A violent serial offender was followed by officers for three days before allegedly killing a Forbes 30 under 30 CEO on her roof.
Baltimore police have confirmed they placed Jason Billingsley, 32, under surveillance before he was suspected of killing Pava LaPere, 26.
Officers tracked his phone, expenses and social media after the attempted murder and rape of one woman on September 19.
He was arrested Wednesday at 11 p.m. at a train station about 30 miles from where LaPere was found dead.
LaPere was discovered on September 26 after she was reported missing, but police now say she was murdered on September 22. It is still unclear how Billingsley entered the “secure” apartment building, whether he knew LaPere, and why officers were unable to arrest him. before the violent attack.
Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Richard Worley denied making a mistake by delaying providing information about Billingsley – whom he labeled a “psychopath” – to the public after the first incident.
Baltimore police have confirmed they placed Jason Billingsley, 32, under surveillance before he was suspected of killing Pava LaPere, 26
LaPere was discovered on September 26 after she was reported missing, but police now say they believe she was murdered on September 22.
Police were forced to withhold questions at a press conference on Thursday as they returned to a barrage of criticism over their handling of the investigation.
Authorities say the September 19 incident was not a random attack and that Billingsley knew the victims, so they did not warn the public of the potential risk.
The violent convicted criminal, who was released early from his 30-year sentence for attempted rape, had worked in the building.
He is accused of breaking into the basement apartment and trapping a woman and a man, both 26, while a 5-year-old child was in the building.
Billingsley then raped the woman and set the building on fire, with police linking him to the crime less than 24 hours later.
But Worley claims they did not issue a flyer about the incident because it was not a “random act,” and that they defended the police actions.
“He went to that location for a criminal reason,” he said. “We monitored the suspect, including tracking his phone, financial transactions, social media and his known addresses.
‘In several cases we were able to follow him closely and we postponed the press conference on Monday because we were about 88 meters away from him.
‘But he was able to evade capture. We knew there was a risk that he would go underground if we went public, and that’s exactly what he did.
Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Richard Worley denied making a mistake by delaying providing information about Billingsley – whom he labeled a “psychopath” – to the public after the first incident
“The other day the press conference took place and he left the location where a search warrant had been served when he looked at it.
Despite being followed by officers for three days, he entered LaPere’s “secure” apartment building, where her badly beaten body was discovered on the roof.
Billingsley was followed by police to the MARC train station on Laurel-Bowie Road in Bowie, Prince George’s County, on Wednesday evening.
He was arrested “without incident,” with Worley stating that he was “surrounded by a SWAT team” and cooperating with officers.
Authorities confirmed that there was “no burglary” at LaPere’s apartment complex and they “do not know” if there was a previous connection between her and Billingsley.
Billingsley had complied with his sex offender notification but failed to show up for his scheduled appointment on Monday.