Pregnant Model Maleesa Mooney Found Dead in Refrigerator, Autopsy Rules Homicide with No Suspects Identified Yet

Mooney's death marks second model death in Los Angeles within days; family suspects phone theft and subsequent suspicious activity might indicate killer knew victim personally.

Maleesa Mooney, a 31-year-old pregnant model, was found dead in her Los Angeles apartment, bound and gagged inside her refrigerator. She died from homicidal violence, which included blunt force trauma to her head, neck, and torso.
Mooney was last seen alive on surveillance footage on September 6th. Six days later, her mother requested a police wellness check on her after noticing suspicious activity like unusual text messages and her phone listed for sale online.
Items including Mooney's phone, laptop, and a designer purse went missing from her apartment. Mooney's family suspects the murderer knew her personally, given they likely knew her phone passcode.
Mooney's death occurred not long after she had moved into a new apartment and had returned from a trip to Miami. She had begun taking her modeling career more seriously and also worked as a realtor.
Her death is the second death of a model in Los Angeles within days, although investigators believe the two cases are not related.