New details were released Friday about Malesse Marie Mooney’s death.
The late model’s autopsy report, completed by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office and obtained by PEOPLE, lists Mooney’s cause of death as “homicidal violence.”
Mooney, 31, was found dead in her downtown Los Angeles apartment on September 12. She was beaten and tied up before being placed in her own refrigerator, according to the autopsy.
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Mooney was last seen on video surveillance at her apartment on September 6. Law enforcement officers entered the residence on Sept. 12 after the model’s mother requested a welfare check.
An autopsy also revealed blunt force injuries to parts of her body. Toxicology tests found traces of cocaine and alcohol in her body, according to the autopsy report.
“Traumatic blunt force injuries seen at autopsy are generally not considered acutely life-threatening per se,” the medical examiner wrote in the autopsy report. “However, based on the circumstances in which Ms. Mooney was found, these injuries suggest that she was likely involved in a violent physical altercation prior to her death.” It is therefore “uncertain” what role, if any, drugs or alcohol may have played in her death, the report said.
Maleesa Mooney.
Jourdin Pauline’s Instagram
No arrests were made in this case. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department could not offer an update when contacted by PEOPLE.
According to the victim’s sister, Jourdin Pauline, Mooney was two months pregnant.
“She was really excited and I know she really wanted a baby, and it’s something she’s always talked about,” Pauline, 24, told PEOPLE earlier this month. She also said her late sister’s boyfriend was “heartbroken” by the incident.
Before discussing Mooney’s pregnancy, Pauline said their family was tight-lipped about the details due to the ongoing investigation.
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“From what we saw at the coroner and the morgue, my sister was struggling and it’s devastating. It is a very monstrous act. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone,” said Pauline. “A lot of things just don’t make sense to us.”
She also recalled when her family showed up at Mooney’s apartment after a welfare check.
“It was honestly so creepy,” she said. “I have never experienced anything like that before. Various parts of the carpet were torn and the refrigerator was missing. Whatever happened that night was very scary and traumatic. I know she was so scared. I just hate to think about it.”
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Nichole Coats.
GoFundMe
Mooney was found dead two days after another downtown LA model was found dead in her apartment. Despite the similarities in the two cases, police said they are not related.
The autopsy report on Nichole Coats (32) was released on Tuesday. Her body was discovered after her relatives could not reach her and requested a welfare check.
Coats died Sept. 10 of “cocaine and ethanol poisoning,” according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.
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Source: HIS Education