The views and opinions expressed in Cold and
Missing are exclusively those of the hosts. All
parties mentioned are considered innocent until
proven guilty in a court of law. Cold and Missing
also contains adult themes and languages. Listener
discretion is advised. I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin
-Sulkowski. And I'm your co -host, Eli Sulkowski.
And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover
cold cases and missing person cases. Hello, everyone,
and welcome back to Cold and Missing. I'm your
host, Ali. And I'm your co -host, Eli. Welcome
back, everyone. Just at the top, I want to say
thank you so much to everyone who's left us a
review recently. We've gotten a lot on Apple
iTunes. iTunes, I'm a thousand years old for
saying that. On Apple Podcasts. Also, we've gotten
some on our website, www .coldandmissing .com.
So thank you if you've taken the time out to
review us. Five stars. I know I've said it before,
but it goes a long way in getting others to listen
to our podcast and get these cases out there.
So thank you if you've done it. And if you haven't,
I'm going to plug it right here. If you wouldn't
mind just taking a second to review us, it really
means so much to this podcast and the mission
of the podcast, which is just getting these stories
out there. Yeah, the reviews mean, a lot to both
Ali and I, but most importantly, it emphasizes
and uplifts the thing that we're trying to do
here, which is bring more awareness to these
cases that we're covering. So thank you so much
for doing that. But with that thank you and that
plug out of the way, we'll go ahead and get into
this week's case. Yeah, and we are on episode
144 this week. And this is a cold case. All right,
let's get into it. Today, we are covering the
cold case of Marisha Cheong, and this takes place
in December of 2012 in Jamaica, Queens, New York.
But first, a little bit about Marisha. Marisha
is only 24 years old in 2012. She was born in
Guyana and was the oldest of four siblings. Her
father still lived in Guyana, but her mother,
Farida Ali, raised the children in New York.
Family meant everything to Marisha. She talked
to her mom every single day, and her mom remembers
her as the kindest soul. She says, quote, she
was the sweetest person you'd ever meet. She
would not harm anyone. Friends remembered how
easily she smiled, even at strangers. Marisha
was studying business administration at Long
Island University and had recently re -enrolled
in classes there. She loved interior design and
dreamed of starting her own company one day.
She was ambitious, bubbly, and full of life.
At the time, Marisha was living in Jamaica, Queens
with her boyfriend of five years, 26 -year -old
Latchman Balcaran. He went by the nickname LJ.
LJ told friends he planned to propose around
New Year's at one of their favorite restaurants.
But Marisha's family worried. They thought that
LJ was possessive and controlling. He knew all
of her phone passwords and rarely left her side.
Her mom recalled, quote, Tension grew. While
Marisha was going to school, LJ was working part
-time as a delivery driver and was also pursuing
a dream of his of becoming a Bollywood director.
Money was tight with the couple, so they relied
on Marisha's mother, who helped pay their rent,
also paid for Marisha's classes, and even bought
Marisha a car so she could get back and forth
between her classes easier. However, LJ quickly
commandeered the car and used it for his delivery
gig and would drive Marisha around instead. Farida
grew frustrated and felt taken advantage of,
so she said she would only pay for Marisha's
college classes moving forward. Despite tensions
at home, Marisha kept moving forward, smiling,
planning for her future, decorating for the holidays,
and planning family get -togethers. But just
before Christmas, she disappeared. And now a
timeline of events. December 19th. There are
a few different reports about what happened this
day. This is the day that Marisha is last seen.
LJ says a few different stories about this day.
According to one report, the two of them get
into a fight and she said that she needed a break
and left the apartment around 10 .30 a .m. He
said, quote, I thought she was upset. I thought
she needed some time. She left just like that.
We had an argument about the relationship. It
wasn't serious. After Marisha left, LJ says that
they kept talking via text message. Eventually,
LJ says that Marisha and him agreed to meet near
the Forest Hills 71st Avenue subway station.
When LJ arrives, Marisha is nowhere to be seen.
From here, the text messages from her started
to sound slightly off. He said, quote, the texts
were suspicious. They didn't sound like her.
