Court documents and sources say the man accused of killing Baltimore tech entrepreneur Pava LaPere appeared to have followed her home before she let him into her apartment building when he seemed to be having trouble getting into the building, as if he had forgotten his keys.
LaPere, founder and CEO of EcoMap Technologies, was found dead on the roof of her building on Monday, as CrimeOnline reported, and police say she likely died on September 22 — when Jason Billingsley was seen on surveillance video following the 26-year-old from a distance behind.
Investigators say LaPere was strangled and had blunt force trauma. Billingsley was arrested on Wednesday at a train station in Bowie, Maryland. Police were already looking for him for an attempted murder, rape, and arson on September 19. While they suspect that LaPere’s murder may have been random, the September 19 incident was not, police said.
Sources told CNN that the surveillance footage shows Billingsley following LaPere, who shows no signs of noticing him, down the street. She enters the building but returns to the front door when she sees the man identified as Billingsley waving at her, WJZ reported, citing the statement of charges. The sources said he appeared to be having trouble getting in, as if he couldn’t find his keys.
LaPere lets him in the building, the documents say, and the two have a conversation before they get into the elevator together.
The document says the suspect is later seen coming back into the lobby from a stairwell, “scrambling for an exit” while wiping his hand on his shorts.
The sources said 40 minutes elapsed between the time Billingsley and LaPere got into the elevator and the time Billingsley came back into the lobby.
Police who found LaPere’s body on Monday found several items scattered across the rooftop, including a pair of red shoes believed to belong to her.
Investigators have not found a connection between Billingsley and LaPere, but police believe the September 19 attack — about a mile from LaPere’s apartment — was targeted, WJZ reported.
“We have information to believe that the victims … were targeted by the suspect – that the suspect knew the victims and he went into that location for a criminal reason,” acting Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said.
Billingsley was released from prison in October 2022, after serving roughly 14 years for strangling and raping a woman at knifepoint a decade before LaPere’s slaying. In that case, Billingsley targeted a woman who was sitting outside following an argument with her boyfriend.
Billingsley reportedly offered the victim a place to stay before putting his hands around her neck, striking her in the face, and threatening to shoot her if she did not acquiesce to his demands. He subsequently stole $53 dollars from her wallet after forcing her to perform oral sex on him.
Billingsley received a 30-year sentence for first-degree rape, false imprisonment, and assault. Though his initial release date was for 2043, 16 years of his sentence we suspended and it was further reduced for good behavior — leading to his release last October.
His criminal record also includes arrests for assault in 2009 and 2011.
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[Featured image: Pava LaPere/EcoMap Technologies]
