The convicted sex offender wanted on suspicion of the murder of a “30 Under 30” tech executive has been arrested after two days on the run, according to multiple reports.
Sources confirmed to local outlets CBS Baltimore and Fox45News that Jason Billingsley, 32, was taken into custody on Wednesday night in connection to the brutal murder of Pava LaPere.
The 32-year-old accused killer – who is also suspected of an attempted murder just one week prior to LaPere’s violent death – was captured just after 11.10pm at the MARC train station on Laurel-Bowie Road in Bowie, Maryland, Fox45 reported.
Baltimore Police plan to hold a press conference to “announce arrest of murder suspect Jason Billingsley” at 11am ET on Thursday, local outlet WBAL-TV reported.
Billingsley was named as the prime suspect in the murder of 26-year-old LaPere after her partially clothed body was found with evident signs of blunt force trauma on the roof of her apartment building on Monday.
An arrest warrant was issued on charges of first-degree murder, second-degree assault, sex offence and robbery and a huge manhunt was launched to track down the suspect, with Baltimore Police warning the public that he should be considered “armed” and “dangerous”.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Baltimore Police revealed that Billingsley is a convicted sex offender with a lengthy criminal history.
On Wednesday, it emerged that he was also suspected of carrying out a separate violent attack just one week before LaPere’s murder.
Police said that Billingsley had been linked to an attempted murder, arson and rape on 19 September in the 800 block of Edmondson Avenue – just a 15-minute walk from LaPere’s building.
Pava LaPere was a “visionary force behind EcoMap but was also a deeply compassionate and dedicated leader"— (EcoMaps/X)
“Additionally, detectives are now reviewing all cases since [his release in] October, 2022, to the present day in order to determine any other connections,” the department told The Independent in a statement.
Billingsley had been released in October 2022 following a conviction on a first-degree sex offence.
Mayor Brandon Scott, who knew LaPere through her work as an entrepreneur, criticised the early release, saying it should have never happened.
“There is no way in hell that he should have been out on the street,” Mr Scott said. “When the police go out and do their job, as they did in this case ... and the state’s attorney goes out and does their work, gets the conviction, the conviction should be the conviction.”
Billingsley was previously arrested in 2009, 2011 and 2013 on multiple charges including sex offences, second-degree assault and robbery.
He pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in 2009 and was given two years of supervised probation. He violated the terms of his parole and was convicted of second-degree assault in 2011, court records show.
Jason Dean Billingsley has previously been convicted for assault and sex offence charges— (Baltimore Police Department)
Billingsley served two years over the 2011 conviction and just months after being released in 2013, he was arrested again on attempted rape charges.
In 2015, Mr Billingsley was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with 16 years suspended and five years of supervised probation, after he pleaded guilty to a first-degree sex offence. He was released from prison last October on “good-time” credits,” the Baltimore Banner reported.
Pava LaPere, the founder and CEO of EcoMaps Technologies, was remembered as a “visionary force behind EcoMap but was also a deeply compassionate and dedicated leader”.
It is not clear what connection – if any – the victim and suspect may have to each other.
