Suspect pleads not guilty to murder, torture of model found stuffed inside refrigerator in DTLA
LOS ANGELES - A 41-year-old man has been charged with murder and torture in the September killing of a model in her downtown Los Angeles apartment, officials said. Maleesa Mooney was found in her high-rise apartment stuffed inside a refrigerator, severely beaten, bound and gagged, authorities said.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced charges Thursday against a Minnesota man in the torture and killing of Mooney. Magnus Daniel Humphrey was allegedly staying at her downtown Los Angeles apartment last year.
"Ms. Mooney opened her home to this individual with trust, but was repaid with torture and murder," said Gascón. "The heinous disregard for Ms. Mooney’s life will not go unpunished."
Magnus Daniel Humphrey. (Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office)
Mooney was last seen alive Sept. 6 on surveillance video at her apartment complex. Surveillance video from the apartment building shows an unidentified male using her key FOB to use the building's elevator, then carrying plastic bags to her apartment, police said.
Police went to her apartment on Sept. 12 in response to a call from her mother requesting a welfare check.
When police responded to her apartment in the 200 block of South Figueroa Street, they found Mooney's body "wedged inside the refrigerator," with blood on the floor outside of it, according to the autopsy report.
The autopsy report showed that Mooney's body had evidence of blunt force trauma, including abrasions, lacerations and contusions around her head and neck, body and extremities.
Her wrists and ankles were bound, "and these bindings were tied to each other behind her back with miscellaneous electronic cords and clothing items. Additional clothing items were found around her face and neck. An apparent gag, fashioned out of an article of clothing, was stuffed in her mouth," according to the report.
Maleesa Mooney was found dead in her DTLA high-rise apartment. (Photo: GoFundMe)
The report noted that the blunt force trauma injuries she suffered "are generally not considered acutely life-threatening on their own."
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Based on the circumstances of how Mooney was found, officials said she was likely involved in a violent, physical altercation before her death. The report also noted that suffocation may have played a role in her death.
Mooney's death was labeled a homicide.
Authorities did not say what led them to Humphrey, or why he was staying at Mooney's apartment in September. Family members of the victim said they did not know of any connection between Mooney and Humphrey.
Humphrey made his first LA court appearance Thursday morning where he pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and torture.
"We are very pleased that an arrest was made," a woman who identified herself as Mooney's aunt told reporters outside the courthouse after Thursday's hearing. "We're full of so many different emotions. We are very grateful and thankful that he was caught. Please continue to pray for our family. We just want justice for my niece."
Humphrey was ordered to remain jailed without bail pending his next court appearance on March 7. If convicted as charged, Humphrey will face a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.
Police in Minnesota said that Humphrey was wanted on a federal narcotics probation violation out of Chicago when he was stopped at a traffic stop in Hopkins, Minnesota on November 3, 2023, for a vehicle equipment violation.
Humphrey was arrested without incident for marijuana possession and an open container of alcohol, and was taken to the Hennepin County Jail. After his first appearance in federal court in Minnesota, he was sent to a federal prison in Chicago, where he had been serving time since November. He was extradited to Los Angeles earlier this week.
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According to FOX 11's Minneapolis affiliate, FOX 9, court records indicate Humphry has several felony convictions in Minnesota, including:
- A 2013 conviction for third-degree assault
- A 2009 conviction for second-degree assault and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm
- A 2009 DWI conviction
- A 2003 conviction for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
Jourdin Pauline, a pop singer and Mooney's sister, posted a tribute to her sibling on Instagram following her death.
"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 if you ate everyone around you was too. You opened your arms to people who didn't deserve you as a friend. You're the best thing to happen to almost everyone's lives you touched!!!"
Mooney's family stated that Mooney was two months pregnant when she died.
City News Service contributed to this report.