Jason Billingsley, suspected of killing Forbes ’30 Under 30′ tech CEO Pava LaPere, 26, linked to knifepoint sex attack a WEEK earlier: 6ft 4, 305lb ex-con was let out by Soros-backed DA EARLY despite history of sex offenses and violent crimes
- Pava Marie LaPere, 26, was killed by blunt force trauma inside her luxury Mount Vernon, Baltimore apartment, and her body was found by police on Monday
- The Police Commissioner announced that they have a warrant out for a murder suspect’s arrest on Tuesday evening
- They have named Jason Deans Billingsley, 32, of Baltimore, as their main suspect in her murder
The prime suspect in the brutal murder of Baltimore tech CEO Pava LaPere may have struck days earlier in a knifepoint sex assault and arson attack that left two people fighting for their lives, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.
Police issued an arrest warrant for Jason Billingsley on Tuesday afternoon along with a stark warning to the public that the convicted sex offender, 32, has a history of rape and violence.
Billingsley faces charges of first-degree murder, assault and reckless endangerment in the killing of 26-year-old LaPere, a rising star in tech who made the prestigious Forbes ’30 Under 30′ list.
The 6ft 4, 305lbs suspect had been jailed for 30 years in 2015, was set free by progressive, George Soros-backed District Attorney Marilyn Mosby in October 2022 – just seven years into his sentence. It is unclear why he was released so swiftly.
LaPere was found dead on Monday morning at her Baltimore apartment with blunt force injuries that one veteran officer described to DailyMail.com as ‘absolutely brutal – some of the worst I’ve seen.’
Pava Marie LaPere, 26 (left), was killed by blunt force trauma inside her luxury Mount Vernon, Baltimore apartment, and her body was found by police on Monday. On Tuesday police announced they have issued an arrest warrant for Jason Deans Billingsley, 32, of Baltimore (right)
Billingsley has a criminal record dating back to 2009, and was sentenced to 30 years – but released after only seven
Marilyn Mosby was the top prosecutor in Baltimore in October 2022, when Billingsley was released
Announcing the warrant for Billingsley’s capture, Acting Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said the ‘repeat violent offender’ is a suspect in ‘at least one other case,’ without elaborating.
‘BPD’s Special Investigations Section is working to determine potential connections to Billingsley and other cases,’ the police said.
DailyMail.com can reveal detectives are probing possible links to an assault and arson attack in West Baltimore on September 19 that left two people in critical condition and a child in the hospital.
The incident began when firefighters responded to smoke billowing from the basement of a townhouse at 9:24am.
They rescued a man and a woman, both aged 26, who had burns and ‘multiple injuries’, along with a five-year-old child found suffering from smoke inhalation.
A police source told DailyMail.com the attacker had initially targeted the woman, sexually assaulting her and slashing at her throat with a knife.
Asked if Billingsley was considered a suspect, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore Police Department told DailyMail.com: ‘We can’t confirm that.’
She said of the arson incident: ‘Officers located a 26-year-old male and an adult female, suffering from multiple injuries. On the upper level of the home, fire personnel located a five-year-old child, unharmed.’
Medics arrived to the scene and transported the victims to area hospitals where the adult male and female were both listed in critical condition.
Billingsley was described on Tuesday as ‘a repeat violent offender’, and a suspect in at least one other case.
‘He will kill, and he will rape,’ said Richard Worley, the police commissioner, at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Billingsley is ‘armed and dangerous,’ and locals should stay alert, said Worley.
‘To Jason Billingsley: I hope you are watching,’ he added.
‘Every single police officer in Baltimore and the state of Maryland is out there looking for you. We will find you, and we will prosecute you to the full extent of the law. So please turn yourself in.’
Billingsley has a long criminal history, dating back to 2009 when he was arrested for robbery and assault in the second degree.
He was arrested in 2011, and again in 2013, for multiple charges to include sex offense, 2nd degree assault charges and robbery.
In 2015 he was given a 30-year prison sentence, with all but 14 years suspended, and served time at Maryland Correctional Institution in Hagerstown.
It is unclear what he was jailed for.