She would normally call me babe or stinky boo
-boo. She used another name. LJ wouldn't go into
specifics about what exactly was in the text
beyond that. In another version of events, LJ
says that he was out doing deliveries and that
they were arguing over text messages. This does
seem to be the story that he tells police eventually,
and this is the story that he kind of maintains
throughout the rest of the investigation. Marisha's
mom and cousin also received text messages from
her phone. To her mother, the messages read,
quote, Mom, I'm fine. I just need a little time
to think. I'm good. But Farida instantly knew
something was wrong. She said, quote, She never
addressed me as mom. Wherever we were, whatever
it was, she always called me mommy. Her cousin
Audrey recalled, That when her aunt saw the word
mom, she knew immediately that the message wasn't
from her daughter. Audrey said, quote, she texted
her right back and said, Marisha, call me this
very instant. She knew something was wrong. But
Marisha didn't call. And that day, she missed
her classes at Long Island University. At home,
she left behind her iPad and both of her winter
coats. Things she wouldn't have gone without
in December. The family is immediately on edge
when they couldn't get a hold of Marisha, but
they believe that they will be able to see her
the next day. The next day, Thursday, December
20th, Marisha has been missing for one day at
this point. And this is the day that Marisha
is reported missing. She fails to show up at
her younger brother's birthday celebration, a
party that she had been planning for and had
even been making custom t -shirts for. Her mom
tries to get a hold of her, her siblings FaceTime
call her, and everything goes unanswered. After
this, her family reports her missing. They know
that this is out of character for her. Police
quickly question LJ. They bring him in for questioning.
It seems like sources told the local news that
this is where LJ tells police that he was making
deliveries that whole morning. That when he left
their home that they shared together, she was
asleep in bed in her pajamas and he left to go
make deliveries. Police say that they are able
to verify his whereabouts for Wednesday and they
let him go. Over the upcoming weeks, Marisha's
family take to social media trying to get the
word out about their loved one. That she's missing.
That they can't find her. They haven't spoken
to her and it's not like her to miss the holidays.
It's unclear exactly what police are doing during
this time in Marisha's case. However, on Saturday,
February 16, 2013, so Marisha had been missing
for 59 days at this point, Marisha's body is
discovered. It had washed ashore at Breezy Point
near the Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge. Her hands
were bound behind her back, and her feet were
also tied up. Rope had been used for both of
these. She was still wearing her multicolored
pajama pants, a gray sweatshirt, and one black
Ugga boot. There was a pair of headphones that
were tangled up in her hair. Her earrings had
remained on her body. Ultimately, that is what
her mother will use as an ID. Police show her
a picture of the earrings, and she instantly
recognizes them as her daughter's. The autopsy
revealed broken bones in both of her arms, a
fracture on the right side of her neck, and bruising
across her body. But because she had been in
the water for so long, the exact cause of death
couldn't be determined. The medical examiner
ultimately will rule her homicide as a homicidal
violence of an unknown type. LJ reinforces to
police and to Marisha's family that he was out
making deliveries when Marisha went missing.
Two days after Marisha's body was found, on February
18th, police bring in LJ for questioning again.
Again, police release him without arresting him.
Police refuse to call him a suspect, but they
also say that they haven't ruled him out completely.
Marisha's family was certain LJ knew more than
what he was saying. Her mom says, quote, LJ denied
it. He said, quote, The next day, February 19th,
so three days after her body was found, Police
pulled surveillance footage from the area around
Marisha's home. One camera across the street
captured something important to the investigation.
The video showed Marisha entering her home, but
about five minutes later, she left again. But
this time, she wasn't alone. A woman appeared
to be pulling her by the arm. Years later, Queens
detective attorney Melinda Katz described the
footage as, quote, it's very grainy. but it does
show a female pulling Marusha out of the home.
What it does show is that she didn't go willingly.
The surveillance footage is very grainy. The
footage comes from a home that's across the street,
but also like down a house. So Marisha's home
is only really viewable in the top right -hand
corner of the footage. And even then, it's really
only the front gate that you can see of the home.
You can't really see the front door at all. We
will have this footage available on our Instagram,
at coldandmissing, so you can go see it there.
You are able to see figures, though, and what
I'm talking about in this description. So go
check it out there. A week after she was found,
on February 23, 2013, Marisha is laid to rest.
