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NBA G League player Chance Comanche, who was charged with murder in Las Vegas this week, has now confessed to murdering Marayna Rodgers with his 19-year-old ex-girlfriend Sakari Harnden.
According to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department investigators, Comanche, 27, admitted he choked Rodgers, 23, to death with an HDMI cord.
Comanche was a member of the Stockton Kings NBA G League team at the time of the murder.
The arrest warrant filed by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police reveals Comanche and Harnden conspired to kill Rodgers in the hours after the Stockton Kings’ Dec. 5 game in Las Vegas against the Ignite.
Two individuals have been arrested in connection with the disappearance and killing of a 23-year-old female after executing murder plan.
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— LVMPD (@LVMPD) December 17, 2023
Daniel Macht of KCRA News reports, “Rodgers had traveled to Las Vegas for prostitution, and Harnden also worked as a prostitute. Both were previously friends and had planned to meet up for a prostitution double date, according to the court documents.
“But the date was a set-up that involved Comanche posing as a ‘trick’ who could earn her $1,000, according to the documents.
“Comanche confessed to police that Rodgers agreed to have her hands zip-tied as part of a kinky sex request before he and Harnden strangled her. He said he used a HDMI cord while Harnden used her hands.”
Harnden and Rodgers, a surgical tech from the state of Washington, both worked as prostitutes in the Las Vegas area.
Chance Comanche would play a game with the Kings in Portland a day after the murder.
He would later identify on a map the location where Rodgers’ body would be found.
Comanche also reportedly told police that he and Sakari Harnden plotted to kill Rodgers after he tried to hire someone to do it for $3,000, but they had declined.
Telegram messages between Comanche and Harnden about the alleged kidnapping plot reportedly included emojis like a coffin, a ghost and a gun.
“I can snap her neck or just strangle the b—-,” Comanche allegedly wrote in a group message with Harnden and a third man.
He added, “If you get a nice little thick piece of rope or sum sturdy I can do it from the backseat. Like how the killers do it in the movies.”
Comanche told police that Harnden was his former girlfriend. Harnden told police that Comanche was in love with her.
He reportedly told Harnden about any interaction with police, “They only know what you tell them. You got this boo. This is the post game interview. Just smile and wave.”
Chance Comanche played one game in the NBA, scoring 7 points in 21 minutes for the Portland Trail Blazers in April of 2023. He was averaging 14 points and 7 rebounds per game for the Stockton Kings when he was waived following his arrest.