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Crime, Law and Justice
The Associated Press
Los Angeles

Minnesota man suspected in slaying of Los Angeles woman found inside her refrigerator

Refrigerator Body Arrest
A street-side memorial for Maleesa Mooney, who was killed in her apartment, is displayed on Sept. 20, 2023, in downtown Los Angeles. On Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, a 41-year-old Minnesota man was arrested in connection with the September killing of Mooney, a model who was beaten, bound and stuffed inside the refrigerator of her downtown Los Angeles apartment, police say.
John Antczak | AP

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A Minnesota man has been arrested on suspicion of killing a 31-year-old woman who was beaten, bound and stuffed inside the refrigerator at her Los Angeles apartment, authorities said Wednesday.

The 41-year-old suspect, who was on probation for narcotics offenses, was taken into custody at his home in Minneapolis on an unrelated federal warrant, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Officials didn't say what led homicide detectives to him.

The man has agreed to be extradited to California to face charges in the slaying of Maleesa Mooney, police said.

Officers found Mooney dead last Sept. 12 in downtown Los Angeles after her family asked for a welfare check because they hadn't heard from her. Blood was pooling under the refrigerator and the body inside was bound with electrical cords and clothing, according to a coroner's report obtained by ABC 7. A cloth gag was stuffed in her mouth.

The body had blunt force injuries and lacerations and the cause of death was determined to be “homicidal violence,” the coroner's report said.

Investigators have not disclosed a possible motive or said if the suspect and victim knew each other.