Cold and Missing: Marisha Cheong

WEBVTT

00:00:08.269 --> 00:00:10.789
The views and opinions expressed in Cold and

00:00:10.789 --> 00:00:13.710
Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. All

00:00:13.710 --> 00:00:16.129
parties mentioned are considered innocent until

00:00:16.129 --> 00:00:18.929
proven guilty in a court of law. Cold and Missing

00:00:18.929 --> 00:00:22.390
also contains adult themes and languages. Listener

00:00:22.390 --> 00:00:26.230
discretion is advised. I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin

00:00:26.230 --> 00:00:28.989
-Sulkowski. And I'm your co -host, Eli Sulkowski.

00:00:29.250 --> 00:00:31.269
And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover

00:00:31.269 --> 00:00:34.990
cold cases and missing person cases. Hello, everyone,

00:00:34.990 --> 00:00:37.170
and welcome back to Cold and Missing. I'm your

00:00:37.170 --> 00:00:39.820
host, Ali. And I'm your co -host, Eli. Welcome

00:00:39.820 --> 00:00:42.460
back, everyone. Just at the top, I want to say

00:00:42.460 --> 00:00:45.240
thank you so much to everyone who's left us a

00:00:45.240 --> 00:00:48.299
review recently. We've gotten a lot on Apple

00:00:48.299 --> 00:00:51.259
iTunes. iTunes, I'm a thousand years old for

00:00:51.259 --> 00:00:55.539
saying that. On Apple Podcasts. Also, we've gotten

00:00:55.539 --> 00:00:58.600
some on our website, www .coldandmissing .com.

00:00:58.759 --> 00:01:01.079
So thank you if you've taken the time out to

00:01:01.079 --> 00:01:05.140
review us. Five stars. I know I've said it before,

00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:07.359
but it goes a long way in getting others to listen

00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:09.540
to our podcast and get these cases out there.

00:01:09.719 --> 00:01:12.120
So thank you if you've done it. And if you haven't,

00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:14.200
I'm going to plug it right here. If you wouldn't

00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:16.500
mind just taking a second to review us, it really

00:01:16.500 --> 00:01:19.000
means so much to this podcast and the mission

00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:21.060
of the podcast, which is just getting these stories

00:01:21.060 --> 00:01:25.379
out there. Yeah, the reviews mean, a lot to both

00:01:25.379 --> 00:01:29.099
Ali and I, but most importantly, it emphasizes

00:01:29.099 --> 00:01:31.859
and uplifts the thing that we're trying to do

00:01:31.859 --> 00:01:34.439
here, which is bring more awareness to these

00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:37.680
cases that we're covering. So thank you so much

00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:40.560
for doing that. But with that thank you and that

00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:43.040
plug out of the way, we'll go ahead and get into

00:01:43.040 --> 00:01:45.920
this week's case. Yeah, and we are on episode

00:01:45.920 --> 00:01:51.480
144 this week. And this is a cold case. All right,

00:01:51.480 --> 00:01:55.579
let's get into it. Today, we are covering the

00:01:55.579 --> 00:01:59.299
cold case of Marisha Cheong, and this takes place

00:01:59.299 --> 00:02:04.019
in December of 2012 in Jamaica, Queens, New York.

00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:08.580
But first, a little bit about Marisha. Marisha

00:02:08.580 --> 00:02:13.300
is only 24 years old in 2012. She was born in

00:02:13.300 --> 00:02:17.159
Guyana and was the oldest of four siblings. Her

00:02:17.159 --> 00:02:19.620
father still lived in Guyana, but her mother,

00:02:19.699 --> 00:02:22.180
Farida Ali, raised the children in New York.

00:02:23.469 --> 00:02:26.310
Family meant everything to Marisha. She talked

00:02:26.310 --> 00:02:29.229
to her mom every single day, and her mom remembers

00:02:29.229 --> 00:02:33.129
her as the kindest soul. She says, quote, she

00:02:33.129 --> 00:02:35.389
was the sweetest person you'd ever meet. She

00:02:35.389 --> 00:02:38.870
would not harm anyone. Friends remembered how

00:02:38.870 --> 00:02:42.229
easily she smiled, even at strangers. Marisha

00:02:42.229 --> 00:02:44.530
was studying business administration at Long

00:02:44.530 --> 00:02:47.349
Island University and had recently re -enrolled

00:02:47.349 --> 00:02:51.189
in classes there. She loved interior design and

00:02:51.189 --> 00:02:53.409
dreamed of starting her own company one day.

