A Minnesota man arrested in connection with the murder of a Los Angeles model has pleaded not guilty after she was found dead, bound and gagged in his refrigerator.
Magnus Daniel Humphrey, 41, made his first appearance in a California court on Thursday, where he denied charges of murdering and torturing Malessa Mooney.
Humphrey was arrested Nov. 3 in Minneapolis at his home on an unrelated federal warrant and extradited to California. He had been on federal probation for narcotics offenses.
Mooney, 31, was a model and also worked as a real estate agent at the Beverly Hills-based agency Nest Seekers. She had only moved into her new apartment a month before she was found dead on September 12 of last year, her family said.
Mooney’s family raised the alarm when they stopped hearing from her and officers entered her home and found blood pooled under the refrigerator with her body inside, bound with electrical cords and clothing, according to the coroner’s report.
The Minnesota man arrested in connection with the murder of Los Angeles model Malessa Mooney has pleaded not guilty to the crime.
Mooney, 31, was a model and also worked as a real estate agent at the Beverly Hills-based agency Nest Seekers. She had only moved into her new apartment a month before she was found dead on September 12 of last year, her family said.
His body had blunt force injuries and lacerations and the cause of death was determined to be “homicidal violence.”
The family reacted to finally being able to identify a suspect for Malessa’s brutal murder.
“We’re filled with so many different emotions, but we’re so grateful they caught him,” said Heather Hammock, Mooney’s aunt. KTLA Thursday.
‘Please continue to pray for our family. We just want justice for my niece.
Family members added that they had never met or heard of Humphrey before and do not know how he met Malessa.
“She was an amazing, beautiful princess and we miss her very much,” said her sister Jourdin Pauline. ABC7. “She loved her family.”
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has also not revealed whether they know of the connection between the two.
“I extend my deepest condolences to Ms. Mooney’s family and loved ones as they deal with this unimaginable loss,” District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement Thursday.
Magnus Daniel Humphrey, 41, made his first appearance in a California court on Thursday, where he denied charges of murdering and torturing Mooney.
Heather Hammock (pictured left), Mooney’s aunt, said the family “is so grateful they caught him.”
‘EM. Mooney opened her home to this individual with confidence, but she was rewarded with torture and murder. The appalling disregard for Ms. Mooney’s life will not go unpunished. Justice is sought and he will be held accountable,’ she added.
Humphrey is being held in a county jail without bail. His next hearing is scheduled for March 7.
The coroner’s report said her blunt force injuries alone were not serious enough to have caused her death, but suggested she “was likely involved in a violent physical altercation prior to her death.”
The report suggests she may have been asphyxiated, although no clear signs of strangulation were observed.
The arrest comes five months after Mooney’s family alerted police to their concerns.
His family raised the alarm when his iPhone text conversations with Mooney changed from blue to green, indicating a change in WiFi and data services.
Bailey Babb, Mooney’s cousin, told KTLA that the family asked for a well-being check when she stopped answering their calls: “When a week went by, we knew something was wrong.
“Their messages were not delivered and we knew something was up because we all have a special relationship with Maleesa.”
Tributes are pouring in for 31-year-old model Maleesa Mooney
The building features a resort-style pool, sun deck, and central patio, as well as community barbecue grills, tennis courts, and a dog park.
Mooney (right) worked as a real estate agent at the Beverly Hills-based Nest Seekers agency and had only moved into her new home a month before her death, her family said.
Officers entered her Skye apartment in Bunker Hill on September 12, just before 4 pm, and found her body. She was last seen alive on CCTV on September 6.
On September 7, according to the police report, a man was seen on CCTV using his key fob to take the elevator to his apartment, carrying plastic bags.
Pauline, her pop star sister who has 1.3 million followers on Instagram, said: ‘Maleesa has always been someone who is a peacemaker in our family, someone who has always been the backbone and made sure everyone is safe. together and love each other.
“So a large part of us no longer exists.”
She wrote in a heartfelt tribute on social media: “Never in a million years did I think I would have to make this post and get justice for my only sister, my heart is crushed.”
“I can’t believe you won’t be here with us anymore. You were so loving and so kind to everyone. You made sure that if you ate everyone around you, you opened your arms to people who didn’t deserve you as a friend.” You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to almost everyone’s life you touched!’
Mooney pictured with a friend
Jourdin Pauline, her pop star sister who has 1.3 million followers on Instagram, said: “Maleesa has always been someone who is a peacemaker in our family, someone who has always been the backbone and made sure that everyone come together and love one another.”
She added: “This feels so surreal I keep waking up crying thinking I’m in a bad dream, we will get justice for you my sister, I promise you won’t go in vain!”
Pauline said her sister’s iCloud had an alert that she was still online, leading her to believe her killer was trying to steal and sell her iPhone and MacBook.
The apartment building features a resort-style pool, sun deck, and central patio, as well as community barbecue grills, tennis courts, and a dog park.