31-year-old model and real estate agent, Maleesa Mooney, was found dead in her Los Angeles, California, apartment, in a case that has gripped the nation’s attention due to its shocking nature.
Mooney’s body was found inside the refrigerator of her high-end downtown Los Angeles apartment on September 12, 2023.
On February 21, 2024, the police arrested Magnus Daniel Humphrey, a 41-year-old resident of Minnesota with a multi-state criminal history, in connection with Mooney’s murder.
Mooney had moved into her Bunker Hill luxury apartment just a month before her death. She was found gagged, with her wrists and ankles tied together using electric cords. The disturbing discovery was made by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) during a welfare check initiated by Mooney’s parents after several of their text messages went unanswered. Police officers found blood pooling under the refrigerator after entering the apartment using a key from the building’s management.
An autopsy disclosed that Mooney had sustained multiple blunt force injuries to her face, head, back, and upper left arm, along with a fractured rib. The injuries, however, were not immediately deemed fatal. The report suggested that a violent altercation had occurred before Mooney’s death. In addition, toxicology results found benzoylecgonine, a cocaine metabolite, and a combination of cocaethylene and ethanol in her system.
In a heartbreaking revelation, Mooney’s sister, Jourdin Pauline, a popular Guyanese singer, disclosed to KTLA that Mooney was two months pregnant when she was killed—she had always dreamed of being a mother.
Humphrey’s arrest has added a sinister twist to this tragic tale. Humphrey, apprehended at his Hopkins, Minnesota, residence on an unrelated warrant, has previous convictions for several felonies in Minnesota and Illinois, including gun charges, assaults, sexual assaults, and false imprisonment. His record portrays a man with a history of violence. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office has charged Humphrey with murder, along with a special allegation of murder during the commission of torture. Humphrey, who was on probation for federal narcotics offenses at the time of his arrest, has waived extradition to face charges in Los Angeles.
This case has not only shocked the local community but has also raised safety concerns in the city’s affluent neighborhoods. Fears of a serial killer targeting models were initially stoked when another model, Nichole “Nikki” Coats, was found dead in her LA apartment just days after Mooney’s death. However, Coats’ death was later ruled accidental, attributed to “cocaine and ethanol toxicity.”
As the case against Humphrey progresses, many are left questioning the circumstances that led to such a violent act against Mooney, a woman known for her vitality and ambition. Both the LAPD and the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office are continuing with their investigation, hoping to bring justice for Mooney and her unborn child, and provide some closure to her grief-stricken family and friends.