The Minnesota man charged in connection with the brutal killing of Los Angeles model Maleesa Mooney made his first court appearance on Thursday.
Magnus Daniel Humphrey, 41, was extradited to L.A. and pleaded not guilty at his Feb. 22 arraignment, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said in a press release.
Humphrey is charged with one count of murder and one count of torture. He is being held without bail.
Related Story: Model Maleesa Mooney Was Beaten, Killed and Left in Her Refrigerator, Autopsy Says
#BREAKING: Officials have released photos of the man accused of killing model Maleesa Mooney before her body was found in a downtown Los Angeles apartment last year.https://t.co/BKgQE4mcnE pic.twitter.com/X2pzdghi0o
— KTLA (@KTLA) February 22, 2024
District Attorney George Gascón revealed new details in the case on Thursday, saying Humphrey was staying with Mooney when she lost her life.
“Ms. Mooney opened her home to this individual with trust, but was repaid with torture and murder,” Gascón said in a statement. “The heinous disregard for Ms. Mooney’s life will not go unpunished. Justice is being sought, and he will be held accountable.”
Gascón did not say why Humphrey was living in Mooney’s luxury apartment in downtown L.A., but additional details are expected to be released soon.
While the LAPD just announced this week that Humphrey was taken into custody in Minnesota, Gascón said he was arrested on Nov. 3, 2023 in Minneapolis and was extradited to Los Angeles. He was already on federal probation for narcotics offenses.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 7 in Dept. 50 of the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles.
If convicted as charged, Humphrey faces life in prison without parole.
Mooney, 31, was found dead on Sept. 12, 2023, inside her apartment in the 200 block of South Figueroa Street.
She worked as a model and real estate agent. Her family notified authorities when they were unable to reach her.
LAPD officers got a key to her apartment from the building manager. Once they entered the unit, officers noticed blood under the refrigerator and found her body stuffed inside, as previously reported.
The autopsy report said she suffered blunt force injuries to her face, head, back, left arm, and one rib was fractured. The killer bound her wrists and ankles with electrical cords.
“These bindings were tied to each other behind her back,” the autopsy report said. Clothing was stuffed in her mouth and used as a gag.
The coroner’s office listed her cause of death as “homicidal violence.” The autopsy also found traces of cocaine in her system.
Mooney’s family has said she was two months pregnant at the time of her death.
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