Former NBA G-League player Chance Comanche appeared to confess to the murder of a woman in Las Vegas, according to court documents.
The former Stockton Kings player confessed he strangled a woman with the help of his former girlfriend, according to Clark County court documents. The body of Maryana Rodgers, a 23-year-old medical assistant, was reportedly found near Henderson, Nevada, after Comanche’s confession, according to a Las Vegas arrest warrant, the outlet reported.
Rodgers was reported missing on Dec. 7, according to the court documents. Detectives said she was killed after an encounter with Comanche and his ex-girlfriend, Sakari Harnden, 19, the court records reveal.
UPDATE: Former NBA G-League player Chance Comanche confesses to strangling murder victim with an HDMI cord. pic.twitter.com/scdgHTm03g
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) December 20, 2023
Through a series of interviews, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) learned Comanche and Harnden allegedly played a role in Rodgers’ disappearance, and the basketball player appeared to confess to the murder, according to the court records. Investigators say the two tried to get a friend known as “Tre” to commit the murder for them but took on the role themselves when they couldn’t get someone to help them, court documents reveal. (RELATED: Police Arrest NBA Star Kevin Porter Jr. For Allegedly Strangling Former WNBA Player Girlfriend In Manhattan).
Comanche arrived in Las Vegas to play a Stockton Kings game Dec. 4 and later allegedly developed a plan with his girlfriend to kill Rodgers due to an alleged dispute between the two women, who were both sex workers, according to the court documents.
Comanche confessed to offering to pay Rodgers for sexual acts Dec. 6 to lure her away, the court documents say. The couple got Rodgers into a car, bought a bottle of alcohol and made it seem like they’d have “kinky sex” with her in the car, according to the court records.
Comanche told cops he pulled out an HDMI cord and used it to strangle Rodgers for a few seconds, before stopping and letting Harden continue to choke her until she was unresponsive, the documents stated.
Comanche told officials they dumped her body in a ditch and buried her with rocks, using a towel to avoid leaving their DNA behind, according to the documents.
The basketball player was arrested on Dec. 15 in Sacramento, California, originally facing a charge of first-degree kidnapping, according to the LVMPD, He will be formally charged with murder, TMZ reported. Harnden was arrested Dec. 13 and faces charges of theft, kidnapping in the first degree and open murder, according to Las Vegas inmate records.
Comanche was released from the Stockton Kings, a team affiliated with the Sacramento Kings, following his arrest, according to a press release.