Family say pregnant model Maleesa Mooney was killed ‘in a struggle’ before her body was mysteriously found at her LA apartment – as cops are still yet to name any suspects in homicide investigation
The family of a pregnant model who was mysteriously found dead in her Los Angeles apartment last month say the 31-year-old was brutally murdered “in a struggle” that left her too disfigured for an open casket.
Maleesa Mooney was found dead on September 12, just two days after the body of another black model was found less than three miles away. Police are still looking for the person who committed the gruesome act.
Mooney’s sister, Jourdine Pauline, revealed the latest harrowing details about the mysterious death. She said NewsNation Tuesday that her sister died in a slow battle.
“She was confused, both her ankles were broken… her hands, her legs,” she said as she burst into tears. ‘These are very gruesome details. she was definitely confused. It didn’t happen that quickly.’
“All I know is that it was a torturous act,” Pauline added. “They (the suspect) did several things to her body, you know?” The police can’t even determine what exactly took her.”
Maleesa Mooney was found dead on September 12. Police are still looking for the person who committed the heinous act
Her family said the 31-year-old was brutally murdered in a struggle that left her too disfigured for an open casket.
There were no signs of forced entry. It is still unknown if the suspect was someone Mooney knew and how the killer entered the building
Mooney was apparently beaten so severely that the funeral director cried and told the family it was too traumatic for them to look at the body. They did their best to ‘put her together’, but it had to be a closed casket.
“We have to have a closed casket, we can’t even see her,” she told NewsNation. “The people at the mortuary don’t even want us to see her because he said it’s traumatic. The man at the mortuary started crying for us because it’s so traumatic.’
“Why would anyone do this to her, you know. It’s just really screwed up. We just need to find the people who want to do this. what did my sister do to deserve that.’
“I need to get the word out so people are aware and can be safer,” she added.
Pauline recently found out that her sister was expecting a child. She was two months pregnant and had a doctor’s appointment scheduled for the week after her tragic death.
“I just found out through (the man’s) family she spoke to, they said they were expecting,” Pauline said. “She just wanted to get married and have kids and not bother anyone, you know, she definitely wanted a family.”
“That’s something my sister really wanted… a family.”
The murder remains a mystery as police have not released any details about the perpetrator or perpetrators involved in Mooney’s murder.
There were no signs of forced entry. It is still unknown if the suspect was someone Mooney knew and how the killer entered the building.
Another model, Nichole “Nikki” Coats, 32, was found dead on September 10, two days before Mooney was found dead. Coats was found dead during a bloody scene in her South Grand Avenue apartment.
Los Angeles police say the gruesome deaths of two models in luxury downtown apartments are “unrelated” after some suggested a serial killer may be on the loose.
Mooney’s apartment on South Figueroa Street is 1 mile away from Coats.
As police investigate, family members of both women have come forward and shared their concerns that there is a person killing women in the area.
Mooney was found dead on September 12 after a series of phone calls and text messages went unanswered.
Bailey Babb, Mooney’s cousin, told KTLA that the family requested a welfare check when she stopped answering her calls.
Jourdin Pauline, her pop star sister who has 1.3 million followers on Instagram, said she recently found out her sister was expecting a child. She was two months pregnant and had a doctor’s appointment scheduled for the week after her tragic death
Mooney pictured with a friend. She was apparently beaten so severely that the funeral director cried and told the family that it was too traumatic for them to look at the body.
“When a week went by, we just knew something was wrong.
“Her messages weren’t getting through and we knew something was going on because we all have a special relationship with Maleesa,” Babb said.
Her phone messages had gone from blue texts to green, the family said.
During a welfare check, police found the model’s body. It is unclear how long she was dead or in the apartment.
Mooney worked as a real estate agent at the Beverly Hills-based agency Nest Seekers and had only moved into her new home a month ago, her family said.
Pauline, a Guyanese pop star with 1.3 million Instagram followers, posted about her sister after her death, saying Mooney was a “peacemaker” in their family.
“Malesa has always been someone who is a peacemaker in our family, someone who has always been the backbone and made everyone come together and love each other,” she wrote.
Residents of Mooney’s 450-unit high-rise are said to have ‘raised the alarm’ about strange, suspicious activity in the building in recent weeks.
Rent for studios and one-bed apartments in the complex starts at $2,019 per month.
The building also has a resort-style pool and sundeck and central courtyard, as well as community barbecue grills, tennis courts and a dog park.
The Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement: “(LAPD) Central Homicide Bureau investigators are asking for the public’s assistance with any information in a homicide investigation.