The investigations into the harrowing deaths of Nichole Coats and Maleesa Mooney remain ongoing.
After the two models were found dead in their respective Los Angeles apartments within two days of one another, the Los Angeles police department told NBC News Sept. 18 that the cases were unrelated. However, when contacted by E! News the following day, authorities confirmed they are "investigating all avenues" but have not been able to verified whether the cases are connected.
Authorities were first alerted to the death of Nichole, 32, who was discovered in her Los Angeles apartment on Sept. 10 by her father and aunt after not being in contact for several days. Two days later, Maleesa, 31, another model and real estate agent, was also found dead in her residence less than three miles away.
Police are formally treating Maleesa's case as a murder, according to local outlet KTLA, while Nichole's death is currently classified as "suspicious."
For Nichole's family, the similarities in the cases have led them to believe that the incidents are not coincidental.
"That scared us all, because now we feel that it's related," Nichole's aunt Linda St. Clair told CBS News. "She wasn't far from where Nichole lived and they were the same age bracket and she was a model."
While waiting for more details to come to light, Nichole's family is hopeful they'll find answers.
"I miss her so much," her mother Sharon Coats told the outlet. "She was my only one. I'm not gonna ever be able to tell her that I love her, or touch her again. It hurts."
Simultaneously, Maleesa's family is also focused on finding closure following their tragic loss.
"Never in a million years did I think I'd have to make this post and get justice for my one & only sister," Maleesa's sister, Jourdin Pauline—a Guyanese pop star—wrote in a Sept. 14 Instagram post. "This feels so surreal I keep waking up crying thinking I'm in a bad dream we will get justice for you my sister I promise you won't be gone in vain."
Details on their causes of death currently remain unknown.
(E! and NBC News are part of the NBCUniversal family.)