Her family and friends gather to say goodbye,
but LJ was not there. At the request of Marisha's
family, he stayed away. It does take weeks for
the autopsy results to come in, but finally,
in May of 2013, so about 79 days after she was
found, Authorities confirmed what the family
and police already knew, that Marisha's death
was a homicide, as we already stated. But her
exact cause of death could not be determined.
And furthermore, because her body had been in
the water for so long, they were not able to
determine if she had even drowned or if she had
been put into the water after her death. Her
mother grew frustrated. She says, quote, I really
want to know what happened to my daughter and
why it's taking so long. That's all, really.
If the public can help, if they know anything,
they should come forward. In October of 2013,
about eight months after Marisha was found dead,
police released the surveillance footage to the
public. The NYPD labeled the unidentified woman
in the video as a person of interest and that
they wanted to locate her and they asked for
the public's help. However, it doesn't appear
that many... if any tips come in that help lead
to the woman. Police try to find other surveillance
footage in this case. However, Hurricane Sandy
had come through the area about two months before
Marisha vanished, so a lot of security cameras
in the area had been damaged by the storm, and
they had not been replaced at this point, so
surveillance footage was very limited. In 2024,
so it's been over a decade, 11 years at this
point, Marisha's case remains unsolved. The Queens
DA's cold case unit still lists her murder as
open. Police continue to seek the identity of
the woman in the surveillance footage. A modest
reward has been offered for information, but
so far, no arrests have been made. LJ has been
questioned multiple times, but has never been
named a suspect. To this day, Marisha's family
believes he knows what happened. But that is
truly all we know about the murder of Marisha
Cheong. So if you know anything about the murder
of Marisha Cheong in December of 2012, please
call the Queens District Attorney's Office at
718 -268 -6300 or the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline
at 1 -800 -577 -8477. So that is the cold case
of Marisha Cheong. Marisha sounded like such a
sunny, lovely, and light person in the way that
you described her. And I've already seen some
pictures of her, and she looks exactly the way
all of her loved ones describe her as, just very
warm. And it's very sad that her light was...
extinguished so early because she had a full
future ahead of her, going back to school, very
strong relationship with her family. Her life
was, you know, budding, blooming, and it was
cut off. So I'm, you know, I'm angry. I'm very
angry. I was very angry listening to this because
You know, there are signs and red flags in people's
behavior in relationships, and that's very apparent
here. And I'm glad you brought it to this podcast,
and I'm eager to talk about it with you. Yeah,
Marisha was somebody who was deeply loved by
her family and friends. And, you know, she was
described as someone very maternal. And so she
had that, like, mothering instinct with... a
lot of those around her where she just kind of
loved and took care of everyone so yeah I echo
everything you say that just an amazing person
whose life was tragically cut short and how tragic
is that that the world is missing this person
with this light and this future ahead of them
but yeah I think we should just go ahead and
dig into this case a little bit Yeah, the first
thing I wanted to talk about, obviously, was
her boyfriend, LJ. Even with what limited information
available to us about LJ, there's some immediate
red flags there, particularly about the passwords
and the phone. In my opinion, it just didn't
sound good. So I was on alert immediately. No
matter what, everyone should have full... autonomy
over themselves and their life, whether you're
in a relationship or not. But especially when
you are in a relationship, being with someone
else should help you to feel free, not caged.
I was sad to hear that things like that were
happening and immediately felt like it probably
contributed to her disappearance. It's definitely
concerning. Her family definitely raised the
flag about her relationship. It seems like they
were voicing these concerns to her prior to her
disappearance, but then definitely after she
disappeared. Her mother especially made it known
that she was suspicious of LJ. Yeah, there's
a lot to talk about there and unpack, but for
me, the biggest thing is just there's these kind
of two different stories about what happened
that day. And, you know, I went back when I was
creating the script for the timeline and double
checked my sources. And I was like, no, it does
say this in this report. And then it says this
in this report. And then, you know, moving forward,
it's that he was out delivering and he last saw
her in bed. So, you know, I thought that was
the biggest red flag for me. And that's never
really been explained why there's two different
stories there. Yeah. In this case, the odds are
severely stacked against LJ. Things don't really
look good for him from my point of view. I agree.
But then I have to think about the surveillance
footage that comes into play where, you know,
it shows a woman pulling her away from the house.
