Cardi B Defends Late Instagram Model Mercedes Morr: 'She Was a Sweetheart'

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Cardi B is honoring the memory of Instagram model Jenae Gagnier, who was killed in an apparent murder-suicide Sunday.

The rapper, 28, defended 33-year-old Gagnier  — who was known as 'Miss Mercedes Morr' on social media — after the late model was attacked by commenters blaming Gagnier's photos and occupation for her death.

"So sad and f---- you bitches and N----- trying to justify it cause of her lifestyle," Cardi recently wrote on Instagram Live, per TMZ. "Ya will hate on a bad bitch dead or alive. She was a sweetheart."

Jeanetta Grover, Gagnier's mother, told the outlet she and her family are grateful that the Grammy winner spoke out in defense of her daughter, shifting the focus to the late model and away from her accused killer, who is suspected of murdering Gagnier before killing himself.

Mercedes Morr Instagram
Mercedes Morr Instagram

Mercedes Morr Instagram

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Gagnier's family told TMZ she was a fan of Cardi, inspiring them to invite the "Up" rapper to her memorial service in Houston on Saturday. While Grover said she understands that Cardi is busy, she knows Gagnier would have been touched to know the artist shared her story.

 

Cardi B; Mercedes Morr
Cardi B; Mercedes Morr

Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images; Mercedes Morr Instagram

The model was found dead in her Richmond, Texas apartment Sunday after her father Mark came to check on her when she wasn't responding to his phone calls, he told KPRC-TV Tuesday. The Fort Bend County Medical Examiner's Office determined that Gagnier died of strangulation and traumatic concussion.

The prime suspect in Gagnier's murder, 34-year-old Kevin Alexander Accorto of Florida, died by suicide, with his cause of death listed by the medical examiner as "multiple sharp force trauma."

Mercedes Morr Instagram
Mercedes Morr Instagram

Mercedes Morr Instagram

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"At this point in the investigation, it is not believed that there was a relationship between the suspect and the victim," Richmond police spokesman Lt. Lowell Neinast told The New York Post

Police are currently trying to determine a motive in the killing, and investigators say there were no signs of forced entry to Gagnier's apartment, which was located within a gated complex, per KHOU 11.

"You have to understand those apartments. You can enter three different ways: through the garage, through the back door, through the front door. So it makes it difficult to understand,"  Richmond Police Department Lt. Lowell Neinast told the outlet.

Accorto had no criminal history and there were no restraining orders in place against him at the time of the crime. Gagnier's family believes he had been stalking the model.

"She's very cautious about her surroundings," Grover told KPRC-TV. "Unfortunately, someone basically was stalking, and killed my baby … She was special. She was a person, and we miss her a lot."