Minnesota Man Charged With Torture, Murder Of Los Angeles Model

A Minnesota man has been arrested and charged with torture and murder in the gruesome killing of a 31-year-old model and real estate agent in Los Angeles who was brutally beaten, bound, gagged and stuffed into her own refrigerator last September, authorities said Thursday.

The body of Maleesa Mooney was discovered on Sept. 12, 2023, in her downtown apartment by police performing a welfare check after her family said they hadn’t heard from her, HuffPost previously reported .

Magnus Humphrey, 41, was arrested in Minneapolis on an unrelated federal warrant on Nov. 3, the LAPD and district attorney said. He was extradited to LA and is currently being held without bail.

Humphrey pleaded not guilty at an arraignment Thursday.

“Ms. Mooney opened her home to this individual with trust, but was repaid with torture and murder,” Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said Thursday in a press release announcing the charges. “The heinous disregard for Ms. Mooney’s life will not go unpunished. Justice is being sought, and he will be held accountable.”

When they entered Mooney’s apartment last September, detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department found food on her kitchen counters and saw blood pooling under the refrigerator, according to the homicide investigator’s account included in the autopsy report obtained by HuffPost . Mooney’s body was inside the fridge, with her wrists and ankles bound and tied behind her back with electrical cords and clothing, according to the medical examiner. A cloth gag was stuffed in her mouth, and other clothes were found around her face and neck.

The cause of death was deemed to be “homicidal violence,” according to the autopsy report. The medical examiner said Mooney had