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Chance Comanche #12 of the Stockton Kings shoots a free throw against the Grand Rapids Gold at Van Andel Arena on February 9, 2023 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
CNN –
Chance Comanche, a former player with the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League, confessed to kidnapping and killing a Washington state woman with his ex-girlfriend in Las Vegas earlier this month, according to police.
Comanche, 27, and Sakari Harnden, 19, were arrested last week and charged with kidnapping Harnden's girlfriend, Marayna Rodgers, but police began pursuing murder charges against Comanche and Harnden after Rodgers' remains were discovered, the Las Vegas Metropolitan said Police Department in a statement with a press release on Sunday.
A police arrest warrant shows Comanche and Harnden are charged with Rodgers' murder. The Kings, an affiliate of the Sacramento Kings, announced on December 15 that Comanche had been released from the team.
Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal/AP
Sakari Harnden, who is charged with murder in connection with the disappearance of a woman whose remains were found in Henderson, appears in court Wednesday at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas for a status review.
In the arrest warrant filed in Clark County District Court, police say the couple lured the victim to a secluded location under the guise of a prostitution business. The pair then strangled Rodgers in Harnden's vehicle before dumping her body in a ditch and covering her with rocks, according to a court filing reviewed by CNN.
After his confession, Comanche showed investigators where Rodgers' body was buried, police said.
An attorney for Comanche, Michael Goldstein, said he “cannot comment on the content or context of the statements made to law enforcement.”
“We will address these matters once we appear in court and receive a full transcript or recording, if available,” Goldstein told CNN on Thursday.
CNN reached out to attorneys representing Harnden for comment.
“Sakari and Chance began hatching a plan to lure Marayna away from her friends so they could kill her,” the police arrest warrant states. “Chance and Sakari couldn't find anyone to help them with the murder, so they decided to commit the murder themselves.”
According to police, Rodgers was reported missing on Dec. 7, two days after she was last seen with friends and arranged to meet Harnden and Comanche.
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Chance Comanche is charged with murder in the death of Marayna Rodgers, according to a court file reviewed by CNN.
After the arrests, investigators received information that led them to find Rodgers' remains in a desert area of Henderson, about 20 miles southeast of Las Vegas, according to police.
According to the arrest warrant, Comanche told his ex-girlfriend in a text message, “I can break her neck or just strangle the bitch.” In another message, he wrote, “If you get a nice little thick piece of rope or a stable sum, I can Do it from the backseat. “Just like killers do in the movies.”
Comanche was arrested by FBI agents in Sacramento, Calif., on Friday while training at the Stockton Kings practice facility and waived extradition during an appearance in a Sacramento court on Tuesday. Las Vegas officials have 30 days to return him to Nevada to face arraignment.
Harnden appeared in court Wednesday and is expected to return for arraignment in February. She appeared in court Sunday when her bond was set at $500,000, according to court records.
CNN's Melissa Alonso and Jessica Flynn contributed to this report.