Source: Lachlan Cunningham / Getty
UPDATE: DEC. 21, 3:00 PM
Since being arrested on murder charges, former NBA G League player Chance Comanche has admitted to strangling 23-year-old Marayna Rodgers –a sex worker and associate of his former girlfriend Sakari Harnden– with an HDMI cord. After choking her for 10 seconds he stopped, while Harnden continued choking her. Court documents say he posed as a prostitute’s customer in the murder plot, and damning text messages show he contemplated different methods to kill her.
“Need to get that b-tch drunk and mix rat poison or sum in her drink,” read one text message.
The NBA’s violence problems continue with a G League player’s alleged involvement in a murder.
Chance Comanche, a former member of the Stockton Kings, the G-League affiliate for the Sacramento Kings, is facing kidnapping charges after being arrested by California FBI agents on Friday. He’ll eventually be extradited to Nevada but is currently being held with bail.
His girlfriend, 19-year-old Sakra Harnden, is also in on the crime since the murder victim, 23-year-old Marayna Rodgers, was her friend. Harnden was arrested two days before Comanche in Las Vegas on kidnapping charges, with her bail set at $500,000.
The police report reveals a timeline that says Rodgers hung out with friends Dec. 5 and was supposed to see Harnden and Comanche that night. However, she hasn’t been seen since and was reported missing Dec. 7.
After arresting the couple, police say they attained vital information that led them to “recover human remains in a desert area in Henderson, Nevada,” which the coroner later proved to be Rodgers.
“Early in the investigation, detectives suspected foul play and obtained evidence to arrest Harnden and her boyfriend Comanche for their role in the kidnapping and disappearance of Rodgers,” police said, according to CNN.
Harnden faces murder charges now as well, in addition to the initial theft and kidnapping felonies.
Comanche hasn’t been charged with murder yet, but with the discovery of the body, police say both of their rap sheets will be “amended to open murder through coordination with the Clark County District Attorney’s office.”
The Stockton Kings have since released Chance Comanche, having played as recently as last Tuesday against the Salt Lake City Stars, where he scored 22 points. The 6-foot-10 center went undrafted out of the University of Arizona in 2017 and made just a single appearance for the Portland Trailblazers on April 9. His next court date is Wednesday.
See social media’s shocked reactions to the alleged murder plot below.
