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Friends Mourn Citrus Heights Woman Found Dead In Las Vegas Hotel Laundry Chute

Feb. 23 UPDATE: Las Vegas Police: Citrus Heights Woman Found Dead In Laundry Chute Had Fallen 15 Floors

Police in Las Vegas say a Citrus Heights woman found dead in a hotel laundry chute was not the victim of foul play.

Kalli Medina-Brown was at the D Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas over the weekend celebrating her 27th birthday with her husband and a small group of friends, when, for unknown reasons, fell from the 18th floor and landed in the chute on the 3rd floor, according to police. FULL STORY

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ORIGINAL STORY

CITRUS HEIGHTS (CBS13) — Family and friends of a Citrus Heights woman are desperate for answers after she was found dead in the laundry chute of a Las Vegas hotel on Sunday.

Kalli Medina-Brown was in Las Vegas to celebrate her 27th birthday with her husband and a small group of friends. Her childhood friends who weren't able to make the trip say the 26-year-old legal secretary was taking classes at Sacramento State and she had a generous heart and big dreams.

Sierra Roraback's swollen, red eyes give a window into her heartbreak as she reflects on the last conversation with her oldest, dearest friend.

"I told her I hope you have a great time. I hope you enjoy yourself, be safe; I can't wait to see you when you get back," she said. "We were family."

Medina-Brown's body was found in a laundry chute at the D Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Sunday morning.

"I don't have a lot of friends," Roraback said, "and she's one of my best friends. It's just really hard."

The past 24 hours have been equally devastating for Carly Worrell, Medina-Brown's best friend of nearly 17 years.

"I just ask God that she didn't hurt. That she wasn't scared. Or she didn't feel alone or helpless," she said.

They called themselves the three musketeers.

"Out of us, she was the responsible one," Worrell said. "She wasn't the wild one. She was calm, she was mature."

The woman suspect the same applied to her Las Vegas trip and believe the legal secretary separated from her group.

While friends and family wait for investigators and the medical examiner to release more information, they'll continue to find comfort in pages of childhood memories.

"There has to be justice," Roraback said. "In order to have closure on the situation and sleep a little better or something—we have to figure out who did this, we have to figure out what happened."

The cause of death is still unknown, though it's being treated as suspicious. The hotel says it is cooperating with police on the investigation.

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