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Maleesa Mooney, 31, and Nichole Coats, 32, were models who lived within about a two-mile radius of each other in Los Angeles—both women were found dead in September, just days apart. Their deaths were initially considered suspicious; however, the New York Post said Nichole Coats' death was ruled an accidental drug overdose. Yet, the Coats family believes Nichole died violently. The New York Post reports, "Her family immediately suspected foul play, with her dad, Guy Coats, telling The Post that she looked so "busted" and "swollen" when he found her, he could only recognize his daughter by her tattoos." "I believe it was murder, I really do," the dad also told KTLA. "That's not somebody who just laid in their bed and died." The model's father found her in the bed covered up. According to Yahoo, her family stated one of her legs looked as if she was kicking; the Coats family does not accept that no foul play was involved.
However, the Los Angeles medical examiner listed Maleesa's cause of death as a homicide. CBS stated the 31-year-old model was "severely beaten, bound and gagged and stuffed inside of her refrigerator. Her arms and legs were tied to each other behind her back "with miscellaneous electronic cords and clothing items," the report released by the Los Angeles Department of the Medical Examiner on Friday disclosed. There were more clothing items wrapped around her face and neck, and a gag made of clothing that was stuffed inside of her mouth." The toxicology report also confirms drugs were in the realtor and art dealer's system.
The model's family had not heard from her in days and reported this information to the Los Angeles police department, who discovered Maleesa's body at her apartment on September 12. Maleesa's sister spoke with News Nation about the brutal passing of the up-and-coming model. Currently, the Los Angeles police do not have any leads on the case. Local authorities urge anyone with information to contact detectives at (213) 996-4150.
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