The cause of death was classified as homicidal violence. The manner of death is given as homicide. Both appear on page 20 of the autopsy report, which also describes on that page why the MOD in MM's case couldn't be more specific than "homicide".
No misunderstanding, thank you for outlining! I was referring to the cause of death being ruled as homicidal violence versus being the manner of death. I fully understand what a ruling of homicidal violence means, I'm just wondering as we've speculated about what might have happened re: the fridge. I also wasn't sure if I was mistaken and confused the ruling of cause with manner of death.
I have not read the autopsy report. I was getting at what might have happened to her inside the fridge as it's stated in various posts and articles that Mooney was still alive when placed in the fridge. As with other cases of homicide where it's sometimes stated "blunt force trauma" or something along those lines. Thank you.
Informative article.What we know, and still don’t know, about Maleesa Mooney’s murder ...
KTLA has been doing in-depth original reporting on the murder of model Maleesa Mooney in Los Angeles – Mooney, found dead in her downtown Los Angeles high-rise apartment.
The story is right out of a future Dateline episode.
Police often keep investigations under wraps, and this has been no exception.
Days of requests. Days without answers. How did Mooney die? Should other tenants be concerned?
We heard from people actually moving out of the building because a fellow tenant was murdered and there was a killer on the run.
Mooney’s cause of death was listed as “homicidal violence”… not a shooting or stabbing or blunt force trauma. It’s something one seasoned detective leading the case told me he has NEVER seen in his entire career.
In the days after the murder, Mooney’s family told us about the bright and thriving young woman. They told us another thing as well: that she was pregnant and expecting her first child.
The autopsy report showed otherwise. Mooney wasn’t pregnant. Police aren’t sure why the family said so.
The Medical Examiner is not commenting on the case. So we took the files to a forensic pathologist who does private autopsies. His company 1-800-Autopsy has dealt with dozens of high-profile cases in the past.
Herrera walked through the report with me line by line. His conclusions -not official but based on years of expertise- were that Mooney was the victim of a violent struggle, that this was no stranger who did this, that she was actually still alive at least for a while when the killer hid her inside the refrigerator.
Herrera pointed out that a sexual assault kit was used by investigators examining Mooney. Those results aren’t listed in the autopsy and our follow-up questions to the coroner referred us back to LAPD for the answers.
Going through the autopsy with Herrera got me to notice things I hadn’t before.
Mooney had just moved into the building in August. In fact, she was still moving things in.
What we know, and still don’t know, about Maleesa Mooney’s murder
The City of Angels is rough around the edges. It’s filled with personality, attitude and grit. It’s a big city filled with small neighborhoods and communities. It’s also Hollywood and celebrities a…ktla.com
Thank you to Pete Wilgoren, KTLA Managing Director of Content & Coverage - for keeping us updated on Maleesa's murder. There is no canned journalism in this article, hopefully Pete continues to follow this case!!
She has an Instagram but it's now private. @maleesamarie
Thank you. Her sister is posting, but nothing about the investigation. I was surprised she didn't have much.
podcasts.apple.com
A Cold-Blooded Murder: The Case of Maleesa Mooney
Podcast Episode · Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan · 14/11/2023 · 38m
Haven't listened yet, but I do like JSM - he's been a guest of Tricia's a couple of times.
Actually, JSM is saying that the autopsy report says that MM was 8 weeks pregnant. Which is...not stated in the autopsy report.
ktla.com
Herrera pointed out that a sexual assault kit was used by investigators examining Mooney. Those results aren’t listed in the autopsy and our follow-up questions to the coroner referred us back to LAPD for the answers.
What we know, and still don’t know, about Maleesa Mooney’s murder
The City of Angels is rough around the edges. It’s filled with personality, attitude and grit. It’s a big city filled with small neighborhoods and communities. It’s also Hollywood and celebrities a…
Above is a snip from that well written article I posted upthread. I wondered when I read this, if the report released to the public was missing a few pages. That wouldn't be surprising if true. Did JSM mention a sexual assault kit?
