, 2022, and is listed as 'non-compliant,' though it was unclear why." Authorities said the suspect is 6-foot-1 and 200 to 215 pounds. He has medium brown skin, dark brown hair, and brown eyes, and he occasionally wears glasses.
Meanwhile, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said Billingsley should not have been free. "There is no way in hell that he should have been out on the street," Scott said. "When the police go out and do their job, as they did in this case ... and the state's attorney goes out and does their work, gets the conviction, the conviction should be the conviction. We are tired of talking about the same people committing the same kind of crimes over and over again."
Forbes named LaPere to its 2023 30 Under 30 list for social impact. "With over $4 million raised and a team of nearly 30, the Johns Hopkins grad runs a company whose clients include The Aspen Institute, Meta, the WXR Fund, and T.Rowe Price Foundation," the business magazine wrote.
LaPere touted her anti-racist bonafides on her Instagram. "EcoMap Technologies stand against systemic racism, bigotry, and a police state that criminalizes Black bodies," LaPere wrote. "We stand in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, now and always. We commit to being anti-racist in all aspects of what we do ... We encourage all other startups to speak out and do the same." Her company uses technology to "digitize ecosystems, ensuring anyone can easily access the information they need.
In a post last month, the victim said she was "especially thrilled" about the company's growth and she thanked EcoMap customers, advisers, investors, and friends. "Here's to the next wild year, and all of those to follow," she wrote.
Homicide detective questions why Billingsley was freed from 2015 imprisonment
Apart from the 2015 sex offense charge against Billingsley, he was convicted of first-degree assault and violation of probation in 2009, which carried a sentence of five and three years, respectively.
Former Washington, D.C., Homicide Detective Ted Williams told Fox News Digital he would have never given a recommendation for the suspect to be paroled. Williams wonders why Billingsley was released. "My recommendation would have been absolutely under no circumstances, looking [sic] and given the record of this individual, that this individual should have been back on the streets of Baltimore," he said.
Williams added that there needs to be an "extensive investigation" into how Billingsley was released from prison on parole. "And it is without a doubt that somebody or bodies in Baltimore have what I defined as blood on their hands by permitting this violent criminal to be released and back on the streets of Baltimore," Williams said. (Related: BLM supporter who mowed down, killed Christmas parade watchers found guilty of multiple murders.)
Read more about Black Lives Matter, a domestic terrorist organization at Terrorism.news.
Sources for this article include:
Please contact us for more information.