00:02:53.870 --> 00:02:56.909
She was ambitious, bubbly, and full of life.

00:02:57.409 --> 00:03:00.530
At the time, Marisha was living in Jamaica, Queens

00:03:00.530 --> 00:03:03.729
with her boyfriend of five years, 26 -year -old

00:03:03.729 --> 00:03:07.530
Latchman Balcaran. He went by the nickname LJ.

00:03:08.569 --> 00:03:11.370
LJ told friends he planned to propose around

00:03:11.370 --> 00:03:13.409
New Year's at one of their favorite restaurants.

00:03:14.150 --> 00:03:17.180
But Marisha's family worried. They thought that

00:03:17.180 --> 00:03:20.759
LJ was possessive and controlling. He knew all

00:03:20.759 --> 00:03:23.319
of her phone passwords and rarely left her side.

00:03:23.960 --> 00:03:41.800
Her mom recalled, quote, Tension grew. While

00:03:41.800 --> 00:03:44.699
Marisha was going to school, LJ was working part

00:03:44.699 --> 00:03:47.800
-time as a delivery driver and was also pursuing

00:03:47.800 --> 00:03:50.259
a dream of his of becoming a Bollywood director.

00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:54.060
Money was tight with the couple, so they relied

00:03:54.060 --> 00:03:56.539
on Marisha's mother, who helped pay their rent,

00:03:56.680 --> 00:03:59.860
also paid for Marisha's classes, and even bought

00:03:59.860 --> 00:04:02.259
Marisha a car so she could get back and forth

00:04:02.259 --> 00:04:05.759
between her classes easier. However, LJ quickly

00:04:05.759 --> 00:04:08.639
commandeered the car and used it for his delivery

00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:13.189
gig and would drive Marisha around instead. Farida

00:04:13.189 --> 00:04:15.710
grew frustrated and felt taken advantage of,

00:04:15.849 --> 00:04:18.029
so she said she would only pay for Marisha's

00:04:18.029 --> 00:04:22.110
college classes moving forward. Despite tensions

00:04:22.110 --> 00:04:25.829
at home, Marisha kept moving forward, smiling,

00:04:26.129 --> 00:04:29.350
planning for her future, decorating for the holidays,

00:04:29.370 --> 00:04:32.209
and planning family get -togethers. But just

00:04:32.209 --> 00:04:36.709
before Christmas, she disappeared. And now a

00:04:36.709 --> 00:04:44.000
timeline of events. December 19th. There are

00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:46.120
a few different reports about what happened this

00:04:46.120 --> 00:04:48.839
day. This is the day that Marisha is last seen.

00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:52.819
LJ says a few different stories about this day.

00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:56.459
According to one report, the two of them get

00:04:56.459 --> 00:04:58.800
into a fight and she said that she needed a break

00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:02.220
and left the apartment around 10 .30 a .m. He

00:05:02.220 --> 00:05:05.439
said, quote, I thought she was upset. I thought

00:05:05.439 --> 00:05:07.980
she needed some time. She left just like that.

00:05:08.519 --> 00:05:11.529
We had an argument about the relationship. It

00:05:11.529 --> 00:05:16.449
wasn't serious. After Marisha left, LJ says that

00:05:16.449 --> 00:05:19.889
they kept talking via text message. Eventually,

00:05:20.149 --> 00:05:22.970
LJ says that Marisha and him agreed to meet near

00:05:22.970 --> 00:05:26.009
the Forest Hills 71st Avenue subway station.

00:05:26.670 --> 00:05:30.029
When LJ arrives, Marisha is nowhere to be seen.

00:05:30.910 --> 00:05:34.269
From here, the text messages from her started

00:05:34.269 --> 00:05:38.509
to sound slightly off. He said, quote, the texts

00:05:38.509 --> 00:05:40.939
were suspicious. They didn't sound like her.

00:05:41.259 --> 00:05:44.060
She would normally call me babe or stinky boo

00:05:44.060 --> 00:05:48.459
-boo. She used another name. LJ wouldn't go into

00:05:48.459 --> 00:05:51.139
specifics about what exactly was in the text

00:05:51.139 --> 00:05:54.959
beyond that. In another version of events, LJ

00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:57.899
says that he was out doing deliveries and that

00:05:57.899 --> 00:06:01.139
they were arguing over text messages. This does

00:06:01.139 --> 00:06:04.379
seem to be the story that he tells police eventually,

00:06:04.459 --> 00:06:07.019
and this is the story that he kind of maintains

00:06:07.019 --> 00:06:10.750
throughout the rest of the investigation. Marisha's

