The 26-year-old was found dead Monday after being reported missing. She had died from from blunt force trauma following what police believe was a random attack…
Police said Pava LaPere’s body was found with signs of blunt-force trauma Monday morning. LaPere was the CEO of EcoMap.
In the days since her horrific death following what police believe was a random attack at her Baltimore apartment building, loved ones remembered LaPere as a bundle of energy and ambition with an unwavering belief in the human potential for positive change. At a vigil Wednesday evening, they challenged each other to live out her legacy through hard work and compassion.
The 26-year-old entrepreneur and recent Johns Hopkins graduate was reported missing shortly before her body was discovered late Monday morning with signs of blunt force trauma.
Now, her friends and family members are left trying to reconcile how she lived with how she died.
“She was so the antithesis of what happened to her,” her close friend Karina Mandell told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday. “That polarity, that’s what makes it so shocking.”
Police announced a suspect in the case Tuesday evening, saying local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are searching for Jason Billingsley, 32, who was paroled last October in an earlier sexual assault case. In an update Wednesday afternoon, police said Billingsley is also suspected in a rape, attempted murder and arson that occurred Sept. 19 in Baltimore.
As a college student, LaPere was heavily involved in efforts to expand opportunities for young entrepreneurs.
