- Both parties pleaded not guilty last week to kidnapping and murder
- Comanche was dropped by the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G-League affiliate
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Ex-NBA G League player Chance Comanche and his ex-girlfriend will be tried together before a judge and jury in March next year after allegedly being behind the murder of a woman whose body was found in Nevada in December.
Comanche — a 27-year-old Los Angeles resident who last played for the Stockton Kings before his arrest in Sacramento, California, three months ago — appeared before a judge in Clark County, Nevada, on Wednesday after pleading not guilty on According to reports, murder and kidnapping charges were filed last week.
ESPN noted that the 6-foot-2 former Arizona power forward, who can also play the center position, “will not face the possibility of the death penalty if found guilty at trial.”
Comanche’s former girlfriend – Sakari Harnden – who is charged with murder and kidnapping in connection with the death of the same woman, 23-year-old Marayna Rodgers, of Lynnwood, Washington – also pleaded not guilty.
Las Vegas police said Rodgers, a medical assistant, was choked to death on December 6. Her remains were later found in a roadside ditch in the suburb of Henderson.
Chance Comanche played for the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G-League club, through December.
Comanche’s 19-year-old ex-girlfriend Sakari Harnden is also charged with kidnapping and murder
An autopsy ruled that Marayna Rodger’s death was caused by asphyxia due to strangulation
Rodgers’ body was found under a rocky makeshift grave near a roadside ditch in Henderson
Rodgers, a 23-year-old medical assistant from Lynnwood, WA, was fatally shot on December 6.
Autopsy results obtained by multiple media outlets, including ESPN, ruled Rodgers’ death a homicide caused by asphyxia due to strangulation.
Comanche was dropped after his arrest by the Stockton Kings, the G League affiliate of the Sacramento Kings.
He scored 16 points and six rebounds when the team played the G League Henderson Ignite on December 5, just a day before Rodgers was killed.
Comanche once played in an NBA game for the Portland Trail Blazers on April 9 last year. He scored seven points in 21 minutes.
Based on information obtained by the Las Vegas Police Department, detectives were able to recover the remains, which were subsequently identified as Rodgers by the Clark County Coroner.