00:06:10.750 --> 00:06:13.509
mom and cousin also received text messages from

00:06:13.509 --> 00:06:16.709
her phone. To her mother, the messages read,

00:06:16.930 --> 00:06:21.269
quote, Mom, I'm fine. I just need a little time

00:06:21.269 --> 00:06:25.290
to think. I'm good. But Farida instantly knew

00:06:25.290 --> 00:06:28.189
something was wrong. She said, quote, She never

00:06:28.189 --> 00:06:31.910
addressed me as mom. Wherever we were, whatever

00:06:31.910 --> 00:06:36.850
it was, she always called me mommy. Her cousin

00:06:36.850 --> 00:06:40.439
Audrey recalled, That when her aunt saw the word

00:06:40.439 --> 00:06:43.060
mom, she knew immediately that the message wasn't

00:06:43.060 --> 00:06:46.279
from her daughter. Audrey said, quote, she texted

00:06:46.279 --> 00:06:49.540
her right back and said, Marisha, call me this

00:06:49.540 --> 00:06:53.620
very instant. She knew something was wrong. But

00:06:53.620 --> 00:06:56.819
Marisha didn't call. And that day, she missed

00:06:56.819 --> 00:07:00.639
her classes at Long Island University. At home,

00:07:00.639 --> 00:07:03.199
she left behind her iPad and both of her winter

00:07:03.199 --> 00:07:06.120
coats. Things she wouldn't have gone without

00:07:06.120 --> 00:07:09.449
in December. The family is immediately on edge

00:07:09.449 --> 00:07:11.629
when they couldn't get a hold of Marisha, but

00:07:11.629 --> 00:07:13.410
they believe that they will be able to see her

00:07:13.410 --> 00:07:18.629
the next day. The next day, Thursday, December

00:07:18.629 --> 00:07:21.509
20th, Marisha has been missing for one day at

00:07:21.509 --> 00:07:25.269
this point. And this is the day that Marisha

00:07:25.269 --> 00:07:28.870
is reported missing. She fails to show up at

00:07:28.870 --> 00:07:31.750
her younger brother's birthday celebration, a

00:07:31.750 --> 00:07:34.209
party that she had been planning for and had

00:07:34.209 --> 00:07:38.259
even been making custom t -shirts for. Her mom

00:07:38.259 --> 00:07:40.800
tries to get a hold of her, her siblings FaceTime

00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:45.060
call her, and everything goes unanswered. After

00:07:45.060 --> 00:07:47.699
this, her family reports her missing. They know

00:07:47.699 --> 00:07:52.220
that this is out of character for her. Police

00:07:52.220 --> 00:07:56.120
quickly question LJ. They bring him in for questioning.

00:07:56.680 --> 00:07:59.500
It seems like sources told the local news that

00:07:59.500 --> 00:08:01.860
this is where LJ tells police that he was making

00:08:01.860 --> 00:08:06.009
deliveries that whole morning. That when he left

00:08:06.009 --> 00:08:08.209
their home that they shared together, she was

00:08:08.209 --> 00:08:11.310
asleep in bed in her pajamas and he left to go

00:08:11.310 --> 00:08:14.750
make deliveries. Police say that they are able

00:08:14.750 --> 00:08:17.449
to verify his whereabouts for Wednesday and they

00:08:17.449 --> 00:08:21.110
let him go. Over the upcoming weeks, Marisha's

00:08:21.110 --> 00:08:23.529
family take to social media trying to get the

00:08:23.529 --> 00:08:26.970
word out about their loved one. That she's missing.

00:08:27.529 --> 00:08:30.350
That they can't find her. They haven't spoken

00:08:30.350 --> 00:08:33.269
to her and it's not like her to miss the holidays.

00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:37.919
It's unclear exactly what police are doing during

00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:41.820
this time in Marisha's case. However, on Saturday,

00:08:41.940 --> 00:08:46.779
February 16, 2013, so Marisha had been missing

00:08:46.779 --> 00:08:50.879
for 59 days at this point, Marisha's body is

00:08:50.879 --> 00:08:55.320
discovered. It had washed ashore at Breezy Point

00:08:55.320 --> 00:09:00.039
near the Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge. Her hands

