Pregnant model died by 'homicidal violence,' L.A. coroner says

Pregnant model found dead in downtown L.A. was victim of ‘homicidal violence,’ coroner says

About a dozen people, including a child, standing in front of a home, many with their arms around one another

By Summer LinStaff Writer

Oct. 5, 2023 3:31 PM PT

A pregnant model found dead in her downtown L.A. apartment last month died as a result of “homicidal violence,” according to the L.A. County Medical Examiner‘s Department.

Maleesa Mooney, 31, was found dead Sept. 12 in her apartment in the 200 block of South Figueroa Street, authorities said. The county medical examiner’s online database said she was the victim of “homicidal violence.”

There were no other details available.

Mooney was two months pregnant at the time of her death, her sister told KTLA. Members of Mooney’s family couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Thursday.

Another model, 32-year-old Nichole Coats, was found dead Sept. 10 a few blocks away, in her apartment in the 700 block of South Grand Avenue, according to a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department. Coats’ death is not being investigated as a homicide, according to the LAPD and the Medical Examiner’s Department.

The cause of Coats’ death is categorized simply as “deferred” in the medical examiner’s database.

The LAPD said last month that there appeared to be no link between the deaths of Coats and Mooney. Police Department officials could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.

LAPD Officer Tony Im previously told The Times that the circumstances of Coats’ death showed nothing “that stood out to us that would make it a homicide, so we need the coroner to do an examination of the body to see what caused the death.”

Sharon Coats, the woman’s mother, told The Times on Thursday that she was “angry” with the LAPD for ruling out foul play in her daughter’s death and not investigating it as a homicide.

She said the medical examiner’s office told her that her daughter had been dead for three to five days before her body was found, which she said was impossible because she saw her daughter two days before her death.

“It’s like they don’t care,” Coats said. “I’m not going to let this be a cold case. I will keep voicing my opinion regarding what happened.”