A homicide investigation is underway after a 26-year-old tech CEO was found dead inside of her Baltimore apartment with signs of blunt force trauma, authorities said.
Pava LaPere, who co-founded the data-curating company EcoMap Technologies, was discovered by officers responding to a call for service around 11:30 a.m. Monday, Baltimore police said in a press release.
A call about a missing person had been made “a short time prior,” police added without elaborating.
Pava Marie LaPere/Instagram
Authorities declined to comment further when reached by HuffPost.
EcoMap, in a statement posted to Facebook on Tuesday, called the circumstances surrounding her death “deeply distressing.”
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“We are devastated by this loss, and we pledge our unwavering support to the LaPere family as they navigate this heartbreaking period,” the post read. “Pava was not only the visionary force behind EcoMap but was also a deeply compassionate and dedicated leader.”
LaPere appeared to have lived in the same building that EcoMap operates out of.
Speaking to local station Fox45 News, a neighbor of LaPere’s said they hadn’t heard any suspicious noises from the apartment and that police had knocked on LaPere’s door in the early morning without a response.
LaPere was featured on Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list for social impact this year due to her startup company, which was said to have raised more than $4 million. Its clients include the Aspen Institute, Meta, the WXR Fund and the T. Rowe Price Foundation, according to Forbes.
EcoMap says the company is composed of more than 30 employees, half of whom are women and people of color.
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