00:09:00.039 --> 00:09:02.600
were bound behind her back, and her feet were

00:09:02.600 --> 00:09:05.970
also tied up. Rope had been used for both of

00:09:05.970 --> 00:09:09.690
these. She was still wearing her multicolored

00:09:09.690 --> 00:09:13.509
pajama pants, a gray sweatshirt, and one black

00:09:13.509 --> 00:09:16.350
Ugga boot. There was a pair of headphones that

00:09:16.350 --> 00:09:19.570
were tangled up in her hair. Her earrings had

00:09:19.570 --> 00:09:22.809
remained on her body. Ultimately, that is what

00:09:22.809 --> 00:09:25.710
her mother will use as an ID. Police show her

00:09:25.710 --> 00:09:27.649
a picture of the earrings, and she instantly

00:09:27.649 --> 00:09:31.600
recognizes them as her daughter's. The autopsy

00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:35.200
revealed broken bones in both of her arms, a

00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:38.039
fracture on the right side of her neck, and bruising

00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:41.440
across her body. But because she had been in

00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:44.820
the water for so long, the exact cause of death

00:09:44.820 --> 00:09:48.139
couldn't be determined. The medical examiner

00:09:48.139 --> 00:09:51.899
ultimately will rule her homicide as a homicidal

00:09:51.899 --> 00:09:56.370
violence of an unknown type. LJ reinforces to

00:09:56.370 --> 00:09:59.009
police and to Marisha's family that he was out

00:09:59.009 --> 00:10:01.490
making deliveries when Marisha went missing.

00:10:02.250 --> 00:10:05.450
Two days after Marisha's body was found, on February

00:10:05.450 --> 00:10:09.210
18th, police bring in LJ for questioning again.

00:10:10.049 --> 00:10:12.769
Again, police release him without arresting him.

00:10:13.330 --> 00:10:16.710
Police refuse to call him a suspect, but they

00:10:16.710 --> 00:10:19.049
also say that they haven't ruled him out completely.

00:10:19.990 --> 00:10:23.279
Marisha's family was certain LJ knew more than

00:10:23.279 --> 00:10:35.860
what he was saying. Her mom says, quote, LJ denied

00:10:35.860 --> 00:10:48.580
it. He said, quote, The next day, February 19th,

00:10:48.580 --> 00:10:51.509
so three days after her body was found, Police

00:10:51.509 --> 00:10:54.350
pulled surveillance footage from the area around

00:10:54.350 --> 00:10:57.830
Marisha's home. One camera across the street

00:10:57.830 --> 00:10:59.769
captured something important to the investigation.

00:11:00.470 --> 00:11:04.210
The video showed Marisha entering her home, but

00:11:04.210 --> 00:11:07.490
about five minutes later, she left again. But

00:11:07.490 --> 00:11:10.129
this time, she wasn't alone. A woman appeared

00:11:10.129 --> 00:11:13.990
to be pulling her by the arm. Years later, Queens

00:11:13.990 --> 00:11:16.889
detective attorney Melinda Katz described the

00:11:16.889 --> 00:11:19.929
footage as, quote, it's very grainy. but it does

00:11:19.929 --> 00:11:22.509
show a female pulling Marusha out of the home.

00:11:23.029 --> 00:11:25.490
What it does show is that she didn't go willingly.

00:11:26.529 --> 00:11:30.200
The surveillance footage is very grainy. The

00:11:30.200 --> 00:11:32.759
footage comes from a home that's across the street,

00:11:32.840 --> 00:11:36.340
but also like down a house. So Marisha's home

00:11:36.340 --> 00:11:39.700
is only really viewable in the top right -hand

00:11:39.700 --> 00:11:42.940
corner of the footage. And even then, it's really

00:11:42.940 --> 00:11:45.240
only the front gate that you can see of the home.

00:11:45.299 --> 00:11:47.600
You can't really see the front door at all. We

00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:49.980
will have this footage available on our Instagram,

00:11:50.179 --> 00:11:52.120
at coldandmissing, so you can go see it there.

00:11:52.340 --> 00:11:56.000
You are able to see figures, though, and what

00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:58.259
I'm talking about in this description. So go

00:11:58.259 --> 00:12:01.779
check it out there. A week after she was found,

00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:06.279
on February 23, 2013, Marisha is laid to rest.

00:12:07.019 --> 00:12:09.700
Her family and friends gather to say goodbye,

00:12:10.039 --> 00:12:14.620
but LJ was not there. At the request of Marisha's

00:12:14.620 --> 00:12:19.320
family, he stayed away. It does take weeks for

00:12:19.320 --> 00:12:21.659
the autopsy results to come in, but finally,

00:12:21.679 --> 00:12:25.820
in May of 2013, so about 79 days after she was

00:12:25.820 --> 00:12:28.799
found, Authorities confirmed what the family

00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:31.799
and police already knew, that Marisha's death

00:12:31.799 --> 00:12:35.019
was a homicide, as we already stated. But her

00:12:35.019 --> 00:12:37.320
exact cause of death could not be determined.

