Police have not released any details about the arrest of Jason Billingsley following the death of 26-year-old Pava LaPere. Pava LaPere built a successful tech startup that gained national recognition and local political influence.she to be remembered at the vigil Wednesday night.
Baltimore police planned to hold a news conference later in the morning.
Police found Lapeer dead with the following signs on his body: blunt force trauma at her apartment complex late Monday morning after she was reported missing. The Johns Hopkins University graduate founded tech startup EcoMap Technologies while still a college student.
Police on Tuesday night announced a suspect in the case and said local, state and federal law enforcement agencies were searching for Billingsley, 32, who was on parole last October in a separate sexual assault case. Court records show he pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual assault in 2015.
In an update Wednesday afternoon, police said Billingsley was also suspected in a September 19 rape, attempted murder and arson in Baltimore.
Officials said they have no reason to believe Lapeer knew Billingsley.
The public defender’s office, which has represented Billingsley in the past, told The Associated Press on Tuesday it was premature to comment on the case. The office did not immediately respond to an email Thursday morning seeking comment from Billingsley.
While building tech startup EcoMap Technologies, LaPere stayed focused on what inspired her from the beginning: making connections, building community, and using entrepreneurship to create meaningful social change.
“She knew what she wanted to achieve and nothing could stand in her way,” her father, Frank LaPere, told the more than 100 people who gathered for the vigil Wednesday night.
As a college student, Lapel was actively involved in efforts to expand opportunities for young entrepreneurs. She launched EcoMap in her dorm room at Johns Hopkins University.
“She saw things that other people didn’t see,” said Sherrod Davis, a Baltimore native and co-founder of EcoMap. “She saw a new Baltimore, not one filled with crime and poverty, but one that was a symbol of prosperity and innovation — one that drew people from every neighborhood and connected them with what they needed, when they needed it. stand up.”
In 2019, she gave a TEDx talk on a college campus describing her journey into the entrepreneurial world and her vision for the future. She said she abandoned her plans to become a doctor after news coverage of car bombings in Syria opened her eyes to human suffering on a global scale; she hopes to affect systemic change, especially in underserved communities.
Relatives said the same philosophy lies at the heart of Lapeer’s company, which uses technology to manage data and make information more accessible throughout the social ecosystem. Their clients include Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, and the Aspen Institute.
Lapel believes in conscious capitalism, an ethical approach to business that has grown in popularity in recent years, and she prioritizes diverse recruiting practices; her staff is half women and half people of color.
Earlier this year, she was named to Forbes’ list of “30 Social Influencers Under 30.” She recently posted on Instagram about growing EcoMap to 30 employees and opening an office in downtown Baltimore.
“She was the complete opposite of what happened to her,” her close friend Karina Mandel said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday. “It’s that polarity that makes it so shocking.”
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