Maleesa Mooney, a model and real estate agent in Los Angeles, was the type of person that made sure everyone around her was taken care of, according to her sister, Guyanese pop star Jourdin Pauline.

“Maleesa has always been someone who is a peacemaker in our family, someone that’s always been the backbone, and making sure everyone’s getting together, loving on each other,” Pauline told local media. “So this is a really big piece of us that’s gone now.”

The murders of Mooney and another model, Nichole Coats, has raised suspicions around L.A. with calls for black women to be alert on on the lookout.

Mooney, who worked as a real estate agent for NestSeekers in Beverly Hills, had recently moved into a luxury apartment, Skye at Bunker Hill onFigueroa Street in downtown L.A. 

When Mooney didn’t return text messages and phone calls, family members grew concerned. Their anxiety heightened when they discovered that their phone texts to her weren’t being received. Also her iCloud account had sent an alert indicating that someone was trying to breach its security. The family began to wonder whether something had happened to Mooney or if someone had stolen her iPhone or her MacBook, according to news channel ABC 7.

"When a week went by, we just knew something was off," Bailey Babb, her cousin, told TV station KTLA. "Her messages weren't delivering and we knew something was up because we all have a special relationship with Maleesa."

Responding to a welfare check, officers with the Los Angeles Police Department went to Mooney’s apartment about 4 p.m. on Tuesday, September 12, 2023. They found Mooney's body inside her apartment. While authorities have not released any details relating to how Mooney died, they have launched a homicide investigation and are suspecting foul play i.e. indicating that she was murdered.

Mooney's sister Jourdin grieved her death on Instagram posting, "never in a million years did I think I'd have to make this post and get justice for my one & only sister."

"My heart is crushed," she said. "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 everyone's lives. You touched!"

Mooney would have been 32 in October, according to her sister.

"We would just be celebrating her birthday instead of this. But, we're celebrating her life and all the smiles that she gave everyone. Justice for Maleesa. R.I.P. my beautiful princess, Maleesa," she told TV station KABC.

Anyone who has any information about the suspects responsible for Mooney’s death is urged to contact the LAPD detectives Pierce or Marcinek at 213-996-4150. Anonymous tips can be submitted online or by calling 800-222-8477.