NBC’s “Dateline” features a vast history of in-depth investigative journalism that truly does display storytelling at its finest, providing us with one captivating true-crime story after another. It presents true mysteries that have completely stunned the nation through narration and interviews with all parties involved in the case. This is also true of its episode “The Dead of Night,” which details LaJoya McCoy’s horrific murder. Even though she passed away in the middle of 2015, no one even realized she had died until around a week later; the detectives were still able to compile enough evidence to solve the case swiftly.
What Caused LaJoya McCoy’s Death?
At thirty-one, LaJoya McCoy, a native of Pasadena, California, was leading a comfortable life. She was the proprietor of Joya Boutique in Monterey Park and a single mother of two who worked full-time as an auditor for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. While she did have a hectic schedule most of the time, she always found time for her friends, family, and kids and never missed an appointment.
They became concerned when June 15, 2015, arrived, and they had not heard from her in many days. When coworkers attempted to get in touch with LaJoya at work, they revealed that she had not shown up and had skipped a number of crucial meetings. As a matter of fact, the last time anyone had heard from her was late on June 9. So, word got out to the local authorities.
In order to check on LaJoya’s well-being that day, the Monrovia Police Department (MPD) went to the 800 block of West Olive Avenue. However, they quickly contacted to get a search warrant for the home. They requested the Sheriff Homicide Bureau’s aid in what they first believed to be a missing person’s case after they came upon her residence and noticed indications of foul conduct. A child’s car seat and a blanket covered her dead corpse, which they located inside her car during a grid search the next day, June 16, in the 200 block of West Cypress Avenue, nearly a mile away from her apartment. According to the autopsy report, on June 10, 2015, she had been repeatedly stabbed and strangled with a rope or cable.
The Murderer of LaJoya McCoy?
The father of LaJoya’s two children and her ex-boyfriend, 45-year-old Jose Roberto Turner, was taken into custody by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s murder investigators on August 27, 2015, almost two months after LaJoya passed away. Their kids were already with him at this point. Jose was unhappy about the fact that the couple, who had just been apart for two years before the murder, had been together for over ten years.
Following the discovery of LaJoya’s body, her friends and relatives revealed that she had been concerned for her safety recently because of certain unusual things that were occurring to her. They said that certain documents had vanished, that her tires had been cut, and that she had felt like someone had been inside when she returned home on many occasions.
At first, they had all assumed that LaJoya was misplacing items because, with all of her obligations, she was overcommitting herself. However, looking back, it was definitely not the case. Though she had no idea how much difficulty she was in, she knew she was in danger. After that, the detectives started examining her personal life and possessions, and that’s when they found her ex-boyfriend lurking about. Witnesses said that when LaJoya was with other guys, Jose acted jealously and in a stalker-like manner. This jealousy had recently surfaced since she was going on a potential date. Not too long before her death, he’d written in his notebook about how angry he was with her and how he would kill her. However, Jose’s actions proved to be his undoing.
Investigations by Police:
Jose showed remorse by refusing to assist or collaborate in any manner while LaJoya’s family and the detectives searched for her and attempted to solve her case. So when forensic evidence found under LaJoya’s fingernails and from the crime scene proved that her DNA profile clearly matched his, linking him to her death, he was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder.
A bloodstained letter in her car implied that he was harassing her and stalking her, and another ex-boyfriend came forward to publicly accuse him of being a monster. He even had the things that LaJoya had gone missing from her house. After his case proceeded to court, Jose was detained without being granted bail. Following a brief trial, he was found guilty of the crime brought against him on June 19, 2017.
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