26-year-old American CEO found dead in apartment with blunt force trauma

Baltimore tech startup founder Pava LaPere, 26, found dead after being reported missing; police say she suffered blunt force trauma. Suspect Jason Billingsley, 32, paroled last October in an earlier sex assault case. LaPere was named to Forbes' 30 under 30 list for social impact & founded a nonprofit to support student entrepreneurs. Family asked for privacy.

The founder of a Baltimore tech startup, whose professional accomplishments earned her a spot on a Forbes 30 under 30 list earlier this year, was found dead after being reported missing late Monday morning, according to city police.

Pava LaPere, 26, had suffered from blunt force trauma, police said. Officials released her name in a news release Tuesday morning. Public records suggest LaPere was living at the apartment complex where her body was found.

Officials announced a suspect in the case at a news conference Tuesday evening: Jason Billingsley, 32, was paroled last October in an earlier sex assault case. Court records show he pleaded guilty to first-degree sex assault in 2015. Officials said they have no reason to believe LaPere knew Billingsley.

The public defender’s office, which represented Billingsley in the past, told AP on Tuesday evening that it is too early for them to comment on this case.

Baltimore Acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley asked anyone with information about Billingsley's whereabouts to contact authorities. He said Billingsley should be considered armed and dangerous.

“This individual will kill and he will rape. He will do anything he can to cause harm,” Worley said.

LaPere, who graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 2019, founded the startup EcoMap Technologies. The company focuses on curating data from business, nonprofit and education ecosystems and making it easier to access and interpret, according to their website. Their clients include Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, and T. Rowe Price Foundation.