00:12:37.539 --> 00:12:40.059
And furthermore, because her body had been in

00:12:40.059 --> 00:12:43.039
the water for so long, they were not able to

00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:46.139
determine if she had even drowned or if she had

00:12:46.139 --> 00:12:49.039
been put into the water after her death. Her

00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:52.200
mother grew frustrated. She says, quote, I really

00:12:52.200 --> 00:12:54.120
want to know what happened to my daughter and

00:12:54.120 --> 00:12:57.080
why it's taking so long. That's all, really.

00:12:57.220 --> 00:12:59.840
If the public can help, if they know anything,

00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:03.899
they should come forward. In October of 2013,

00:13:04.460 --> 00:13:06.899
about eight months after Marisha was found dead,

00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:09.919
police released the surveillance footage to the

00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:13.740
public. The NYPD labeled the unidentified woman

00:13:13.740 --> 00:13:16.899
in the video as a person of interest and that

00:13:16.899 --> 00:13:18.580
they wanted to locate her and they asked for

00:13:18.580 --> 00:13:21.360
the public's help. However, it doesn't appear

00:13:21.360 --> 00:13:26.159
that many... if any tips come in that help lead

00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:30.539
to the woman. Police try to find other surveillance

00:13:30.539 --> 00:13:33.559
footage in this case. However, Hurricane Sandy

00:13:33.559 --> 00:13:35.960
had come through the area about two months before

00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:38.899
Marisha vanished, so a lot of security cameras

00:13:38.899 --> 00:13:41.559
in the area had been damaged by the storm, and

00:13:41.559 --> 00:13:43.720
they had not been replaced at this point, so

00:13:43.720 --> 00:13:48.820
surveillance footage was very limited. In 2024,

00:13:49.340 --> 00:13:53.409
so it's been over a decade, 11 years at this

00:13:53.409 --> 00:13:57.789
point, Marisha's case remains unsolved. The Queens

00:13:57.789 --> 00:14:00.669
DA's cold case unit still lists her murder as

00:14:00.669 --> 00:14:04.230
open. Police continue to seek the identity of

00:14:04.230 --> 00:14:07.330
the woman in the surveillance footage. A modest

00:14:07.330 --> 00:14:09.409
reward has been offered for information, but

00:14:09.409 --> 00:14:14.009
so far, no arrests have been made. LJ has been

00:14:14.009 --> 00:14:16.629
questioned multiple times, but has never been

00:14:16.629 --> 00:14:19.990
named a suspect. To this day, Marisha's family

00:14:19.990 --> 00:14:23.889
believes he knows what happened. But that is

00:14:23.889 --> 00:14:26.289
truly all we know about the murder of Marisha

00:14:26.289 --> 00:14:29.389
Cheong. So if you know anything about the murder

00:14:29.389 --> 00:14:33.909
of Marisha Cheong in December of 2012, please

00:14:33.909 --> 00:14:36.690
call the Queens District Attorney's Office at

00:14:36.690 --> 00:14:43.789
718 -268 -6300 or the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline

00:14:43.789 --> 00:14:51.179
at 1 -800 -577 -8477. So that is the cold case

00:14:51.179 --> 00:14:56.879
of Marisha Cheong. Marisha sounded like such a

00:14:56.879 --> 00:15:01.940
sunny, lovely, and light person in the way that

00:15:01.940 --> 00:15:04.720
you described her. And I've already seen some

00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:08.580
pictures of her, and she looks exactly the way

00:15:08.580 --> 00:15:12.159
all of her loved ones describe her as, just very

00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:15.639
warm. And it's very sad that her light was...

00:15:16.399 --> 00:15:19.899
extinguished so early because she had a full

00:15:19.899 --> 00:15:23.240
future ahead of her, going back to school, very

00:15:23.240 --> 00:15:26.940
strong relationship with her family. Her life

00:15:26.940 --> 00:15:32.299
was, you know, budding, blooming, and it was

00:15:32.299 --> 00:15:37.100
cut off. So I'm, you know, I'm angry. I'm very

00:15:37.100 --> 00:15:39.960
angry. I was very angry listening to this because

00:15:40.879 --> 00:15:43.720
You know, there are signs and red flags in people's

00:15:43.720 --> 00:15:47.080
behavior in relationships, and that's very apparent

