New details revealed in murder of Baltimore tech CEO Pava LaPere

Baltimore police have revealed that the body of slain tech CEO Pava LaPere went undiscovered for three days after she was murdered.

Jason Dean Billingsley, 32, was taken into custody without incident at around 11pm last night at a train station in Bowie, Prince County. US Marshalls, Baltimore police, Maryland State Police, ATF and DC Metro Police participated in the arrest, authorities said at a press conference on Thursday.

“But my wish is that we can give the family and community a sense of closure. We’re going to put this violent repeat criminal offender in jail, where he belongs,” Acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley said. “Let’s work together and make sure he stays there.”

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LaPere’s family thanked law enforcement for their “tireless efforts” in capturing Billingsley.

“We’re relieved to know he can no longer hurt other innocent victims,” the family said in a statement. “While this doesn’t change that Baltimore lost one of its most passionate, influential fans, our efforts remain focused on remembering and celebrating Pava Marie — her life, successes, and legacy.”

Billingsley is facing charges of first-degree murder, second-degree assault, sex offence and robbery in LaPere’s death. He was also linked to a sexual assault and arson attack on 19 September that left a woman in critical condition, an adult man injured and a child hospitalised for smoke inhalation.

The arson incident took place on the 800 block of Edmondson Avenue — just a 15-minute walk from LaPere’s building, where her body was found on 25 September. Commissioner Worley said that Billingsley worked at the building where the 19 September victims resided and knew them.

A warrant for Billingsley’s arrest was issued on 20 September, but a safety advisory was not issued by law enforcement. The commissioner pushed back against criticism over the handling of the investigation and his department’s failure to alert the community of a potential threat with Billingsley on the loose.

“We pretty much know why he went into that house [on 19 September]. He was familiar with the building,” he said. “We didn’t think at that point that he was committing random acts because we know he had been out since October 2022 and he wasn’t linked to any violent incidents.”

Baltimore police have pushed against criticism over their handling of the investigation into tech CEO Pava LaPere’s murder — after revealing that her alleged killer had already been identified as a suspect in another attack several days before her body was found.

US Marshalls and local and state police arrested Jason Dean Billingsley, 32, without incident on Wednesday night for the murder of LaPere. Authorities said during a press conference on Thursday that Billingsley was surrounded by a SWAT team at a train station in Bowie, Prince George’s County.

It was revealed that LaPere was likely murdered on 22 September, but her body was not found until three days later. Sources previously told The Baltimore Banner that she had been found with evident signs of blunt force trauma on the roof of her apartment building.

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Pava LaPere’s father Frank LaPere paid tribute to his slain daughter during a vigil on Wednesday.

Dozens of people attended the vigil for the tech CEO at Mount Vernon’s Washington Monument.

“She was the definition of daddy’s little girl. She had me wrapped, and still does. She turned from being daddy’s little girl into being a girl boss, and she treated me the same way,” Mr LaPere said while choking back tears.

Jason Dean Billingsley, a 32-year-old repeat offender who was released following previous violent sex convictions, was named as a suspect in her murder.

A two-day manhunt for Billingsley came to an end on 27 September after he was apprehended by US Marshals, and local and state police.

“I told him to turn himself in because they’re going to kill him,” 72-year-old Scarlett Billingsley told NBC before her son was arrested on Thursday. “I don’t want police to shoot him because they think he has a gun.”

Ms Billingsley said she last saw her convicted rapist son on Monday when he visited her home. Billingsley reportedly showed her a weapon but said that he was looking to sell it, his mother said.

Ms Billingsley apologised to LaPere’s family, adding that she did not believe her son and the slain tech CEO knew each other. She was concerned that her only surviving son could be killed by authorities after she lost a child to gun violence in 2013.

“I don’t even know how he met that girl, where he met that girl, or how he got into her apartment,” Ms Billingsley said. “I am so sorry for what that mother is going through ... I’m very sorry if he did it.

“I won’t know until I see some evidence if he did it. Where is the truth at — show me some evidence.”

Billingsley was arrested without incident on Thursday.

LaPere believed in conscious capitalism, an ethical approach to business that’s become more popular in recent years, and she prioritized diverse hiring practices.

Earlier this year, she was named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 list for social impact.

She recently posted on Instagram about growing EcoMap to a staff of 30 people and opening its offices in downtown Baltimore, the city she embraced after growing up in Arizona.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said he had the privilege of getting to know LaPere over the past few years.

He praised her generosity, ingenuity and dedication to Baltimore. Scott and other leaders promised an all-out manhunt for the suspect, saying justice will be served.

LaPere’s family thanked law enforcement for their “tireless efforts” in capturing Billingsley.

“We’re relieved to know he can no longer hurt other innocent victims,” the family said in a statement. “While this doesn’t change that Baltimore lost one of its most passionate, influential fans, our efforts remain focused on remembering and celebrating Pava Marie — her life, successes, and legacy.”

Loved ones have remembered a slain Baltimore tech entrepreneur as a young woman who built a successful tech startup that earned her national recognition and local political clout while remaining focused on what motivated her from the beginning: forging connections, building community and using entrepreneurship to create meaningful social change.

Now, her friends and family members are left trying to reconcile how she lived with how she died.

“She was so the antithesis of what happened to her,” her close friend Karina Mandell told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday morning. “That polarity, that’s what makes it so shocking.”