Mosby is no longer the DA in Baltimore, having been replaced in January 2023 by Ivan Bates, who reversed her non-prosecution policy for low-level offenses like drug possession, prostitution, and trespassing on his first day in office.
Mosby ran her reelection campaign on her record of reducing the population behind bars, holding police officers accountable for their actions, and reviewing convictions for potential exoneration.
She fired a long list of veteran prosecutors upon taking office, including a 20-year veteran in the middle of an armed robbery trial against a violent repeat offender.
She instead hired young, inexperienced lawyers to fill the posts, MetroVoice News reported.
In January 2022, Mosby was indicted on federal charges of perjury and making false mortgage applications, having allegedly made false applications to withdraw retirement money to purchase a vacation home in Florida.
Mosby has pleaded not guilty on all charges, and is currently scheduled to go on trial in November.
Richard Worley, commissioner of Baltimore police, announced the name of the suspect and vowed to track him down and bring him to justice
Worley on Tuesday said that a special task force was working alongside U.S. Marshalls to capture Billingsley.
‘We ask that anyone who has seen him or knows him, or knows his whereabouts, to contact police immediately,’ said Worley.
‘We warn residents to be aware of your surroundings at all times. This individual will kill, and he will rape. He will do anything to cause harm.’
The mayor of Baltimore, Brandon Scott, said it was ‘difficult to express the sorrow’ for the murder of LaPere, calling it ‘horrific, senseless and tragic’.
He said he knew LaPere, and said she ‘would help anybody she could see’.
Scott vowed that Baltimore ‘will not rest until we have him in custody’, adding that he ‘should not have been on the streets in the first place.’
Scott said he was ‘extremely frustrated’ that Billingsley was free to attack again.
‘We need to get other parts of the system to understand that these cases impact people for an eternity,’ he said.
‘Pava’s family is going to be dealing with the trauma and tragedy of their loss for the rest of their lives.
‘Police go out and do their job, as they did in this case, and then the state’s attorney goes out, does their work, and gives the conviction – the conviction should be the conviction.
‘We are tired of talking about the same people doing the same crimes over and over again.’
Scott urged journalists to look at ‘who made the decision to let this person out on parole, based on the facts of this case. Because there was no way in hell he should have been out on the streets.’
Baltimore police on Tuesday announced the identity of the man wanted for LaPere’s murder
Billingsley was described by the commissioner of Baltimore police as a repeat violent offender
Officers arrived around 11:34am to her apartment complex in the 300 block of West Franklin Street on Monday. LaPere lived in the building, which is the former site of the Congress Hotel, where one bedroom apartments rent for $1,500 a month
LaPere was expected to speak at an industry forum in Pennsylvania on October 2, and EcoMap Technologies publicized the event yesterday – after she was found dead
Johns Hopkins University graduate LaPere lived and worked in the same building where she was found murdered, according to public records.
Officers arrived around 11:34am at her apartment complex in the 300 block of West Franklin Street on Monday.
Upon arrival, they found LaPere dead. She had signs of blunt-force trauma and detectives launched a homicide investigation, police confirmed.
Worley said it was ‘a secure building,’ but would not comment on where she was found, only confirming it was ‘at that address’.
A neighbor, who lives across the hall from LaPere, said she woke up to police knocking on LaPere’s door. There was no answer, she told local news.
The medical examiner’s office took possession of the body, and an examination is pending.
LaPere, who attended Johns Hopkins University, was named on Forbes’ prestigious 30 Under 30 list this year for her impact work
The tech CEO (center) is pictured with her parents, Caroline and Frank LaPere
According to investigators, there had been a missing person’s call made for her a short time before her dead body was discovered. They declined to say who made the call, because the investigation is ongoing.
LaPere, who attended Johns Hopkins University before starting the company, was named on Forbes’ prestigious ’30 Under 30′ list this year for her impact work.
She is the co-founder and CEO of EcoMap Technologies – which she launched at the age of 22 in her college dorm room.
As well as her Forbes recognition, she was named in Baltimore’s ’40 Under 40′ and Maryland’s ’25 Under 25′ lists for innovation.
LaPere was remembered as one of the ‘brightest stars’ in Baltimore, and a ‘compassionate visionary force’ by those who knew and worked with her.
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