Professional basketball player and girlfriend charged with missing woman’s murder

Marayna Rodgers went missing on a trip to Las Vegas

Marayna Rodgers went missing in Las Vegas on 6 December (Handout via KLAS)

A professional basketball player and his girlfriend have been arrested for the murder of a woman who vanished in Las Vegas.

Marayna Rodgers, a 23-year-old medical assistant, was last seen while visiting Sin City from Washington state with her friends on 6 December.

A week later, Las Vegas police arrested 19-year-old Sakari Harnden on a first-degree kidnapping charge in the Rodgers case.

Two days after her arrest, NBA G League player Chance Comanche, 27, was arrested by an FBI team on Friday in Sacramento, California, under a warrant for the same charge.

The case took a devastating turn on Sunday when the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced that both Ms Harnden and Mr Comanche are accused of Rodgers’ murder.

Investigators say Ms Rodgers and Ms Harnden were friends, and had agreed to meet up in Las Vegas with the latter’s boyfriend, Mr Comanche, on 5 December.

Following the Stockton Kings player’s arrest, investigators discovered Rodgers’ remains in a desert area in Henderson, Nevada.

Sakari Harnden is charged with the murder of Marayna Rodgers (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police)

Officials did not provide any details about the circumstances of Rodgers’ death, but described the case as a “murder plan”.

The Clark County District Attorney’s office will upgrade the charges against both suspects to “open murder”, police said.

Mr Comanche had reportedly played a game with the Kings against the G League Ignite in Henderson - approximately a 20-minute drive from Las Vegas - on 5 December.

Mr Comanche was released by the Stockton Kings team following his arrest. A representative for the team declined to comment, 8NewsNow reported.