00:15:47.080 --> 00:15:52.440
here. And I'm glad you brought it to this podcast,

00:15:52.500 --> 00:15:56.340
and I'm eager to talk about it with you. Yeah,

00:15:56.399 --> 00:15:58.899
Marisha was somebody who was deeply loved by

00:15:58.899 --> 00:16:01.399
her family and friends. And, you know, she was

00:16:01.399 --> 00:16:04.440
described as someone very maternal. And so she

00:16:04.440 --> 00:16:07.049
had that, like, mothering instinct with... a

00:16:07.049 --> 00:16:09.129
lot of those around her where she just kind of

00:16:09.129 --> 00:16:12.929
loved and took care of everyone so yeah I echo

00:16:12.929 --> 00:16:16.769
everything you say that just an amazing person

00:16:16.769 --> 00:16:21.309
whose life was tragically cut short and how tragic

00:16:21.309 --> 00:16:23.870
is that that the world is missing this person

00:16:23.870 --> 00:16:27.049
with this light and this future ahead of them

00:16:27.049 --> 00:16:29.549
but yeah I think we should just go ahead and

00:16:29.549 --> 00:16:33.370
dig into this case a little bit Yeah, the first

00:16:33.370 --> 00:16:35.649
thing I wanted to talk about, obviously, was

00:16:35.649 --> 00:16:40.409
her boyfriend, LJ. Even with what limited information

00:16:40.409 --> 00:16:45.509
available to us about LJ, there's some immediate

00:16:45.509 --> 00:16:48.230
red flags there, particularly about the passwords

00:16:48.230 --> 00:16:52.529
and the phone. In my opinion, it just didn't

00:16:52.529 --> 00:16:58.490
sound good. So I was on alert immediately. No

00:16:58.490 --> 00:17:01.789
matter what, everyone should have full... autonomy

00:17:01.789 --> 00:17:05.990
over themselves and their life, whether you're

00:17:05.990 --> 00:17:08.049
in a relationship or not. But especially when

00:17:08.049 --> 00:17:11.470
you are in a relationship, being with someone

00:17:11.470 --> 00:17:15.549
else should help you to feel free, not caged.

00:17:15.730 --> 00:17:19.130
I was sad to hear that things like that were

00:17:19.130 --> 00:17:24.049
happening and immediately felt like it probably

00:17:24.049 --> 00:17:28.390
contributed to her disappearance. It's definitely

00:17:28.390 --> 00:17:31.910
concerning. Her family definitely raised the

00:17:31.910 --> 00:17:34.349
flag about her relationship. It seems like they

00:17:34.349 --> 00:17:37.450
were voicing these concerns to her prior to her

00:17:37.450 --> 00:17:39.450
disappearance, but then definitely after she

00:17:39.450 --> 00:17:43.029
disappeared. Her mother especially made it known

00:17:43.029 --> 00:17:48.569
that she was suspicious of LJ. Yeah, there's

00:17:48.569 --> 00:17:51.130
a lot to talk about there and unpack, but for

00:17:51.130 --> 00:17:54.029
me, the biggest thing is just there's these kind

00:17:54.029 --> 00:17:55.730
of two different stories about what happened

00:17:55.730 --> 00:18:00.430
that day. And, you know, I went back when I was

00:18:00.430 --> 00:18:04.369
creating the script for the timeline and double

00:18:04.369 --> 00:18:06.410
checked my sources. And I was like, no, it does

00:18:06.410 --> 00:18:09.450
say this in this report. And then it says this

00:18:09.450 --> 00:18:13.910
in this report. And then, you know, moving forward,

00:18:14.009 --> 00:18:16.250
it's that he was out delivering and he last saw

00:18:16.250 --> 00:18:18.910
her in bed. So, you know, I thought that was

00:18:18.910 --> 00:18:21.049
the biggest red flag for me. And that's never

00:18:21.049 --> 00:18:23.509
really been explained why there's two different

00:18:23.509 --> 00:18:29.420
stories there. Yeah. In this case, the odds are

00:18:29.420 --> 00:18:34.759
severely stacked against LJ. Things don't really

00:18:34.759 --> 00:18:38.779
look good for him from my point of view. I agree.

00:18:39.099 --> 00:18:41.400
But then I have to think about the surveillance

00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:44.039
footage that comes into play where, you know,

00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:46.880
it shows a woman pulling her away from the house.

