Los Angeles, the City of Angels, is where many aspiring models, actors, and artists go to try to follow their dreams. However, for the two aspiring models Maleesa Mooney, 31, and Nicole Coats, 32, this is where they would tragically meet their untimely end. These two beautiful young women went far too soon and our thoughts are, first and foremost, with the bereaved loved ones.
But the public, whose eyes are on these true crime cases, cannot help but wonder what happened? Mooney was found dead in her apartment on Sept. 12, 2023, two days after Coats had been discovered on Sept 10, lifeless in her Grand Avenue apartment. Naturally, netizens, at the time, speculated about whether these two murders were related.
Different causes of death for Nichole Coats and Maleesa Mooney
Coats was found by her father and aunt after not having been heard from for two days. May Stevens, her aunt, said according to the Los Angeles Times: “I couldn’t recognize her. I believe it was murder, I really do. One of her legs was up in the air in a kicking position. That’s not somebody who just laid in their bed and died.”
Blood was also described to be on the bed where she lay. However, Coats’ case, unlike her fellow LA aspiring model, was considered suspicious but undetermined. She had told her friends that she had a date on Friday, right before she became unable to be reached or contacted. However, four months ago, the medical examiner ruled her cause of death as cocaine and ethanol toxicity and that it was accidental. At about that time, LA PD suggested the two deaths were not related. The family still felt like “something fishy” was going on, but there haven’t since been any updates on Coats’ case.
As for Mooney, her death was quickly assumed to be a homicide. And, alas, the medical examiner ruled her cause of death as “homicidal violence” which says a lot without specifying. In other words, Mooney’s injuries were so extensive that there was more than one way in which she could have been killed during her assault, and ultimately, there was no way to conclude with certainty what caused her death.
That said, her crime scene was brutal. She was found bound and gagged inside her freezer, with countless injuries all over her body, which included two broken ankles. Her phone, laptop, and dirty clothes had also been stolen from the scene.
Her sister, pop singer Jourdin Pauline told NewsNation that the wounds included not only head trauma but damage to her entire body, “from her head to her toes,” which indicates that the 31-year-old fought dearly for her life. To make matters even more heart-wrenching, Mooney had excitedly told her family the month before her murder that she was pregnant.
One netizen even offered some heartbreaking speculation:
We do know that blood was pooling underneath the freezer where someone callously shoved her body in. Now, as for the criminal in question, a man was recently arrested in connection with the harrowing crime.
The current suspect in Mooney’s killing
Minnesota man Magnus Daniel Humphrey, 41, has been charged in connection with Mooney’s killing. He agreed to be extradited to Los Angeles to face his torture and murder charges and has pled not guilty. According to CNN, District Attorney George Gascón stated:
“I extend my deepest condolences to Ms. Mooney’s family and loved ones as they cope with this unimaginable loss. Ms. Mooney opened her home to this individual with trust but was repaid with torture and murder. The heinous disregard for Ms. Mooney’s life will not go unpunished. Justice is being sought, and he will be held accountable.” “
As in so many other cases where felons with alarming criminal records are able to not only re-offend but escalate their crimes, netizens cannot help but to ask:
Humphrey was on probation for drug offenses and reportedly had a violent history in Minnesota. He’s being held without bail and will have his preliminary hearing on March 7.