Two female models were reportedly found dead in their luxurious homes in downtown Los Angeles within the last week, prompting an inquiry by authorities who have yet to determine if there is a link between the two killings.
Maleesa Mooney, 31, an aspiring model and real estate agent, was discovered dead in her apartment on September 12, leaving family members in mourning and officials looking for a suspect.
“When a week went by, we just knew something was off,” Bailey Babb, Mooney’s cousin, told KTLA. “Her messages weren’t delivering, and we knew something was up because we all have a special relationship with Maleesa.”
Authorities are apparently investigating Mooney’s death as a murder.
According to an LAPD news release, Mooney’s specific cause of death is unknown pending the findings of a post-mortem examination performed by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.
Police have urged the public for help in identifying the individual or persons responsible for her killing.
Two days earlier, investigators discovered the body of 32-year-old model Nichole Coats, whose death prompted family members to tell local media that she was murdered.
“I couldn’t recognize her,” May Stevens, aunt, said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “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.”
According to the LAPD and the L.A. County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner, Coats’ death is not being investigated as a homicide.
Officer Drake Madison of the Los Angeles Police Department stated on Saturday that he has “no idea” about the circumstances surrounding Coats’ death and that “we had no information of any type of homicide or anything.” We couldn’t discover anything about it. Anything might happen.”
According to Lt. Ricardo Lopez of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner, the death is under “active investigation,” and “the cause of death is deferred, so we don’t have any cause of death to give you at this time.” That could change, but for the time being, no.”
Coates’ cousin, Sheniya Mason, told ABC7 she wants to know if there is a correlation between the deaths of the two females.
“We just want to know what happened … It just doesn’t seem right … Is there a correlation between these two females?” she said. “Is there a correlation? They were both almost in the same area … we need to make sure that this isn’t something else because it just didn’t seem right.”
Critics have recently accused Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon for what they call soft-on-crime tactics that allow offenders to walk free despite extensive criminal histories.
According to authorities, an alleged gang member on probation for attempted murder killed two sisters and their companion last week when he crashed into their Uber at up to 100 mph over the weekend.
