Photo: Baltimore Police Department
Authorities in Baltimore are desperately searching for a felon suspected of killing a 26-year-old tech CEO. EcoMap Technologies CEO Pava LaPere was reported missing Monday (September 25) and found several hours later beaten to death in her apartment building.
The Baltimore Police Department identified 32-year-old Jason Dean Billingsley as the main suspect in her death. They said he did not have a previous relationship with LaPere and did not provide details about a motive or why they believed he killed her.
They said he should be considered armed and "extremely dangerous.
"This individual will kill, and he will rape," acting Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said. "He will do anything he can to cause harm."
Officials believe that Billingsley is still in the Baltimore area.
"If you're out there watching - hopefully, you are - every single police officer in Baltimore City, the state of Maryland, as well as the US marshals, are looking for you. We will find you, so I would ask you to turn yourself into any officer, any police station. Because we will take you into custody eventually, and then we will turn it over to the state's attorney to prosecute you to the fullest. So please, turn yourself in," Worley said.
Billingsley has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 2009 when he was convicted of first-degree assault and violating his probation. In 2015, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being convicted of a first-degree forcible sex offense. He was released in October 2022.
Officials did not say why he was released.
"There's no way in hell he should have been out on the street," Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said.