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.