Docs: Ex-UofA basketball player lured victim, killed her with ex-girlfriend in Nevada

WARNING: This story contains graphic details that may be disturbing to some readers

STOCKTON, CA (3TV/CBS 5) — We’re learning new details about how investigators say a former University of Arizona basketball player and his ex-girlfriend lured and killed a woman who was found dead near Las Vegas.

New police documents say 27-year-old Chance Comanche and 19-year-old Sakari Harnden had their murder-for-hire plot foiled, so they carried it out themselves. According to police, Marayna Rodgers, who was on vacation in Las Vegas from Washington state, was planning to meet up with Harnden to have a double prostitution date with NBA players in early December. The police report said Harnden was angry at Rodgers for telling people about her other boyfriend committing murder, leading to his arrest in May in California, and there was a dispute over a Rolex watch.

Several text messages in a group chat revealed the original plan was for Comanche and Harnden to have a third person, only named as “Tre,” kill Rodgers, police said. Comanche said he would “run it by” him on Nov. 30. But by Dec. 2, Comanche said in a text message to Harnden that he still hadn’t heard from him, court documents said. Two days later, Comanche said “Tre” wasn’t “interested in helping” and couldn’t do it, police paperwork said. Police said Comanche and Harnden were willing to pay $3,000 for a hitman, but they were “unable to get someone to help with the murder, so they decided to carry out the murder themselves.”

Harnden reportedly texted Comanche to help kill Rodgers while he was in Las Vegas with his G-League team, the Stockton Kings. Police said Harnden and Comanche planned to lure Marayna Rodgers from her friends and kill her. All of this was communicated over an app called Telegram. Some messages between Comanche and Harnden read: “Need to get that b**** drunk and mix rat poison or sum in her drink,” and “You got (gun emoji)?” Another read, “I can snap her neck or just strangle the b****.”

Comanche arrived in Las Vegas with his G-League team on Dec. 4 and checked into his hotel. Police said he set up a prostitution date with Harnden and Rodgers and some basketball players. After getting picked up in the early morning hours of Dec. 6, the three got alcohol from a liquor store. While driving from the store, police said Comanche and Harnden text-messaged each other about how they were going to carry out the murder. Harnden later parked the car in a cul-de-sac, and she told Rodgers Comanche was into kinky sex and told Rodgers he wanted to tie them up and have sex with both of them, according to court records. Since Rodgers thought she was getting $1,000 for it, she agreed, allowing Comanche to zip-tie her hands together.

But during the encounter, police said Comanche choked Rodgers with an HDMI cord while Harnden used both her hands to choke her to death. The pair then placed Rodgers’ body in a ditch and covered the body with rocks in Henderson, according to officers. Comanche admitted to using a towel to move the rocks so their DNA wouldn’t be traced.

Comanche and Harnden got back to his hotel around 6 a.m. on Dec. 6. Rodgers was reported missing the next day. Harnden was arrested Wednesday night in Las Vegas, while Comanche was taken into custody in Sacramento on Thursday. Police said he admitted to the crime and pointed on a map where Rodgers’ body was hidden. Comanche and Harnden each face a charge of open murder. Comanche was in court on Tuesday for a hearing, where he waived his extradition. There’s no date set on when he’ll be extradited to Las Vegas. The Kings released Comanche from the team shortly after his arrest.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Copyright 2023 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.