Video shows arrest of Pava LaPere's suspected killer

Publish date: 2024-08-15

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Newly released surveillance footage shows the moment the violent felon accused of murdering tech CEO Pava LaPere was cornered after a desperate 11-day manhunt.

Jason Billingsly, 32, could be seen sitting under an awning at Bowie train station in Maryland with an unidentified man on Sept. 30 — days after police warned that he was someone who “will kill and he will rape.”

He’d been hunted even before the battered body of LaPere, 26, was found on Sept. 25, having been accused of the Sept. 19 rape of a woman who was then set on fire along with her boyfriend.

After being spotted at the station, Billingsly had a spotlight shone on him as US marshalls appeared across the tracks, with one aiming a rifle at the suspect, the footage first obtained by the Baltimore Banner shows.

Both Billingsly and the man with him immediately raised their arms to surrender.

With the deputy’s rifle still aimed at the suspect, three officers could be seen running toward Billingsly from further down on the platform he is sitting at.

Newly released surveillance footage shows the moment the violent felon accused of murdering tech CEO Pava LaPere was cornered. via The Baltimore Banner
Young tech CEO Pava LaPere’s body was found on Sept. 25 Instagram / Pava LaPere

He did not try to resist or attempt to escape. Instead, Billingsly could be seen lying face down on the pavement while officers handcuffed him.

Over the next few minutes, about a dozen other local police officers arrived on the scene and watched as marshals questioned him and the other man, and searched their belongings.

After about seven minutes, a marshal could be seen leading Billingsly away, with his arms still handcuffed behind him. The other man was also arrested, but released that night, according to the Banner.

Police were already searching for Jason Billingsly after he was accused of rape and setting two people on fire. AP

The arrest marked the end of a long manhunt for the 6-foot-4, 305-pound suspect who had been released on mandatory supervision after completing a rape sentence less than one year ago.

Investigators applied for search warrants on Sept. 20, hours after he was accused of the “targeted” gunpoint rape of woman who was set on fire along with a man who was with her.

Local authorities have been attacked for not going public with the hunt until after the body was found of LaPere, the EcoMap Technologies founder fought to have been tricked into letting her killer into her apartment building by him pretending to have forgotten his keys.

Billingsly had previously been released on mandatory supervision after completing a rape sentence less than one year ago.

He is now scheduled for a preliminary hearing next week in Baltimore District Court in the murder and attempted murder cases.

His trial for allegedly stealing a handgun from Baltimore County is scheduled to begin next month.

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