Police reveal name of murder suspect wanted in Pava Marie LaPere case
Pava Marie LaPere, 26, was killed by blunt force trauma inside her luxury Mount Vernon, Baltimore apartment, and her body was found by police on Monday.
Baltimore police have issued an arrest warrant for 'a repeat violent offender' suspected of murdering a much-loved Forbes '30 Under 30' tech CEO, who was found beaten to death in her apartment building.
Pava Marie LaPere, 26, was killed by blunt force trauma inside her luxury Mount Vernon, Baltimore apartment, and her body was found by police on Monday.
Jason Deans Billingsley, 32, of Baltimore, is wanted for first degree murder, assault, reckless endangerments, as well as additional charges. Police do not believe LaPere knew him.
He was convicted 'for a violent crime' in 2011, with charges including attempted rape, and received a 30-year sentence. He was paroled in October 2022.
Billingsley was described as 'a repeat violent offender', and a suspect in at least one other case.
'He will kill, and he will rape,' said Richard Worley, the police commissioner, at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Billingsley is 'armed and dangerous,' and locals should stay alert, said Worley.
'To Jason Billingsley: I hope you are watching,' he added.
'Every single police officer in Baltimore and the state of Maryland is out there looking for you. We will find you, and we will prosecute you to the full extent of the law. So please turn yourself in.'
Pava Marie LaPere, 26 (left), was killed by blunt force trauma inside her luxury Mount Vernon, Baltimore apartment, and her body was found by police on Monday. On Tuesday police announced they have issued an arrest warrant for Jason Deans Billingsley, 32, of Baltimore (right)
Richard Worley, commissioner of Baltimore police, announced the name of the suspect and vowed to track him down and bring him to justice
Worley said that a special task force was working alongside U.S. Marshalls to capture Billingsley.
'We ask that anyone who has seen him or knows him, or knows his whereabouts, to contact police immediately,' said Worley.
'We warn residents to be aware of your surroundings at all times. This individual will kill, and he will rape. He will do anything to cause harm.'
The mayor of Baltimore, Brandon Scott, said it was 'difficult to express the sorrow' for the murder of LaPere, calling it 'horrific, senseless and tragic'.
He said he knew LaPere, and said she 'would help anybody she could see'.
Scott vowed that Baltimore 'will not rest until we have him in custody', adding that he 'should not have been on the streets in the first place.'
Scott said he was 'extremely frustrated' that Billingsley was free to attack again.
'We need to get other parts of the system to understand that these cases impact people for an eternity,' he said.
'Pava's family is going to be dealing with the trauma and tragedy of their loss for the rest of their lives.
'Police go out and do their job, as they did in this case, and then the state's attorney goes out, does their work, and gives the conviction - the conviction should be the conviction.
'We are tired of talking about the same people doing the same crimes over and over again.'
Scott urged journalists to look at 'who made the decision to let this person out on parole, based on the facts of this case. Because there was no way in hell he should have been out on the streets.'
