Pava LaPere, the 26-year-old CEO of tech startup EcoMap Technologies, was found dead in Baltimore on Monday with reported blunt-force trauma to her head.
Now, a suspect has been named and police have issued a warrant to find 32-year-old Jason Dean Billingsley.
In a news conference, police said that Billingsley should be “considered armed and dangerous” and that he is wanted for first-degree murder and assault as well as additional charges.
“We will find you, so I would ask you to turn yourself in to any officer, any police station,” Police Commissioner Richard Worley said during the conference.
Pava LaPere, CEO of EcoMap Technologies (LinkedIn)
LaPere was found in an apartment near the 300 block of West Franklin Street in the Mount Vernon neighborhood around 11:30 a.m. on Monday with “multiple wounds” to her head, but police would not release any further details.
EcoMap Technologies also has an office nearby on the 300 Block.
“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 provided to CNN. “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.”
EcoMap Technologies is a 30+ person start-up that “builds custom platforms that help support entrepreneurial communities” as well as leverages “technology to create highly-customized platforms for economic development agencies, entrepreneur support organizations, universities, and more – all at a price they can afford,” according to the company’s website.
LaPere was included in Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Impact Category earlier this year for her work with the company.
She founded EcoMap in December 2018, according to her LinkedIn, when she was just 21 years old and a student at Johns Hopkins University alongside co-founder Sherrod Davis.
This is a developing story.