00:18:46.900 --> 00:18:49.619
And so then it's, well, who's this woman and

00:18:49.619 --> 00:18:51.859
how does she play into this and what's going

00:18:51.859 --> 00:18:54.980
on here? Because that does seem to be the last

00:18:54.980 --> 00:18:59.000
time that Marisha is seen is that surveillance

00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:02.000
footage. That is the last known sighting of her

00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:04.960
is her on that surveillance footage. So who is

00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:07.680
that woman pulling her away from the house? And

00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:10.279
I would be curious to know how police are sure

00:19:10.279 --> 00:19:12.880
that it's a woman doing it. Because like I said,

00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:16.119
this footage is very grainy. It's very hard to

00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:20.079
see any detail. Yeah, something about Marisha.

00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:23.539
You know, one of her incredible qualities that

00:19:23.539 --> 00:19:27.079
you described is her relationship with her mother

00:19:27.079 --> 00:19:31.460
and her relationship with her family. The fact

00:19:31.460 --> 00:19:34.140
that she has such a strong connection to them

00:19:34.140 --> 00:19:38.380
makes it very difficult for her to disappear

00:19:38.380 --> 00:19:45.859
her. And this surveillance video is... I mean,

00:19:45.880 --> 00:19:49.240
it's such a small moment in time, but it's the

00:19:49.240 --> 00:19:54.200
only moment where, you know, she's not on her

00:19:54.200 --> 00:19:55.920
phone. She's not talking to anyone in her family.

00:19:55.980 --> 00:19:58.859
No one from her family is with her. Like, it's

00:19:58.859 --> 00:20:02.119
a moment where she's rarely alone. And within

00:20:02.119 --> 00:20:08.740
that moment, pulled away. I have no idea what

00:20:08.740 --> 00:20:11.059
to make of that surveillance video. My mind went

00:20:11.059 --> 00:20:13.400
in a hundred different directions, but I'm so

00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:15.799
glad that it exists because it's such a rarity

00:20:15.799 --> 00:20:20.339
that footage like this exists in cases like this

00:20:20.339 --> 00:20:25.619
that I just feel grateful that it does. Yes,

00:20:25.640 --> 00:20:28.420
the surveillance footage is one of the very few

00:20:28.420 --> 00:20:30.839
clues we have in this case, so I am very grateful

00:20:30.839 --> 00:20:34.609
that it does exist and gives us... Just some

00:20:34.609 --> 00:20:37.210
insight, like as that detective says, like it

00:20:37.210 --> 00:20:39.210
shows that she wasn't going willingly, whatever

00:20:39.210 --> 00:20:41.869
was happening. So like that is giving us some

00:20:41.869 --> 00:20:45.769
clues, some direction, some information. So I

00:20:45.769 --> 00:20:49.589
am glad that it exists. I just wish we had more

00:20:49.589 --> 00:20:54.910
more evidence, more anything to go off of. You

00:20:54.910 --> 00:20:57.490
know, I if I could know anything about this case,

00:20:57.670 --> 00:21:00.329
I would wonder if police have been able to pull

00:21:00.329 --> 00:21:03.589
anything else, if they have maybe. something

00:21:03.589 --> 00:21:05.210
else that they're trying to not release to the

00:21:05.210 --> 00:21:07.309
public just to point us in any direction but

00:21:07.309 --> 00:21:09.230
obviously I'm not going to know that they're

00:21:09.230 --> 00:21:11.910
not going to tell me that but I do feel that

00:21:11.910 --> 00:21:16.690
this case is solvable and I know how deeply like

00:21:16.690 --> 00:21:21.210
her family misses her and wants answers in her

00:21:21.210 --> 00:21:24.900
case so I know that they are going to keep energy

00:21:24.900 --> 00:21:27.200
on her case and like try to keep her name in

00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:30.720
the spotlight and I do have hopes that this case

00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:34.240
can be solved and we will get answers yeah again

00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:39.240
just to mention the strong relationship she had

00:21:39.240 --> 00:21:41.640
with her family the one she had with her mom

00:21:41.640 --> 00:21:47.779
seemed um very very special and that there was

00:21:47.779 --> 00:21:51.589
so much love there and continues to be and The

00:21:51.589 --> 00:21:55.670
way her mom advocates for her now, listening

00:21:55.670 --> 00:21:58.269
to her talk about her daughter, about Marisha,

00:21:58.309 --> 00:22:01.089
I immediately sided with her. It's difficult

00:22:01.089 --> 00:22:03.789
not to. It seems like she knows her daughter

00:22:03.789 --> 00:22:07.589
very, very well. Yeah, her mom has been absolutely

00:22:07.589 --> 00:22:10.430
one of the biggest advocates in this case, as

00:22:10.430 --> 00:22:12.390
well as her siblings. As they've gotten older,

00:22:12.609 --> 00:22:15.230
they, you know, grappled with the loss of their

00:22:15.230 --> 00:22:17.769
older sister and are looking for these answers

00:22:17.769 --> 00:22:23.670
as well. So I just really hope that we have some

00:22:23.670 --> 00:22:27.509
evidence that we're able to test, do something.

