In the wake of the death of Pava LaPere, 26, CEO of startup EcoMap Technologies, who was discovered in her downtown Baltimore apartment on Monday with signs of blunt-force trauma to the head, the Baltimore Police Department has announced an arrest warrant for a suspect wanted in connection with the murder.
Acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley announced at a press conference on Tuesday that 32-year-old Jason Dean Billingsley is wanted by police.
As at 11:34 a.m. on Monday, Baltimore police responded to a call for service at a residence in the 300 block of West Franklin Street. The police found LaPere with serious head injuries when they arrived. No new details about her death have been released by police.
Police reported that the body had been turned over to the medical examiner’s office.
First-degree murder, assault, reckless endangerment, and other charges have filed against Billingsley, making him a wanted man. Police have warned the public to treat him as armed and dangerous.
“This individual will kill and he will rape. He will do anything he can to cause harm,” Worley warned.
Baltimore police said they do not believe LaPere and Billingsley knew each other. The police have not revealed how they determined that Billingsley was a possible perpetrator.
Worley urged Billingsley to surrender in a message, stating, “We will find you, so I would ask you to turn yourself in to any officer, any police station.”
EcoMap was founded by LaPere and Sherrod Davis while LaPere was a 21-year-old college student at Johns Hopkins, according to EcoMap’s website. The company, which currently employs over thirty people, is riding the AI wave. The company offers artificial intelligence (AI) tools like a tunable chatbot with the stated goal of making client data more accessible and facilitating more natural interactions with customers.
The company confirmed LaPere’s passing to CNN.
“With profound sadness and shock, EcoMap announces the tragic and untimely passing of our beloved Founder and CEO, Pava LaPere,” EcoMap said in a statement. “The circumstances surrounding Pava’s death are deeply distressing, and our deepest condolences are with her family, friends, and loved ones during this incredibly devastating time.”
The business announced in August that it had raised nearly $8 million.
Earlier this year, LaPere was included in the social impact section of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list.
“Pava was not only the visionary force behind EcoMap but was also 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.
Delali Dzirasa, CEO of the Baltimore-based company Fearless and a former mentor to LaPere recalls her as a strong leader who was widely respected.
“There is no person on planet Earth that could tell Pava that she couldn’t do something,” Dzirasa said. “Even though she was a force, she always made space for other people,” he told CNN.
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