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BALTIMORE — Tech entrepreneur Pava LaPere was found dead on the roof of her building, strangled and brutally beaten with a brick, court documents show.
LaPere, 26, had blunt force trauma wounds to her head, face and body, according to a statement of charges filed in the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City.
LaPere was half-clothed when authorities found her, although the documents do not offer other details about the nature of the crime.
Authorities found a brick, blood, three teeth, buttons, pants, a broken hair clip and a pair of red shoes near her body, the document shows.
Her death was ruled a homicide by strangulation and blunt force trauma.
Her suspected killer, Jason Billingsley, 32, was arrested around 11 p.m. Wednesday without incident following a major manhunt.
He faces multiple charges in LaPere’s death, including first-degree murder and assault, according to court records. He is also charged with using a brick as a dangerous weapon.
LaPere appeared to let Billingsley into the building Friday night, surveillance video shows. A man that authorities believe to be the suspect waved at her through the glass door to come over to him, documents show, after which she opened the door, spoke to him, and let him inside. The two then got into the elevator. LaPere lived and worked in the building.
Acting Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said Thursday that he believes LaPere was killed Friday night. Her body was found by a worker in the building Monday after she was reported missing.
Worley said investigators are still processing evidence “to determine exactly what occurred” and that they do not know if there are “any connections” between the victim and suspect.
Billingsley was also suspected of raping a woman days before LaPere’s death and was already under police surveillance, authorities said Thursday. Police, however, declined to tell the public about the incident because they believed it was “targeted,” stirring up criticisms that LaPere’s death might have been avoided.
In that incident, Billingsley allegedly slit a woman’s throat and raped her “several times during the night” before tying her up with duct tape and lighting her on fire, court documents show. Billingsley also allegedly handcuffed the woman’s boyfriend and set him ablaze.
The woman told authorities she heard a loud banging at the door on Sept. 19 by a man who said he worked for the building’s maintenance department. (Billingsley was a maintenance worker in the building.)
The suspect, who was wearing a mask, then kicked in the front door and pointed a gun at her, documents show.
Authorities found a backpack in the building’s back alley that contained many items, including a serrated knife, rolls of duct tape, handcuffs, bleach, gas can, lighter and clothing.
Video footage from an earlier day showed him wearing the clothes that were found in the backpack, according to court documents.
Worley said investigators know why Billingsley allegedly committed the crimes but said he did not want to “talk bad” about the victims.
Billingsley was also sentenced in 2015 to 30 years in prison, with 16 years suspended, after he pleaded guilty to first-degree rape, online court records show. The Maryland sex offender registry shows he was released from prison in October of 2022.
LaPere was the CEO and founder of the software startup EcoMap Technologies.
In a statement, her family said they were “relieved to know he can no longer hurt other innocent victims.”
“While this doesn’t change that Baltimore lost one of its most passionate, influential fans, our efforts remain focused on remembering and celebrating Pava Marie — her life, successes, and legacy,” the statement said.
Antonio Planas reported from Baltimore, and Melissa Chan reported from New York.
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