$6k reward offered for information leading to Jason Billingsley, accused in Baltimore tech CEO murder

BALTIMORE - A $6,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of Jason Billingsley, a Baltimore man accused in the murder of 26-year-old tech CEO Pava LaPere.

 Jason Billingsley is wanted for first-degree murder, assault, reckless endangerment, and additional charges in LaPere's death.

"If you're out there watching, and hopefully you are, every single police officer in Baltimore City, the state of Maryland, as well as the U.S. Marshals are looking for you," Acting Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said. "We will find you."

LaPere was found dead with signs of blunt force trauma at a Mount Vernon apartment building Monday morning, according to police.   

In a news conference Tuesday about the LaPere case, police said Billingsley is considered "armed and dangerous."

WJZ confirmed Tuesday that LaPere co-founded and leads EcoMap, a company that says it digitizes ecosystems with its proprietary technology.  

A source told WJZ that Billingsley is also a suspect in a separate and ongoing investigation into an arson at a three-story house on Sept. 19 in the 800 block of Edmondson Avenue where a man and a woman were critically injured. A 5-year-old was found on a different floor of the house and taken to a hospital, too, fire officials said.

"We implore residents to be aware of your surroundings at all times," Worley said. "This individual will kill and he will rape. He will do anything he can to cause harm."

Adult court records reveal that at 18-years-old Billingsley pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in 2009.

He was ultimately given two years of supervised probation but violated the terms and was convicted in a second-degree assault case in 2011, where he served a two-year prison sentence. 

After being released, mere months later in 2013, Billingsley was convicted of a rape attempt. 

A judge handed down a 30-year sentence with an expected 2043 release date, however, 16 years of the sentence was suspended, and he was given five years of supervised probation. 

Billingsley was paroled in October 2022, according to State's Attorney Ivan Bates