Los Angeles is reeling from the shocking details emerging in the murder of model Maleesa Mooney. Her body was discovered inside her own refrigerator. The sheer brutality of the crime has stunned investigators.
Authorities arrested Magnus Humphrey, a Minnesota man, for the 31-year-old’s torture and murder. He has pleaded not guilty. The relationship between Mooney, a part-time model and real estate agent, and Humphrey lasted just five days.
“They were getting very close, very quickly,” testified Kiersten Dossett, a friend of Mooney’s, during a recent preliminary hearing. “I would say they were obsessing over each other.”
Mooney’s sister, pop singer Jourdin Pauline, has stated that the model was two months pregnant when she died. This detail adds another tragic layer to the case.
Brutal Details Emerge
Police found Mooney’s body on September 12, 2023, after a welfare check. Court documents and autopsy reports reveal horrific injuries. The victim was severely beaten and bound with electrical cords. An article of clothing was forced into her mouth, a forensic pathologist confirming a high likelihood of death by asphyxiation. Blunt force trauma was evident on her body. One police officer was reportedly so shocked by the discovery they “let out an anguished sound.”
Testimony suggested Humphrey grew extremely possessive. The last night they were out, a friend witnessed him hovering. “I didn’t feel like it was in a loving way,” the friend stated. “It was more of a control movement. I felt like it was more of an ownership grab.”
Humphrey’s defense argues the evidence is “thin.” They suggest the confrontation was “at most… an emotional outburst” possibly over money. Mooney, a sex worker, was reportedly trying to figure out how to ask Humphrey for payment before her death.
However, prosecutors called the act a “cold, calculated, premeditated act of violence.” They also introduced testimony from an ex-girlfriend of Humphrey’s, who recounted a savage, three-hour beating following their breakup years ago. This violence, prosecutors argue, shows a disturbing pattern.
A judge ruled there is enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial. Humphrey is currently being held without bail.