LAS VEGAS Prosecutors filed murder and other charges against a Las Vegas dancer accused of strangling his former girlfriend, sawing off her legs and covering her body with concrete, according to a criminal complaint released Tuesday.
Jason Griffith, 32, is due in court Wednesday for an arraignment and probable cause hearing on charges of murder, battery domestic violence and destroying evidence in the strangulation of 31-year-old Debora Flores Narvaez.
A coroner's report found that Flores Narvaez, a burlesque dancer, was asphyxiated before she was encased in the concrete. Her death was ruled a homicide, Clark County Assistant Coroner John Fudenberg said.
Griffith did not speak as he appeared briefly Tuesday by video monitor in North Las Vegas Justice Court, where a judge ordered him held without bail.
Flores Narvaez's dismembered body was found early Saturday in two plastic tubs in a downtown Las Vegas home after she was reported missing on Dec. 14. Police said Griffith sawed off her legs and stored them in plastic bags before storing her body in the containers.
Griffith was arrested Saturday as he was leaving his job at the Cirque du Soleil show "Love" at the Mirage hotel and casino. Griffith had performed in the "Love" show since April 2008.
He told police he killed Flores Narvaez during an argument in "a heat of the moment thing," according to an arrest report.
Flores Narvaez danced in the burlesque show "Fantasy" at the Luxor hotel and casino.
Her family planned a memorial service Thursday night in Las Vegas.
The coroner's report said the family wanted her name published as Flores Narvaez, but the dancer spelled her name Deborah Flores-Narvaez on several personal websites verified by her only sister.
Police records showed Flores Narvaez and Griffith had been dating for about a year when police responded to a domestic violence call involving the couple on Oct. 22.
She told police she was pregnant with Griffith's child when he stole her phone, pushed her to the ground, kicked her and yanked out her hair. Griffith denied hitting her.
Flores Narvaez told her roommate she was going to watch "Dexter," a television show about a serial killer, with Griffith on Dec. 12. Police said Griffith killed her that night in his home.
Flores Narvaez moved to Las Vegas two years ago to chase her dreams of becoming a professional dancer. She previously lived in Maryland, where she was an ambassador for the Washington Redskins.
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