Model Maleesa Mooney Found Dead In Refrigerator At Her Downtown Apartment
According to an autopsy report issued Friday by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, a 31-year-old model was found dead inside her refrigerator in her downtown Los Angeles apartment after being severely beaten, bound, and gagged.
At 3:55 p.m. on September 12, 2017, authorities discovered Maleesa Mooney dead in her apartment on the 200 block of South Figueroa Street. Police have stated that her death is being treated as a possible homicide but have not yet disclosed the cause of her death.
Mooney's body was discovered just over three miles from where the death of another model, 32-year-old Nichole Coats, was discovered inside her downtown apartment.
The fatalities were initially thought to be linked, but investigators later concluded otherwise, and last week the Medical Examiner pronounced Coats' death an accident caused by "cocaine and ethanol toxicity."
Evidence of blunt force trauma, such as abrasions, lacerations, and contusions around Mooney's head and neck, body, and limbs, was found in the autopsy report.
The Medical Examiner's report states that Mooney was last seen alive on surveillance video at her building on September 6. On September 12th, after receiving a phone from her concerned mother, police visited her flat to ensure her safety.
According to the autopsy report, responding cops "found Ms. Mooney's body wedged inside the refrigerator" and blood on the floor outside of it.
The woman's wrists and ankles were bound, "and these bindings were tied to each other behind her back with miscellaneous electronic cords and clothing items. Additional clothing items were found around her face and neck. An apparent gag, fashioned out of an article of clothing, was stuffed in her mouth," according to the report.
The toxicological results indicated recent cocaine usage, according to the report from the Medical Examiner.
According to the study, her injuries "are generally not considered acutely life threatening on their own."
"However, based on the circumstances of how Ms. Mooney was found, these injuries suggest she was likely involved in (a) violent physical altercation prior to her death," the report states.
According to the findings, it "is uncertain" if alcohol or drugs played a part in her death alongside suffocation.
The death is ruled a homicide in the final section of the report, which attributes the incident to "homicidal violence."
Guyanese pop star Jourdin Pauline, Mooney's sister, paid tribute to her on Instagram after her passing.
"My heart is crushed, I can't believe you won't be here with us anymore. You were so loving and so kind to everyone. You made sure if you ate everyone around you was too. You opened your arms to people who didn't deserve you as a friend. You're the best thing to happen to almost everyone's lives you touched!!!"
Early in October, Mooney's loved ones revealed that she was about two months along in her pregnancy when she passed away. However, there is no mention of pregnancy in the autopsy report.
According to the report, Mooney was last seen alive on September 6. On that day, a man using Mooney's key FOB entered the building's elevator and proceeded to Mooney's apartment carrying plastic bags.