Coroner's report shows Las Vegas dancer strangled

[January 12, 2011]  LAS VEGAS (AP) -- A Las Vegas burlesque dancer found dismembered and encased in concrete was strangled, according to a coroner's report released Tuesday.

The death of Deborah Flores-Narvaez, 31, also was ruled a homicide, Clark County Assistant Coroner John Fudenberg said.

Flores-Narvaez's body was found early Saturday in a downtown Las Vegas home after she was reported missing on Dec. 14.

Police said the dancer's former boyfriend Jason Griffith choked her, chopped off her legs then covered her with concrete.

Griffith, 32, is due in court Wednesday to face a murder charge. He told police he killed Flores-Narvaez during an argument in "a heat of the moment thing," according to an arrest report.

Flores-Narvaez was a dancer in the burlesque show "Fantasy" at the Luxor hotel-casino.

Her family planned a memorial service Thursday night in Las Vegas.

Police records showed Flores-Narvaez and Griffith had been dating for about a year when police responded to a domestic violence call involving the couple on Oct. 22.

She told police she was pregnant with Griffith's child when he stole her phone, pushed her to the ground, kicked her and yanked out her hair. Griffith denied hitting her.

[Associated Press]

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