Man Accused Of Killing Tech CEO Pava LaPere Pleads Guilty

BALTIMORE, MD — The man accused of killing Baltimore tech CEO Pava LePere last year will spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty to murder, prosecutors announced Friday.

Jason Billingsley, 33, was sentenced to three life sentences Friday after pleading guilty to one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder earlier this week, Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan Bates said in a statement. The sentences will be served concurrently, prosecutors said.

LaPere was found dead on Sept. 25 on the roof of her apartment building in the 300 block of West Franklin Street, according to police. Authorities said LaPere was discovered partially clothed and showed signs of blunt-force trauma. She was reported missing earlier in the day, police said.

Surveillance footage from Sept. 22 at LaPere's apartment building showed her getting up from the couch in the lobby at 10:32 p.m. and letting Billingsley in after he waved to her through the glass. Billingsley and LaPere spoke before getting on an elevator together.

At 11:08 p.m., Billingsley was seen scrambling for an exit and wiping his right hand on his shorts, prosecutors said.

LaPere, who founded the tech startup EcoMap Technologies, was reported missing when she did not show up for a scheduled work meeting on Sept. 25.

Just days before LaPere's death, authorities said Billingsley kicked in the door to the home in the 800 block of Edmondson Avenue after knocking on the door and identifying himself as a maintenance worker. Once inside, he held two people inside then handcuffed and duct-taped them. Authorities said he then raped the woman and cut her neck before dousing the couple with an accelerant and setting them on fire.

Before his arrest, Billingsley was already a convicted sex offender who had been arrested multiple times on charges including assault and robbery. He was paroled in October 2022 in an earlier sexual assault case. Court records show he pleaded guilty to first-degree sex assault in 2015.

"This defendant should have never been released into the community following a first-degree sex offense conviction to inflict immense trauma, pain and sorrow on so many individuals in such a short amount of time," Bates said in a statement.

Following LaPere's death, Maryland lawmakers passed the Pava Marie LaPere Act, which prevents first-degree sex offenders from earning early release diminution credits for good behavior.