BALTIMORE — A homicide investigation is underway after Pava LaPere, the 26-year-old CEO of a Baltimore technology company, was found dead at a Mount Vernon apartment building Monday morning, police said.
Officers responded around 11:30 a.m. to an apartment building on the 300 block of West Franklin Street for a call for service, where LaPere’s body was found with signs of blunt-force trauma, police said.
WJZ confirmed Tuesday that LaPere co-founded and leads EcoMap, a company that says it digitizes ecosystems with its proprietary technology.
Community remembers LaPere’s impact
EcoMap released a statement mourning LaPere’s loss.
“The circumstances surrounding Pava’s death are deeply distressing, and our deepest condolences are with her family, friends, and loved ones during this incredibly devastating time. Pava was not only the visionary force behind EcoMap but was also a deeply compassionate and dedicated leader. Her untiring commitment to our company, to Baltimore, to amplifying the critical work of ecosystems across the country, and to building a deeply inclusive culture as a leader, friend, and partner set a standard for leadership, and her legacy will live on through the work we continue to do.”
-EcoMap Technologies
According to LaPere’s LinkedIn, she graduated from Johns Hopkins University, and landed on this year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 List in the Social Impact Category.
WJZ received this statement from Johns Hopkins University:
“The Johns Hopkins community deeply mourns the tragic loss of Pava LaPere, a 2019 graduate who made Baltimore home and invested her talent in our city. Pava was well-known and loved in the Baltimore entrepreneurship community and will be profoundly missed. Our solemn thoughts are with her family in this time of grief.”
-Johns Hopkins University
UpSurge Baltimore, another Baltimore tech company, also released a statement.
“The entire team at UpSurge Baltimore expresses its profound shock and sorrow over the tragic and untimely death of Pava LaPere, Founder and CEO of EcoMap. Pava was a friend and inspiration to so many of us. Our deepest, most heartfelt condolences go out to Pava’s family, friends, and the entire EcoMap team. We stand in solidarity with them, mourning the loss of a true visionary. The Baltimore tech community has lost a shining star, and it is difficult to put into words the depth of the community’s sorrow at Pava’s death.”
-UpSurge Baltimore
Loyola University Maryland also released a statement Tuesday. LaPere served on an advisory board there.
“The Loyola University Maryland community is deeply saddened to learn of the loss of Ecomap CEO, Pava LaPere. Ms. LaPere served on the newly established advisory board for the Simon Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. She was a phenomenally accomplished CEO and innovator, and an inspiration and a friend to so many. She always led with values first, and was deeply committed to Baltimore, and the promises of technology and entrepreneurship for all. Loyola University Maryland joins the communities Ms. LaPere built at Ecomap and across the city in grieving the loss of a true star. She and her family are in our prayers.”
-Wendy Bolger, founding director of the Simon Center on Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Loyola University Maryland
WJZ confirmed Tuesday that LaPere co-founded and leads EcoMap, a company that says it digitizes ecosystems with its proprietary technology.
McKeever Conwell, managing partner at RareBreed Ventures and an active member of the local tech community, knew LaPere since she was still a student.
He said from the beginning, she had drive.
“She epitomized what it was to be a dreamer. What it was to be an entrepreneur. She’s the type of woman I would want to be a mentor to my daughter,” Conwell said.
EcoMap works to create resource maps for communities.
Conwell said that summed up LaPere very well: she wanted to help people.
Aside from her work at EcoMap, she also worked extensively to help other entrepreneurs get started — all while ensuring everyone had a seat at the table.
“You have this young white woman as CEO and a young Black man as COO, you don’t see that every day,” Conwell said. “Her team is extremely diverse.”
But overall, Conwell said, LaPere’s death is a big loss for all of Baltimore. He said she was one of its biggest cheerleaders.
“All these tech companies, when thery start geting money…they wanna move to other places. She was here, she believed in it and we lost that,” he said.
The investigation into LaPere’s murder
Investigators said a missing persons call had been made a short time before the discovery.
“That’s pretty horrifying,” Chris McNees, a tenant of the building, told WJZ on Monday. “I mean, just for that to happen anywhere in the city is obviously a bad thing, but it’s hard to imagine why this would happen specifically in this building.”
An arrest warrant has been issued in LaPere’s killing. Police said Jason Dean Billingsley, 32, from Baltimore is the suspect in the case and that he should be considered armed and dangerous.
If you have information that could help detectives in this case, contact the department at 410-396-2100 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
Related: Police: Arrest warrant issued for murder of Baltimore tech CEO Pava LaPere