Friday, Oct. 17, 1997 | 10:02 a.m.
An Oakland, Calif., man suspected of killing a 16-year-old prostitute in a Luxor hotel room has been arrested and charged with murder and sexual assault, Metro Police said.
Michael Hathaway, 30, was arrested about noon Wednesday by San Leandro Police. He was charged with the teenager's murder Thursday after an arrest warrant was issued, homicide Lt. Wayne Petersen said.
Sara Gruber, 16, was found dead by a maid at the Luxor shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday, police said. Also found in the room were her purse and an Arizona driver's license out of Phoenix, Petersen said. It was later learned that the ID, under the name Alana Alvarado and the age 21, was fake, Petersen said.
"It had her picture on it and it appeared to be a valid Arizona ID," he said.
The teen was originally from Mountain View, Calif., a coroner's office spokeswoman said.
Gruber was arrested several times from August to Sept. 26 in Las Vegas on prostitution-related charges, Petersen said. She was booked under the name Alana Alvarado.
The hotel room was registered to Hathaway, who checked into the Luxor on Oct. 12. Detectives originally believed Hathaway was still in the Las Vegas area because he had not used his return airline ticket to Oakland. Investigators found the airline ticket in Hathaway's hotel room, Petersen said.
An autopsy determined that Gruber died from asphyxiation by strangulation.
Hathaway allegedly met Gruber in a bar at the Luxor, and the two later went up to his room, police said.
Hathaway was originally booked into the San Leandro City Jail but moved Thursday to the Santa Rita County Jail, a police spokesman said today. Hathaway put up no resistance when police arrested him, Petersen said. He was charged with murder, robbery, sexual assault, attempted sexual assault and unlawful penetration of a dead body.
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