Did Marisha Cheong Send Text to Mom Before Death?

The murder of Marisha Cheong remains unsolved, but there are strange updates in her case. Her mother shared that she received an eerie text from the slain woman the day she vanished. She doesn't think Marisha sent her that text though, and she is probably right in feeling this way -- especially since the young woman washed ashore with her hands and feet bound. Her throat and neck area was bruised as if she had been strangled -- though an official cause of death hasn't been released yet.

However, it was only after her mother had sent the phone at least six texts before the odd message was returned. Even then, it was only after the woman revealed that she was "mom" in the text messages. This right here could be a clue indicative of who hurt the woman.

Was Marisha Cheong killed by her boyfriend? Her mother and other relatives believe so, but the text history is curious. Wouldn't the man know that this was the mother texting all that time before answering? Why wait to send the strange text in response only after physically seeing "mom" in the final text?

Surveillance footage shows Cheong being escorted out of her home by a woman, but this is the last known footage of her. Could this mystery woman know something about her death?

~*~ Crime analyst and profiler Chelsea Hoffman is the author of "The Sin City Strangler" & many other works. Contact her privately via the "Case to Case" blog or @TheRealChelseaH on Twitter.~*~