Authorities said Thursday that Jason Billingsley was the suspect in a Sept. 19 incident at a residence on Edmondson Avenue in West Baltimore. Police said it was a "targeted" incident and they had issued an arrest warrant for Billingsley within hours.
Billingsley was being monitored and surveilled by law enforcement for his connection to the rape when LaPere was killed.
Police said they did not immediately release details about the Sept. 19 because they feared Billingsley would "go underground."
"We knew early on that the risk was when we went public that the suspect would go underground, which is exactly what he did," Acting Commissioner Richard Worley said.
LaPere, 26, who started a software company and was named one of Forbes' "30 Under 30," was found dead at a Baltimore apartment Monday.
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