LAS VEGAS, NV – A single mother was found dead in a Las Vegas hotel room after an anonymous individual reported a possible overdose. On June 28, police charged a man in connection with the death after he surrendered to authorities and reportedly confessed to her murder.
35-year-old Jason Kendall turned himself into the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, confessing to sexually assaulting and strangling 30-year-old Larissa Garcia, according to an arrest report.
On June 12, local police responded to a call from Spring Valley Hospital where Garcia, the victim of an alleged battery, was in critical condition. She had been discovered incoherent in a hotel room along West Flamingo Road and was declared dead nine days later.
Garcia had been found in the hotel room semi-nude with a cut to her jawline after an anonymous call reporting her overdose. Paramedics transported Garcia to the hospital, where a toxicology screening confirmed that Garcia had no drugs or alcohol in her bloodstream.
Upon investigating the incident, authorities learned that the hotel room Garcia was found in was registered under Kendall’s name, who allegedly planned to meet Garcia, a sex worker, at the hotel.
Hotel surveillance footage showed a meeting between Kendall and Garcia in the hotel’s lobby around 4 p.m. on June 12. Around an hour later, Kendall can be seen exiting the room alone on the video, according to court documents.
While initially requesting an attorney and refusing to make a statement to the police, Kendall later provided a confession on June 28 when he turned himself into the police, as documented in a report quoted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Kendall reportedly admitted to assaulting and fatally choking Garcia in a dispute over payment.
Kendall currently resides in the Clark County Detention Center, facing charges for open murder, sexual assault, and battery by strangulation to commit sexual assault. It is unclear whether he has entered a plea or if he has legal representation.
Friends remember Garcia as a single mother to two children. A GoFundMe page has been set up to assist with Garcia’s funeral expenses, raising over $17,500 as of July 4.