Hopkins Man Killed LA Model Found Dead In Refrigerator: Police

LOS ANGELES — A Hopkins man is accused of killing a model who was found dead last year in the refrigerator of her downtown Los Angeles apartment, police announced Wednesday.

Magnus Daniel Humphrey, 41, is charged with murder and torture in connection with the killing of 31-year-old Maleesa Mooney, who had been severely beaten, bound and gagged before her body was discovered, according to authorities.

Humphrey was arrested at his Minnesota home on an unrelated federal warrant, according to police, who said he was on federal probation for narcotics offenses. He pleaded not guilty Thursday in the murder case and was ordered to remain jailed without bail pending his next court appearance on March 7.

Mooney’s remains were found around 4 p.m. Sept. 12 when officers responded to the 200 block of Figueroa Street after receiving a welfare check request from her mother, according to authorities.

Her autopsy report noted that while Mooney was last seen alive Sept. 6, surveillance video from the apartment building showed an unidentified male using her key FOB to access the building's elevator, then carrying plastic bags to her apartment.

Toxicology testing found evidence of recent cocaine use, according to the medical examiner’s report.

Mooney’s sister, Guyanese pop singer Jourdin Pauline, took to social media after the killing to mourn.

“I can’t believe you won’t be here with us anymore you were so loving and so kind to everyone you made sure if you ate everyone around you was too you opened your arms to people who didn’t deserve you as a friend you’re the best thing to happen to almost everyones lives you touched,” she wrote in an Instagram post.

“The people you touched and loved will carry on for you and keep your name alive in the most beautiful and loving light.”