BALTIMORE — We're learning more about a 26-year-old woman who was found dead Monday morning in Mount Vernon.
Pava Marie LaPere was the founder and CEO of EcoMap Technologies, a Baltimore-based start-up tech company.
Police discovered the Johns Hopkins grad inside the Congress apartments on W. Franklin Street, suffering from blunt-force trauma.
We're told officers were initally called to the location to check up on a missing person.
On Tuesday evening an arrest warrant was issued for the alleged suspect, 32-year-old Jason Dean Billingsley.
Police say he has three prior arrests dating back to 2009 for charges including assault, robbery and sex offense through force or threat.
Billingsley was last convicted in 2015 and released from prison in October 2022 due to credits earned for good behavior and training.
Acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley warned if Billingsley isn't found he would "kill and rape again." Detectives are already looking at potential ties to him and other unsolved cases.
It's unclear at this point how investigators linked Billingsley to LaPere's murder.
Police are considering Billingsley armed and dangerous and ask anyone with information on his whereabouts to call 911.
LaPere had been scheduled to speak at next month's Economic Builders Forum in Pennsylvania.
She was also recently named to this year's Forbes 30 under 30 list.
In a statement EcoMap called LaPere a "deeply compassionate and dedicated leader."
"Her untiring commitment to our company, to Baltimore, to amplifying the critical work of ecosystems across the country, and to building a deeply inclusive culture as a leader, friend, and partner set a standard for leadership, and her legacy will live on through the work we continue to do."
The company said they would share plans in the upcoming days to honor LaPere's memory and legacy.
LaPere's family shared up their fondest memories of the young entrepreneur in a media release.
Let us tell you a little bit about our Pava Marie…she made an impact on every person she touched. We have lost a deeply loved daughter, sister and friend who could understand all of us in a way that no other human being could. Pava had a unique vantage into our lives, and an intelligence to understand that each human is unique and irreplaceable.
In life’s darkest moments, Pava’s council and reflection gave all of us a perspective, and the will to persevere despite the odds. We remain in complete shock and can barely comprehend Pava’s death. It will be in life’s quiet moments, after the dust settles, that the full reality of this tragedy will resonate. We should all carry Pava’s pragmatic positivity forward.
Whether the Ecomap team, City of Baltimore, or the worldwide entrepreneurial community, the loss is all of ours. Pava dedicated her life, her focus, her talent, and dizzying work ethic to our collective enrichment. After coming to Johns Hopkins University for her education, Pava made Baltimore her home and sought to cultivate her vision for the potential of this home. She loved Baltimore - its people, its potential, its art, its history and architecture. There was no bigger ambassador for all that is great about the city.
Pava had a penchant for taking charge of a situation and deftly maneuvering people, resources and problems forward, towards better outcomes. She could find possibilities in others, in situations, and in dilemmas that few could. She built a thriving community with her colleagues and friends based on addressing crucial issues and mobilizing everyone. Pava was a visionary ahead of her time.
We love and miss you, Pava. We find comfort in many loving memories and knowing that the impact you made during your short time here will ripple for generations to come.
Johns Hopkins University also sent their condolences.
"The Johns Hopkins community deeply mourns the tragic loss of Pava LaPere, a 2019 graduate who made Baltimore home and invested her talent in our city. Pava was well known and loved in the Baltimore entrepreneurship community and will be profoundly missed. Our solemn thoughts are with her family in this time of grief."
