New York: A female tech CEO who appeared on the Forbes 30 under 30 list has been found dead in her Baltimore apartment with blunt-force trauma after being reported missing, media reported.
Pava LaPere, 26, was found inside her luxury Mount Vernon apartment by police on Monday morning shortly after she was reported missing, New York Post reported.
The EcoMap founder was found with blunt-force trauma, according to police.
The medical examiner’s office “took possession of the victim’s body,” police added.
It is unknown whether LaPere had any guests over prior to her death. It appeared she was single on her social media pages, New York Post reported.
“That’s pretty horrifying,” building tenant Chris McNees told CBS News Baltimore.
“I mean, just for that to happen anywhere in the city is obviously a bad thing, but it’s hard to imagine why this would happen specifically in this building.”
The Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree lived in the former Congress Hotel, which has since been renovated into apartments. One-bedroom apartments go for around $1,500 per month, according to the building’s management company Zahlco as quoted by the New York Post.
LaPere started her eco company from her dorm room at Johns Hopkins University. The purpose of her company is to make ecosystems information accessible to everyone along with “powerful technology to digitize ecosystems,” according to the company’s website.
LaPere’s company has managed to raise $7 million in funding in the last year and a half.
Her clients include the Aspen Institute, Meta, and more, according to its website.
The company released a statement following her death sending its condolences and calling her passing “deeply distressing”.
“Pava was not only the visionary force behind EcoMap but was also a deeply compassionate and dedicated leader. Her untiring commitment to our company, to Baltimore, to amplifying the critical work of ecosystems across the country, and to building a deeply inclusive culture as a leader, friend, and partner set a standard for leadership, and her legacy will live on through the work we continue to do,” it said in a statement, according to CBS News Baltimore.
—IANS