Tech CEO Murder Suspect Jason Billingsley Arrested

Baltimore Police arrested a man suspected of murdering a young tech CEO late Wednesday in Maryland, according to ABC News, citing the U.S. Marshals Service and local station WBFF, citing law enforcement sources.

Jason Dean Billingsley, 32, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder, assault and reckless endangerment, following the death of Pava LaPere.

The 26-year-old's body was found at an apartment building in Mount Vernon, following a missing persons report.

Baltimore police released a statement shortly before 12:30 a.m. ET Thursday stating the plan to announce at 11 a.m. press conference the arrest of Billingsley, per multiple local media reports.

Baltimore Police Department discovered LaPere's body at the apartment building in Mount Vernon at around 11.30 a.m. She had suffered "blunt force trauma," the department said in a statement.

"Preliminary investigation revealed that a missing person’s call had been dispatched a short time prior," the statement added.

The 26-year-old led a start-up called EcoMap, a company aiming to make information more accessible. She was named in a Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2022 under the Social Impact category.

Billingsley had been sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2015, with 16 years suspended, after he pleaded guilty to a first-degree sex offense.

The Maryland sex offender registry shows he was released from prison last October. He was classified as a tier 3 offender, which is the most serious.

Billingsley was previously arrested in 2013, 2011 and 2009 for "multiple charges" including a sex offense, second-degree assault charges and robbery.

He is also a suspect in at least one other ongoing case, police said.

“There is no way in hell this man should have been on the street,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott previously said.