A Las Vegas prostitute was murdered during a $2,000 hotel sex session with an Army Veteran client after he ‘snapped’ and strangled her, cops say.
Larissa Garcia, a 30 year-old mother, was killed at the Palms Resort on June 12, with suspect Jason Kendall, 35, turning himself into cops June 28.
A police report seen by 8NewsNow detailed Kendall’s alleged motive for the horrific attack.
‘Jason said Larissa requested additional payment and he ‘snapped,” documents said. ‘He hit her in the face and ‘choked’ her for ‘ten minutes’ and ‘then had sex with her.’ After having sex with Larissa, Jason wrote he ‘drug her away from the door and left.’ He told cops that after leaving the hotel he called 911 to report an overdose.
A man has turned himself in and allegedly confessed to fatally strangling a Las Vegas prostitute during a session he paid $2,000 for
Jason Kendall (pictured), 35, surrendered him to the police on June 28 and confessed to the murder of Larissa Garcia, 30, according to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police
Kendall allegedly confessed to choking Garcia on June 12. He is now being held in custody without bail, and faces charges of open murder, sexual assault, and battery.
An anonymous caller, who has not been identified as Kendall, called 911 and reported an overdose inside a hotel room.
Security responded to the call and found Garcia on the floor with a cut on her jaw.
First responders were under the impression Garcia was overdosing, so Metro police were not initially called to the scene.
On June 12, Kendall called 911 to report of an overdose inside a hotel room at the Palms Casino Resort (pictured), per police documents
Paramedics brought Garcia to Spring Valley Hospital. Doctors did not detect alcohol or drugs in her blood, immediately weeding out overdose as a possible cause of death.
Instead, doctors suspected Garcia was a victim of battery based on her sustained injuries.
‘Upon further inspection… it looks like she was assaulted,’ the nurse told the dispatcher about 15 minutes after Garcia arrived at the hospital. ‘We thought it was an overdose, but she is not responding to Narcan or any of those drugs.’
‘Do we have any suspect information at all?’ the dispatcher asked the nurse.
‘No, no one was there, and like I said, it was an unknown caller, an anonymous caller,’ the nurse said.
Garcia was declared brain dead and died at the hospital one week after the incident at the Palms.
Garcia’s mother, Kristie Pike (left) posted a photo of her and Garcia (right) when she was just a baby as well as another picture of Garcia as a toddler. The comments were flooded with words of love and support, calling Garcia an angel.
Police found out that the room reservation was placed by Kendall. They then met the suspect at a different hotel, where he declined to provide information without the presence of an attorney.
Six days after the initial incident at the Palms, a nurse specializing in sexual assault trauma reported that Garcia had been strangled and ‘possibly suffocated.’
Surveillance footage from the Palms shows Kendall meeting Garcia in the lobby around 4 p.m. An hour later, Kendall is seen leaving the hotel alone.
Detectives later located messages between Kendall and Garcia and a web history of Kendall viewing Garcia’s escort advertisement, documents said.
Garcia was a single mother of two, her friends told 8News. In a GoFundMe organized by her friends, she is described as ‘a bright light in all of our lives, full of love and laughter.’
‘We want to make sure that Larissa has the beautiful and dignified farewell she deserves. One that reflects the love and joy she brought to the world,’ the description read.
Surveillance footage from the Palms shows Kendall meeting Garcia in the lobby around 4 p.m. An hour later, Kendall is seen leaving the hotel alone
Six days after the initial incident at the Palms, a nurse specializing in sexual assault trauma reported that Garcia had been strangled and ‘possibly suffocated’
Garcia has been remembered by family and friends who say she was a warm, caring woman
The murdered sex worker’s death has shaken Sin City, which has long had a reputation as a lucrative destination for prostitutes to ply their trade
Garcia is pictured with a friend. Social media has been flooded with tributes to the murdered mother-of-two
Kendall is an Army veteran, source close to 8NewsNow said.
The suspect made his first court appearance Saturday afternoon.
He was ordered to be held without bail until his next court appearance, which was scheduled for Tuesday.
Garcia’s mother, Kristie Pike, posted a photo of her and Garcia when she was just a baby as well as another picture of Garcia as a toddler. The comments were flooded with words of love and support, calling Garcia an angel.
