Tech CEO killed in Baltimore remembered as dedicated, compassionate entrepreneur

abcnews.go.com:

Loved ones are remembering a slain Baltimore tech entrepreneur for her compassion and dedication to helping others

BALTIMORE — Loved ones are remembering a slain Baltimore tech entrepreneur as a young woman who built a successful tech startup that earned her national recognition and local political clout while remaining focused on what motivated her from the beginning: forging connections, building community and using entrepreneurship to create meaningful social change.

A vigil was planned for Wednesday evening to honor Pava LaPere, who launched EcoMap Technologies from her dorm room at Johns Hopkins University.

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 at her apartment complex.

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 morning. “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 sex 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.

Losing their friend in such a horrific way has left Mandell and others wondering if they should fear for their own safety.

In a Facebook post Tuesday, her family requested privacy.

“Pava made an impact in every endeavor she undertook and on every life she touched,” her father, Frank