Six weeks after aspiring model Nichole Coats was found deceased inside her apartment in downtown Los Angeles, her cause of death has been released.
The lifeless body of Coats, 32, was discovered on Sept. 10.
The L.A. County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner has now determined her death was caused by cocaine and ethanol (alcohol) toxicity. Her manner of death is listed as accidental in the coroner’s online records portal. The case is still classified as open.
Related Story: Deaths of 2 Models in Downtown LA Appear Unrelated, LAPD Says
Family members of the model, also known as Nikki, said last month they suspected foul play.
Her distraught mother, Sharon Coats, spoke with local news station KTLA-TV.
“This is senseless and I want some answers because my daughter is gone,” Sharon Coats said in a tearful interview. “And it’s not fair. I want everybody to find out who did this to her. She shouldn’t be gone.”
Coats’ aunt, May Stevens, described the scene where the body was found as gruesome.
“I couldn’t recognize her,” Stevens told KTLA. “I believe it was murder, I really do. One of her legs was up in the air in a kicking position. That’s not somebody who just laid in their bed and died.”
Two days after Coats was found dead, the body of another Black model was discovered nearby in her apartment in the 200 block of South Figueroa Street.
Relatives of Maleesa Mooney, 31, had been unable to establish contact with her and notified authorities. Los Angeles police officers found the body during a welfare check on Sept. 12.
The two deaths raised concerns about safety in the area. However, the LAPD said there was “no evidence” the cases were related.
The autopsy report later listed Mooney’s manner of death as homicide. Her cause of death was “homicidal violence.”
Mooney’s heartbroken sister, Jourdin Pauline, discussed the case during an Oct. 3 interview with NewsNation.
She said Mooney was two months pregnant at the time of her death, and her body had injuries from “her head to her toes.”
“Both of her ankles were broken, her hands, her legs,” she said. “It’s very gruesome details. She was definitely in a struggle. It wasn’t something that quickly happened.”
The case is still under investigation.
