An escort has died days after she was sexually assaulted and strangled in a Las Vegas hotel room by a man who claimed that he "snapped" after she demanded additional payment from him.
Knewz.com has learned that the man has confessed to his alleged crimes and turned himself in at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Headquarters.
Police booked 35-year-old Jason Kendall on June 21 on charges of open murder, sexual assault, and battery by strangulation to commit sexual assault.
On June 12, the day of the assault, Kendall contacted the police and informed them that a woman was overdosing inside a hotel room at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
Security personnel from the hotel responded to the situation and found Larissa Garcia, a 30-year-old Las Vegas escort, on the hotel room floor. Hotel security noticed that she had an injury on her jaw.
Although Kendall had informed the police that Garcia had an overdose, doctors found no traces of drugs or alcohol in her blood when she was taken to the hospital.
According to the police documents viewed by the local news outlet 8 News Now, doctors suspected that the Las Vegas escort was a victim of battery when Kendall's overdose claim was debunked.
A nurse specializing in sexual assault examinations subsequently determined that Garcia had been strangled and "possibly suffocated," the documents further mentioned.
Garcia was declared dead at the hospital a few days later, on June 21. On the same day, Kendall reached out to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Headquarters and confessed to a "strangulation and sexual assault."
Kendall revealed to the authorities that he had paid the Las Vegas escort $2,000 to have sex with her.
"Jason [Kendall] said Larissa [Garcia] requested additional payment and he ‘snapped'... 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.’ After leaving the hotel he called the police to report an overdose," the police documents read, via 8 News Now.
It is not clear from the documents whether Kendall was aware of Garcia's death at the time of his confession.
The local news outlet reported that, according to the documents, video surveillance from the Palms Casino Resort showed Kendall and Garcia meeting in the hotel lobby at around 4 p.m. local time on June 12.
"About an hour later, video shows Kendall leaving the room and the hotel alone with no other person coming to the room or leaving until security arrived. Detectives later located messages between Kendall and Garcia and a web history of Kendall viewing Garcia’s escort advertisement," 8 News Now wrote, citing police documents.
Sources told the news outlet that Garcia was a mother of two and was putting herself through school while working as a Las Vegas escort. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to raise money for funerary costs and other expenditures.
"At just 30 years old, she was taken from us unexpectedly, leaving a void that can never be filled. She was a bright light in all of our lives, full of love and laughter," the GoFundMe page read.
"As we grasp this unimaginable loss, Larissa's mother, Kristie, is faced with the unexpected expenses of funeral costs and the planning of a celebration of life that honors Larissa's memory."
"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 fundraiser campaign added.