Army veteran Jason Kendall says he ‘snapped’ before vicious killing of Vegas sex worker and mom of 2
A US Army veteran allegedly murdered a Las Vegas prostitute after he “snapped” in a fit of rage when she requested more money for her services, according to a report.
Jason Kendall, 35, arrived at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Headquarters Friday and “confessed to a strangulation and sexual assault” of Larissa Garcia in a hotel room at the Palms Casino Resort, 8 News Now reported citing court documents.
Garcia, 30, who used the names “Andrea” and “Dallas” on an online escort service, reportedly met with her alleged murderer in the hotel’s lobby around 4 p.m. on June 12 before heading up to a room.
Kendall told investigators that he paid Garica $2,000 to have sex with him.
However, the sadistic killer allegedly lost it when she “requested additional payment.”
“He ‘snapped,’” the documents stated. “He hit her in the face and ‘choked’ her for ‘ten minutes’ and ‘then had sex with her.’”
After allegedly having sex with an incoherent and severely injured Garcia, Kendall told investigators he pulled the mother of two away from the room door, left the hotel, and “called the police to report an overdose,” according to court documents.
Surveillance cameras captured Kendall leaving the room and hotel alone about an hour after he allegedly strangled and sexually assaulted Garcia, according to the documents.
No one else came to the room or left until help arrived for the badly beaten mother.
Hotel security later found Garcia on the floor with a cut to her jaw that same day.
Las Vegas police did not initially respond to the call, believing it was only an overdose, according to the outlet.
Paramedics rushed Garcia to Spring Valley Hospital, where doctors found no drugs or alcohol in her system — ruling out the possibility that she had overdone.
Doctors suspected the sex worker had been a victim of battery, given the extent of her condition, documents said.
Six days after Garcia was admitted to the hospital, a nurse specializing in sexual assault examination noted the 30-year-old had been strangled and “possibly suffocated,” according to the documents obtained by the outlet.
On June 21 — more than a week after she was brutally assaulted — Garcia was declared brain dead.
The Clark County Coroner’s Office has yet to release any information about Garcia’s death and did not provide a timeline on when an autopsy report would be made available, 8 News Now reported.
Homicide detectives with the Las Vegas Metro Police Department launched their investigation following the young mother’s death, according to a press release.
Police soon discovered that Kendall’s name was on the reservation for the room at the Palms Casino Resort.
Investigators also found messages between Kendall and Garcia, including internet search history, which showed him viewing her online advertisement.
According to court documents, detectives met with Kendall at a different hotel on an unspecified date before he fessed up to the crime, but he declined to provide any information unless he had an attorney present.
Investigators documented that during their meeting, it appeared Kendall had an injury to his back and shoulder.
Kendall was booked on charges of open murder, sexual assault, and battery by strangulation to commit sexual assault after turning himself in on Friday.
He is being held at the Clark County Detention Center without bail after making his first court appearance on Saturday.
His next court appearance was scheduled for Tuesday.
If his “open murder” charge is upgraded to first-degree murder, the alleged killer could face life in prison or the death penalty in Nevada.
Kendall is allegedly an Army veteran, a source revealed to 8 News Now.
The source did not elaborate on his military career.
Garcia was a single mother of “two beautiful children,” according to a GoFundMe page set by her friend to cover funeral expenses.
“At just 30 years old, she was taken from us unexpectedly, leaving a void that can never be filled,” her friend painstakingly wrote.
“She was a bright light in all of our lives, full of love and laughter.”