And so then it's, well, who's this woman and
how does she play into this and what's going
on here? Because that does seem to be the last
time that Marisha is seen is that surveillance
footage. That is the last known sighting of her
is her on that surveillance footage. So who is
that woman pulling her away from the house? And
I would be curious to know how police are sure
that it's a woman doing it. Because like I said,
this footage is very grainy. It's very hard to
see any detail. Yeah, something about Marisha.
You know, one of her incredible qualities that
you described is her relationship with her mother
and her relationship with her family. The fact
that she has such a strong connection to them
makes it very difficult for her to disappear
her. And this surveillance video is... I mean,
it's such a small moment in time, but it's the
only moment where, you know, she's not on her
phone. She's not talking to anyone in her family.
No one from her family is with her. Like, it's
a moment where she's rarely alone. And within
that moment, pulled away. I have no idea what
to make of that surveillance video. My mind went
in a hundred different directions, but I'm so
glad that it exists because it's such a rarity
that footage like this exists in cases like this
that I just feel grateful that it does. Yes,
the surveillance footage is one of the very few
clues we have in this case, so I am very grateful
that it does exist and gives us... Just some
insight, like as that detective says, like it
shows that she wasn't going willingly, whatever
was happening. So like that is giving us some
clues, some direction, some information. So I
am glad that it exists. I just wish we had more
more evidence, more anything to go off of. You
know, I if I could know anything about this case,
I would wonder if police have been able to pull
anything else, if they have maybe. something
else that they're trying to not release to the
public just to point us in any direction but
obviously I'm not going to know that they're
not going to tell me that but I do feel that
this case is solvable and I know how deeply like
her family misses her and wants answers in her
case so I know that they are going to keep energy
on her case and like try to keep her name in
the spotlight and I do have hopes that this case
can be solved and we will get answers yeah again
just to mention the strong relationship she had
with her family the one she had with her mom
seemed um very very special and that there was
so much love there and continues to be and The
way her mom advocates for her now, listening
to her talk about her daughter, about Marisha,
I immediately sided with her. It's difficult
not to. It seems like she knows her daughter
very, very well. Yeah, her mom has been absolutely
one of the biggest advocates in this case, as
well as her siblings. As they've gotten older,
they, you know, grappled with the loss of their
older sister and are looking for these answers
as well. So I just really hope that we have some
evidence that we're able to test, do something.
I just really want this case solved. And, you
know, I have to. Over this last decade, police
have never named LJ officially as a suspect.
He's never even been named a person of interest.
The only person of interest is the person in
the surveillance video. But. Police have also
been very careful to say that nobody has been
ruled out either. So everyone's kind of still
on the table at this point until we know something
firmer. We just we have to suspect everybody.
And I really, really want justice in Marisha's
case. So again, if you know anything about the
murder of Marisha Cheong in December of 2012,
please call the Queens District Attorney at 718.
286 -6300 or the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline
at 1 -800 -577 -8477. As I mentioned in the timeline,
we do have that surveillance footage on our Instagram
at coldandmissing. Go check it out. See what
we're talking about with the grainy footage.
But you can see Marisha being pulled in the opposite
direction and kind of getting pulled out of frame.
So go take a look at it. Let us know your thoughts.
Let us know what you see, what you think. We'd
love to hear it. And we also will just have photos
of Marisha. And Marisha with her loved ones.
So go take a look and you'll see that bubbly,
smiling person that we were talking about in
this episode and that loving person that was
loved by so many. So at Cold and Missing, check
it out. That's where we're at. And if you or
someone you love is hard of hearing, you can
always go to our website, www .coldandmissing
.com, where we have our official transcripts.
So that is where I go through. I update spellings
and make sure everything's correct. So you can
go find that there, www .coldandmissing .com,
along with all of our older episodes as well.
And like I mentioned at the top, I'll just mention
it briefly again. If you could leave us a five
-star review, it goes so far in getting these
stories out there and getting other people to
listen, give us a chance. So truly five stars
goes a long way. It's a perfect way to support
the podcast and to support these cold cases and
missing people we report on. But that is all
I have for you today. Thank you so much for listening
to Cold and Missing. I'm your host, Ali. And
I'm your co -host, Eli. Have a good week and
stay safe, y 'all. Stay safe, y 'all.