00:22:27.609 --> 00:22:29.930
I just really want this case solved. And, you

00:22:29.930 --> 00:22:33.769
know, I have to. Over this last decade, police

00:22:33.769 --> 00:22:37.230
have never named LJ officially as a suspect.

00:22:38.589 --> 00:22:40.470
He's never even been named a person of interest.

00:22:40.509 --> 00:22:42.869
The only person of interest is the person in

00:22:42.869 --> 00:22:47.220
the surveillance video. But. Police have also

00:22:47.220 --> 00:22:49.240
been very careful to say that nobody has been

00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:52.279
ruled out either. So everyone's kind of still

00:22:52.279 --> 00:22:56.160
on the table at this point until we know something

00:22:56.160 --> 00:22:58.720
firmer. We just we have to suspect everybody.

00:22:58.779 --> 00:23:02.740
And I really, really want justice in Marisha's

00:23:02.740 --> 00:23:06.220
case. So again, if you know anything about the

00:23:06.220 --> 00:23:09.579
murder of Marisha Cheong in December of 2012,

00:23:10.099 --> 00:23:13.640
please call the Queens District Attorney at 718.

00:23:14.170 --> 00:23:19.390
286 -6300 or the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline

00:23:19.390 --> 00:23:25.900
at 1 -800 -577 -8477. As I mentioned in the timeline,

00:23:26.119 --> 00:23:28.819
we do have that surveillance footage on our Instagram

00:23:28.819 --> 00:23:31.359
at coldandmissing. Go check it out. See what

00:23:31.359 --> 00:23:32.859
we're talking about with the grainy footage.

00:23:32.940 --> 00:23:36.920
But you can see Marisha being pulled in the opposite

00:23:36.920 --> 00:23:38.859
direction and kind of getting pulled out of frame.

00:23:38.940 --> 00:23:41.720
So go take a look at it. Let us know your thoughts.

00:23:41.859 --> 00:23:44.180
Let us know what you see, what you think. We'd

00:23:44.180 --> 00:23:46.839
love to hear it. And we also will just have photos

00:23:46.839 --> 00:23:50.210
of Marisha. And Marisha with her loved ones.

00:23:50.210 --> 00:23:53.730
So go take a look and you'll see that bubbly,

00:23:53.730 --> 00:23:56.049
smiling person that we were talking about in

00:23:56.049 --> 00:23:58.529
this episode and that loving person that was

00:23:58.529 --> 00:24:02.089
loved by so many. So at Cold and Missing, check

00:24:02.089 --> 00:24:06.539
it out. That's where we're at. And if you or

00:24:06.539 --> 00:24:08.319
someone you love is hard of hearing, you can

00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:11.039
always go to our website, www .coldandmissing

00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:13.380
.com, where we have our official transcripts.

00:24:13.440 --> 00:24:16.180
So that is where I go through. I update spellings

00:24:16.180 --> 00:24:18.180
and make sure everything's correct. So you can

00:24:18.180 --> 00:24:21.099
go find that there, www .coldandmissing .com,

00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:23.460
along with all of our older episodes as well.

00:24:23.660 --> 00:24:25.660
And like I mentioned at the top, I'll just mention

00:24:25.660 --> 00:24:27.920
it briefly again. If you could leave us a five

00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:31.000
-star review, it goes so far in getting these

00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:33.019
stories out there and getting other people to

00:24:33.019 --> 00:24:36.069
listen, give us a chance. So truly five stars

00:24:36.069 --> 00:24:38.450
goes a long way. It's a perfect way to support

00:24:38.450 --> 00:24:41.170
the podcast and to support these cold cases and

00:24:41.170 --> 00:24:44.750
missing people we report on. But that is all

00:24:44.750 --> 00:24:47.549
I have for you today. Thank you so much for listening

00:24:47.549 --> 00:24:50.369
to Cold and Missing. I'm your host, Ali. And

00:24:50.369 --> 00:24:52.710
I'm your co -host, Eli. Have a good week and

00:24:52.710 --> 00:24:54.710
stay safe, y 'all. Stay safe, y 'all.