Authorities in Los Angeles are investigating the deaths of two models discovered dead inside their luxury apartments in downtown L.A. just a few days apart.
Officers discovered Maleesa Mooney, 31, dead in her apartment in the 200 block of South Figueroa Street on September 12 while performing a welfare check after she unexpectedly stopped responding to calls or texts from her relatives.
“When a week went by, we just knew something was off,” Bailey Babb, Maleesa Mooney’s cousin, told local TV station KTLA 5. “Her messages weren’t delivering, and we knew something was up because we all have a special relationship with Maleesa,” she said.
Mooney’s sister Jourdin Pauline told the outlet that “Maleesa has always been someone who is a peacemaker in our family, someone that’s always been the backbone, and making sure everyone’s getting together, loving on each other,” “So this is a really big piece of us that’s gone now,” she said.
Police did not give any information regarding Mooney’s injuries or cause of death, but they did confirm that her death was being investigated as a homicide.
Just two days earlier, on September 10, 32-year-old Nichole “Nikki” Coats was discovered dead inside her apartment by family members who went to check on her after she had failed to answer calls for several days.
“I couldn’t recognize her,” said May Stevens, Coats’ aunt and one of the family members who made the gruesome discovery. “I believe it was murder, I really do.”
Nikki Coats’ loved ones say the last they heard from her, she told them she was going out on a date on Friday, September 8.
The two incidences happened less than three miles apart, and although Mooney’s death is being investigated as a murder, Coats’ death is still being investigated as a “suspicious” death as of Sunday.
Both women’s families stressed how much they were liked and adored by everyone they knew. Coats’ mother remembered her daughter as someone who “didn’t have any enemies” and was “loved by friends and the community.”
No suspect description has been released as of yet. However, the two bereaved families are worried that a serial killer is out there and may be seeking their next victim.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office states that Coats’ case is still open while the cause of her death is being investigated. A GoFundMe has been created to help her family with funeral expenses.