Man accused of killing woman anonymously reported fake overdose, then Las Vegas police found him through his reservation
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The man accused of strangling a woman in a Las Vegas hotel room leading to her death, anonymously called security saying she had overdosed — police later learned that was a lie and tracked him down through his hotel reservation.
Jason Kendall, 35, allegedly confessed to choking Larissa Garcia, 30, inside the Palms Casino Resort on June 12, the 8 News Now Investigators first reported. Garcia was a single mother, a daughter, a granddaughter and friend to many, friends said.
Kendall turned himself in to police on June 28, the 8 News Now Investigators first reported. He faces charges of open murder, sexual assault and battery by strangulation to commit sexual assault, documents said.
Kendall “confessed to a strangulation and sexual assault,” police said, adding Kendall told them he paid Garcia to have sex. Video surveillance from the Palms shows Kendall meeting Garcia in the lobby around 4 p.m., documents said. 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.
An anonymous person, whom police later identified as Kendall, called hotel security to report Garcia overdosing in the room, documents said. Suspecting an overdose, Metro police did not respond but paramedics brought Garcia to Spring Valley Hospital. Garcia also texted a person she was meeting a man named “J” at the hotel, documents said.
At the hospital, doctors determined there were no alcohol or drugs in Garcia’s blood and that an overdose was not possible. Doctors then suspected Garcia was the victim of a battery, documents said.
In a 911 call the 8 News Now Investigators obtained Wednesday, a nurse tells a dispatcher Garcia did not overdose but appears to be the victim of a battery.
“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.
Police later learned the hotel room was assigned to Kendall, documents said. Police later met Kendall at a different hotel where he requested an attorney and declined to provide information. However, police noted Kendall had an injury to his back and shoulder.
Garcia died at the hospital after a doctor declared her brain dead.
On June 18, six days after the incident at the Palms, a nurse who specializes in sexual assault examinations noted Garcia had been strangled and “possibly suffocated,” documents said.
“At just 30 years old, she was taken from us unexpectedly, leaving a void that can never be filled,” a friend wrote about Garcia on a GoFundMe page for Garcia’s mother and children. “She was 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.”
As of Wednesday, the GoFundMe had raised nearly all of its $15,000 goal.
Police documents indicate Kendall, who sources said is an U.S. Army veteran, called security anonymously and reported the fake overdose. Another report said Kendall called 911 and identified himself, however, that information was not corroborated. Metro police did not have a recorded call from Kendall when the 8 News Now Investigators filed a records request for any 911 call connected to the case.
In court Tuesday, Kendall’s attorney told Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Amy Chelini that he would request she set bail in writing. Kendall will remain in custody for at least a month until a hearing on Aug. 6. He declined the 8 News Now Investigators’ interview request from jail.
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