Marayana Rodgers, 23-Year-Old Medical Assistant, Killed in Vegas After Being Set Up by Pro Ball Player
Marayana Rodgers, 23, was found dead in a desert area of Henderson, Nevada on December 15, 2023. Two people — a sex worker and her former NBA G-League boyfriend — have been arrested in connection to her slaying.
Marayana Rodgers, a 23-year-old medical assistant from Lakewood, Washington, was making good money and would never leave her family or her beloved dogs, family members told local media. But Rodgers had a double life as a prostitute, according to law enforcement, who had to unfurl the secrets of her activities after she was found dead in a remote area of Nevada this past winter.
Rodgers was reported missing on December 6, 2023, shortly after she arrived in Las Vegas and got with a friend.
In early December, Rodgers thought she was going on a double date with a professional basketball player and his girlfriend, 19-year-old Sakari Harnden, who was also a sex worker. Unfortunately for Rodgers, who police said had come to Vegas on December 1, 2023, with another friend with the “intent to engage in prostitution,” she got into it with Harnden.
The two women had a disagreement over a Rolex, according to police. During the confrontation, which took place in the Vegas area, Rodgers threatened to “smoke” Harnden if she didn’t give her the watch.
Three days later on December 4, the women got into another fight in which Harnden allegedly implicated Rodgers’ boyfriend in a double murder in California, which led to his arrest.
According to police, that’s when Harnden involved her boyfriend, 27-year-old Chance Comanche, who was a star athlete who played for the Stockton Kings, the NBA G League affiliate of the Sacramento Kings.
Comanche was in Vegas because the Stockton Kings had a game at the Dollar Loan Center the following night.
Plotting with Harnden, Comanche decided that Rodgers had to go.
Las Vegas police allege that to get rid of Rodgers for good, Harnden and Comanche first tried to hire a hitman for $3,000, but decided to do the deed themselves via some deception: They hatched a twisted charade to set her up.
Rodgers’ last moments were caught on video, showing her gleefully accompanying Harnden into a Las Vegas liquor store. She looks unaware, and happy.
Police said that to lure her, Harnden promised Rodgers a date with a “trick” who wanted to tie both of the girls up for some “kinky sex.”
Moments later, police said that the trio drove to a cul-de-sac and tied Rodgers up, where Harnden allegedly pressed her hands around Rodgers’ neck and Comanche allegedly wrap an HDMI cord around her neck, strangling her to death.
Hours after the murder, security cameras inside a grocery store caught Comanche and Harnden shopping together – wearing the same clothes they had on earlier when Harnden was with Rodgers.
Police said the deadly duo dumped Rodgers’ body, destroyed her cell phone and drove back to the hotel, where Comanche’s team was staying. About 8:50 a.m. the next morning, he would leave with his team to get ready for the game later that day.
After detectives began to get on their trail, Harnden was arrested on Dec. 13 and charged with felony first-degree kidnapping and felony theft, for allegedly stealing a Rolex valued at up to $25,000.
Two days later, Comanche was questioned by law enforcement and confessed, telling officers where the body was dumped. Rodgers’ body was found in a desert area in Henderson, Nevada, on December 15.
A day after his arrest, the Stockton Kings released Comanche.
A press release issued by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said that “charges of both individual will be amended to open murder.”
The couple have been arrested and now face multiple charges, including murder with the use of a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit murder, first-degree kidnapping with the use of a deadly weapon, and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
Prosecutors said that they will bring the case to their Death Penalty Review Committee.