Report: Former Arizona, NBA player Chance Comanche admits shocking details in Las Vegas killing

Former University of Arizona and NBA basketball player Chance Comanche has reportedly confessed to posing as a “trick” to lure a woman to her death in Las Vegas.

The shocking new details were revealed in an arrest report obtained by FOX5 in Las Vegas. The television station reported Comanche admitted to his role in the murder of Marayna Rodgers, a 23-year-old Washington woman who was missing for 10 days before her remains were discovered in a desert area in Henderson, Nevada.

Comanche, 27, reportedly told investigators he conspired with Sakari Harnden, 19, in an elaborate plan to murder Rodgers. Comanche is being held without bail at Sacramento County Main Jail while awaiting extradition to Las Vegas, where the Clark County District Attorney’s Office is charging Comanche and Harnden with murder, authorities said. Comanche is scheduled to appear in Sacramento Superior Court at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Comanche was playing for the Stockton Kings, a G League affiliate of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, when the killing occurred. Comanche accompanied the team to Las Vegas for a game against G League Ignite on Dec. 5.  According to the arrest report, Comanche told police he met with Harnden after the game to carry out their plot against Rodgers, who was visiting Las Vegas with friends.

On Dec. 7, Comanche was in the lineup for the Kings in Portland, Oregon, for a game against the Rip City Remix. He'd play two more games for the Kings before his arrest.

Comanche reportedly told investigators he met Harnden on a dating app about a year and a half ago and remained in contact with her after they broke up. He said Harnden was having issues with Rodgers, claiming Rodgers was going to “smoke her” if she did not give her a Rolex watch. Comanche said he and Harnden then devised a plan to lure Rodgers away from her friends so they could kill her.

Comanche said he posed as a “trick” to schedule a meeting with Rodgers “under the direction” of Harnden, according to the arrest report. Comanche reportedly told Rodgers he was into “kinky sex” and wanted to tie both women up in the car.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Harnden reportedly agreed to the encounter, believing she would be paid $1,000, allowing Comanche to zip-tie her hands together. Comanche told police he then strangled Rodgers with an HDMI cord while Harnden choked the victim with her hands.

Comanche and Harnden reportedly dumped Rodgers’ body in a ditch on the side of Vincenzo Lane in Henderson, covering her body with rocks. Investigators located Rodgers’ remains after Comanche pointed out the location of the body on a map, according to the arrest report.

Harnden was arrested in Las Vegas on Wednesday. The FBI apprehended Comanche in Sacramento on Friday, the same day he was released by the Kings.

Comanche starred for Beverly Hills High School before joining the Arizona men’s basketball program as the No. 91 overall prep recruit in the class of 2015. In two seasons in Tucson, he played in 60 games, averaging 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds as a sophomore in 2016-17.

His professional career included stints with multiple G League teams, an MVP campaign in the upstart TBL, as well as a season overseas playing in Turkey. He has seen action in one NBA game in his career, making that debut last season for the Portland Trail Blazers.