A former NBA basketball player and his ex-girlfriend are facing murder charges after a woman’s remains were discovered in the Nevada desert.
Marayna Rodgers, a 23-year-old medical assistant from Washington state, vanished during a trip to Las Vegas on December 6, according to police.
She was reported missing by concerned friends and family the next day.
Rodgers’ friend Sakari Harnden, 19, was arrested a week later and charged with first degree kidnapping, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement.
Police said Rodgers had a pre-arranged meeting with Ms Harnden, and brought along her boyfriend, NBA G league player Chance Comanche, 27.
Chance Comanche played one game for the Portland Trailblazers’ NBA team in April— (Getty Images)
Mr Comanche was arrested in Sacramento, California, on Friday in connection with Rodgers’ disappearance.
On Sunday, investigators announced they had discovered Rodgers’ remains in the desert near Henderson, southeast of Las Vegas. The Clark County Coroner confirmed the remains belonged to Rodgers, police said.
Detectives determined that Ms Harnden and Mr Comanche had allegedly “executed a murder plan”.
Ms Harnden has since been charged with murder and theft, both felonies, in addition to a kidnapping charge, court records show.
The Clark County District Attorney’s office will upgrade the charges against both suspects to “open murder”, police said.
Officials have not yet released further details about how Rodgers died, or how they honed in on the two suspects.
What happened?
Rodgers was last seen alive in Las Vegas on the evening of 5 December.
According to friends she got into an Uber bound for Summerlin, a community in west Las Vegas, and never arrived.
Tremaine McAdams, who set up a fundraising page while Rodgers was still missing, wrote that Rodgers was using her cellphone to share her location with family when she went missing.
Her last known location was on Restless River St, an area about 11 miles south of the Las Vegas Strip near the Reno freeway at about 3am on 6 December.
Sakari Harnden is charged with the murder of her friend Marayna Rodgers— (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police)
Her friends immediately became concerned, as Rodgers did not have any money or debit cards on her. They reported her missing the next day. Rodgers was described as having several distinctive tattoos, including a red sun on her neck.
“She never made it to Summerlin and was discovered to be missing the following morning when neither her boyfriend or close friends had heard from her,” Mr McAdams wrote.
“Marayna has a boyfriend, family, friends, two dogs, and works as a surgical tech back home in Washington.
“Her location was being shared with several friends and family and last showed her at a separate location in Las Vegas at 2.59am on December 12.
“The last known location is worrisome because it is near the freeway heading towards both Reno and California.
“She left behind both her dogs, her car, and all belongings making it very unlikely that she disappeared on her own.
“She also had no cash or debit card at the time of her disappearance.”
Family told KLAS that Rodgers had a stable job at her home in the city of Lynnwood, Washington.
Detectives in Las Vegas said they immediately suspected foul play and quickly honed in on the two suspects.
Marayna Rodgers went missing in Las Vegas on 6 December— (Handout via KLAS)
Ms Harnden was arrested on 13 December and has appeared in court on Thursday and Sunday, where her bond was set at $500,000, according to court records.
Mr Comanche was arrested on Friday in Sacramento, California, by FBI officers.
He is being held on kidnapping charges as he awaits extradition from California to Nevada, where the charges would be “amended to open murder”, by the Clark County District Attorney’s office.
The Independent has requested comment from the Clark County Public Defender, who represent Ms Harnden.
A criminal complaint obtained by 8News allegedly showed that Ms Harnden had admitted detaining Rodgers against her will and without her consent for the purpose of killing her or inflicting bodily harm.
Ms Harnden is also facing a charge of theft for allegedly stealing a Rolex watch, that appears to be unrelated to the kidnapping case.
It’s unclear how Ms Harnden knew Rodgers.
Who is Chance Comanche?
Mr Comanche attended high school in Los Angeles before playing college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats. He went undrafted in the 2017 NBA draft, before signing with the NBA feeder teams the Memphis Hustle and the Cleveland Charge.
He was signed by the Stockton Kings, an NBA G team affiliated with the Sacramento Kings, in 2022/23 and was then picked up on a short term contract by the Portland Trailblazers in April this year.
Chance Comanche is awaiting extradition to Nevada on kidnapping charges— (Getty Images)
He played one game for the Trailblazers, scoring seven points, before returning to the Stockton Kings.
The Stockton Kings played the Ignite at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada on 5 December, the day before Rodgers’ disappearance. Their next game was in Oregon two days later.
He has played 321 minutes this season, scoring 182 points, 15 assists and 91 rebounds.
On 15 December, the Kings released a statement saying they had released Mr Comanche.
The centre or power forward had also played in the Turkish pro league for Mamak Belediyesi.
Mr Comanche is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday afternoon in Sacramento County court, according to jail records.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the LVMPD homicide section at 702-828-3521 or by emailing homicide@lvmpd.com.
Comanche allegedly admits to strangling victim
Last week, the basketball player allegedly admitted to strangling Ms Rodgers alongside Ms Harnden, according to court documents.
He said he allegedly committed the crime with Ms Harnden as the women were working as sex workers, police say. He said Ms Harnden said she and Ms Rodgers had problems regarding a Rolex watch.
Even though Mr Comanche and Ms Harnden broke up a few months after they began dating a year and a half ago, they stayed in contact and allegedly plotted Ms Rodgers’ murder together.
Mr Comanche allegedly tried to find someone willing to commit the murder for them, even offering $3,000 as an incentive, police say. But when he couldn’t find anyone willing to kill the woman, they allegedly decided to do it themselves.
On 6 December, Mr Comanche allegedly posed as a customer and agreed to pay Ms Rodgers $1,000 for sexual services. The three arranged to meet on that day and decided the alleged services would be performed in a vehicle Ms Harnden was driving. Based on Mr Comanche’s account, Ms Harnden parked the vehicle in a cul-de-sac and allegedly zip-tied Ms Rodgers’ hands as part of a “kinky” request, the records state.
The former basketball player then allegedly said he strangled Ms Rodgers’ neck for approximately 10 seconds with an HDMI cord but stopped when she began struggling to breathe. However, Ms Harden allegedly was choking her at the same time. When it appeared that Ms Rodgers was dead, the pair allegedly drove around and hid her body in a ditch, Mr Comanche allegedly told police, adding that they concealed her body with rocks.
Megan Sheets contributed to this report
