LOS ANGELES (TCN) — Two years after model Maleesa Mooney was discovered bound and gagged in her refrigerator, Magnus Humphrey, 43, is facing murder and torture charges in connection with her brutal death.
The pair reportedly shared a brief relationship before an alleged fatal argument ended the pair’s courtship.
Mooney, 31, was a part-time model and real estate agent and allegedly worked as an escort. Prosecutors maintain she was brutally killed in September 2023 by convicted felon Humphrey, a man she had met just five days earlier at a Santa Monica, California, bar through a mutual friend.
“For a relationship that was basically in its infancy, to see this level of violence, it’s very, very disturbing,” said attorney and activist Gerald Griggs.
True Crime News was able to gain access to some of the evidence from a pretrial hearing. According to guests at a barbecue that both Humphrey and Mooney attended, they were discussing the future — specifically, marriage. “That’s my woman,” he would claim, according to a source.
As for motive in Mooney’s death, authorities believe Humphrey had become possessive of Mooney, and consistent with her alleged history as an escort, she requested payment for her time. According to the prosecutors, it evolved into a situation where the victim wanted to ask the defendant for money but wasn’t sure how to do so.
“She probably thought he was a rich guy, and when it turned out he was not a rich guy [but was] trying to possess all of her time, that’s when the dilemma began,” Griggs said.
Mooney was last seen alive on September 6, 2023. Surveillance footage from her luxury apartment building showed her taking the elevator to her fifth-floor apartment. On Sept. 7, she texted Humphrey a link to pots and pans on Amazon and an appliance, possibly a toaster oven.
Later that day, Humphrey was seen on footage gaining access to the apartment using Mooney’s key fob. He later reportedly left with a black plastic trash bag and flew home to his native Minnesota.
Mooney’s sister requested a welfare check on Sept. 10, but authorities were unable to make contact. Building management eventually let police into Mooney’s home on Sept. 12, after Mooney’s mother had contacted them. It was then that they made a gruesome discovery.
Blood had pooled under the apartment’s refrigerator, and Mooney’s body was found inside the fridge, bound and gagged with electric cords and her own clothing.
According to the coroner’s report, Mooney had a fractured rib, and multiple lacerations and contusions to her face and body. Prosecutors said they believe she suffered for a long time before her death, and the medical examiner’s report listed the official cause of death as homicidal violence. At the time, Mooney was reportedly two months pregnant.
Humphrey was arrested at his home in Minnesota on unrelated charges and was extradited to Los Angeles to face charges in Mooney’s death in February 2024.
On October 16, 2025, a Los Angeles judge ruled that sufficient evidence existed for him to face trial. Evidence revealed at the hearing included graphic images of Mooney, bodycam video of officers discovering the body, and witnesses who spoke about the couple’s relationship.
Humphrey’s attorney, Michael Lambrose, characterized the evidence in prosecutors’ case as “thin.” In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Lambrose stated that there were no witnesses to the alleged killing, and friends of the victim testified they never saw violence or aggression from Humphrey during the couple’s brief relationship.
Humphrey has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and torture and remains held without bail. Prosecutors have not ruled out seeking the death penalty, but life in prison without parole is also possible if he is convicted.
After the hearing, Mooney’s sister Jourdin Pauline told Courthouse News Service, “I just want justice for my sister. She was honestly a really great person.”
