The vibrant lights of Las Vegas dimmed a little on the tragedy that unfolded at the Palms Casino Resort. The name of the woman brutally attacked on June 12, within the hollow walls of her hotel room, was revealed to be Larissa Garcia, an escort known as “Andrea” or “Dallas” to her clientele. A heartrending narrative is beginning to coalesce around a single, unexpected act of violence, which has transformed the victim into a murder subject under investigation by the Las Vegas police.
The Palms Casino, where the narrative spun into a deadly climax, is an opulent structure tucked within the energetic heart of Sin City. Established in 2001 by the Maloof family and presently under the ownership of the Manuel Band of Mission Indians, it is a luxurious oasis that narrates stories of celebration. Though today, it speaks of a grim tale.
Garcia, whose life was cruelly cut short, was not just an escort. She was a mother, a beacon for two young lives, tactfully juggling the responsibilities of adulthood while striving for a better life through academics. A call to 911 tragically ended the quietly heroic story weaved in her life when Jason Kendall, 35, raised an alarm about her overdosing.
The Palms security team, initial responders to the scene, discovered a grim picture: Garcia sprawled on the hard hotel room floor, a distressing, bloody gash marking her jaw. Physicians at the Spring Valley Hospital, however, punctured Kendall’s narcotics narrative when no traces of alcohol or drugs were found in Garcia. The suspicion of a far darker occurrence – suffocation – emerged in place of an overdose claim.
Kendall, an Army veteran with an undisclosed service history, plunged deeper into the darkness when he confessed having paid Garcia $2000, only to later strangle and brutalize her. He justified his deplorable actions stating that her plea for more money had triggered something in him, something that led to a vicious assault lasting ten agonizing minutes.
The fallout of these actions occurred a little over a week later on June 21, when Garcia tragically succumbed to her injuries at the Spring Valley Hospital. The assault had become a homicide, the repercussions of which saw Kendall surrendering to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police.
Now facing charges of open murder, sexual assault, and battery by strangulation to commit sexual assault, Kendall is confined behind bars, denied the comfort of bail. As he awaits his next appearance in Court on Tuesday, a cold reminder of his heinous actions haunts the bustling heart of Vegas, forever marring the legacy of the Palms Casino Resort.
