Loved ones of a model who was found brutally killed in her downtown L.A. apartment are still distraught as they’ve received no answers about her death so far.
Nearly a month after the body of Maleesa Mooney, 31, was found inside her apartment on the 200 block of South Figueroa Street, her family said they’ve been mostly left in the dark with no suspect information being released to them.
Mooney was an expectant mother and an aspiring model and real estate agent when she died.
“It’s honestly so stressful,” said Jourdin Pauline, Mooney’s sister. “I have thousands and thousands of scenarios in my head of what could have happened because we don’t know.”
Pauline said she’s frustrated as she’s been waiting weeks for answers about her sister’s murder sister since Sept. 12.
“This person is still out there and the police are not telling us anything,” Pauline said. “What is the hold up? What did the guys see? Can you share it with us? Suspects? Surveillance video that you do have? Show us something, tell us something so we can look out for it.”
Maleesa Mooney, a 31-year-old aspiring model and real estate agent was found dead in her downtown Los Angeles apartment on Sept. 12, 2023. (Jourdin Pauline) 
Maleesa Mooney, a 31-year-old aspiring model and real estate agent was found dead in her downtown Los Angeles apartment on Sept. 12, 2023. (Jourdin Pauline) 
Maleesa Mooney, a 31-year-old aspiring model and real estate agent was found dead in her downtown Los Angeles apartment on Sept. 12, 2023. (Jourdin Pauline) 
Maleesa Mooney, a 31-year-old aspiring model and real estate agent was found dead in her downtown Los Angeles apartment on Sept. 12, 2023. (Jourdin Pauline)
According to the medical examiner, Mooney’s cause of death has been deferred. Pauline believes the deferment is due to the fact her sister was so badly beaten that it’s difficult to determine her exact cause of death.
The suspect responsible also took the life of Mooney’s unborn baby. Pauline said her sister was two months pregnant at the time and had always wanted to be a mother.
“I can’t imagine what my sister went through and it pains me to even think about it,” she said.
While Mooney’s death is being investigated as a homicide, little is known about the case involving Nichole Coats, another aspiring model who was found dead inside her downtown L.A. apartment just two days before Mooney. The two women were also found less than three miles away from each other.
Loved ones are distraught after model Nichole Coats, 32, known as Nikki, was found dead inside her apartment in downtown Los Angeles on Sept. 10, 2023. (GoFundMe) 
Loved ones are distraught after model Nichole Coats, 32, known as Nikki, was found dead inside her apartment in downtown Los Angeles on Sept. 10, 2023. (GoFundMe) 
The downtown L.A. apartment complex, Eighth & Grand, where model Nichole Coats, 32, known as Nikki, was found dead on Sept. 10, 2023. (GoFundMe) 
Loved ones are distraught after model Nichole Coats, 32, known as Nikki, was found dead inside her apartment in downtown Los Angeles on Sept. 10, 2023. (GoFundMe) 
Loved ones are distraught after model Nichole Coats, 32, known as Nikki, was found dead inside her apartment in downtown Los Angeles on Sept. 10, 2023. (GoFundMe) 
Loved ones are distraught after model Nichole Coats, 32, known as Nikki, was found dead inside her apartment in downtown Los Angeles on Sept. 10, 2023. (GoFundMe) 
Maleesa Mooney (left) and Nichole “Nikki” Coats (right) seen in undated photos. (Jourdin Pauline, GoFundMe)
The Los Angeles Police Department has said the two cases are likely not related despite the similarities of the two women’s locations, ages, professions and manners of death.
Coats’ family also told KTLA they have not received any news or updates from investigators since the model’s death. As they grieve their loved ones, the lack of information remains a painful reality for the two families.
When asked what they want most from police at this point, the answer was clear — justice and closure.
“Urgency,” Pauline said. “I need them to get answers. There’s all this technology in the world and you’re dragging your feet. Someone’s life was robbed from them.”
KTLA has reached out to the LAPD several times this week with unanswered questions about both cases. A statement provided to KTLA on Wednesday stated they had not received any updated information from detectives and had no further details to release.
