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Authorities have charged Jason Griffith in the death of dancer Debora Flores Narvaez.
Published Monday, Jan. 10, 2011 | 12:07 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2011 | 3:13 p.m.
Related Document (.pdf)
Celeste Flores Narvaez on sister's death
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KSNV coverage of death of Luxor dancer Deborah Flores-Narvaez, Jan. 10, 2011. Interview with Celeste Flores Narvaez.
Jackie Valley Discusses Debora Flores Narvaez's Death
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LasVegasSun.com reporter Jackie Valley discusses the death of Luxor "Fantasy" dancer Debora Flores Narvaez on CNN's "Nancy Grace" program.
Police news conference
Sun Coverage
- Police: Body of ‘Fantasy’ dancer found, ex-boyfriend booked on murder charge (1-8-2011)
- Family launches website to help find missing Luxor dancer (12-30-2010)
- Police considering ‘foul play’ in search for missing Las Vegas dancer (12-21-2010)
- Arrest report: Missing 'Fantasy' dancer victim of past violence (12-20-2010)
- Dancer in Luxor’s ‘Fantasy’ show missing since Sunday (12-16-2010)
Debora Flores Narvaez, the missing Luxor dancer whose body was found Friday dismembered and placed in concrete in plastic tubs, died of asphyxiation due to neck compression, the Clark County Coroner's Office said.
A tip led police to discover her remains Friday in tubs at an apartment near Bonanza Road and Las Vegas Boulevard. Her ex-boyfriend, 32-year-old Jason Griffith, was charged Friday in connection with her murder. The coroner on Tuesday officially ruled the death a homicide.
A memorial service for "Debbie," as she was known by family and friends, is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at St. Viator Catholic Church, 4246 S. Eastern Ave.
"My little sister Debbie didn't deserve such an unimaginable outcome. She had such a beautiful & passionate soul," her sister, Celeste, wrote on a Facebook page dedicated to the search. The family plans to bury her in Puerto Rico, where she was born.
New details emerged Monday in the murder of Flores Narvaez with the release of a police report for Griffith.
According to the report, Griffith and Flores Narvaez became involved in a domestic dispute at his North Las Vegas residence. The couple, according to police, had a violent relationship with three previous reports of domestic violence being filed with the department. In one of the three events, Griffith was listed as the victim; in the two others, Flores-Narvaez was the victim.
An acquaintance of Griffith contacted police Friday to report he tried to leave Flores Narvaez's body, which was in concrete in a plastic tub, at her residence Dec. 15. Griffith and his roommate, Louis Colombo, left the woman's residence when she "freaked out" after being told Flores Narvaez's body was in the tub, according to the report.
The woman told police she hesitated to alert authorities because she didn't want to believe Flores Narvaez was dead and she was afraid of Colombo.
Detectives questioned Colombo on Friday about Flores Narvaez's disappearance and he gave the following version of events, according to the police report:
Flores Narvaez came to the residence he shared with Griffith the night she disappeared and got into a violent altercation with Griffith. At one point, Colombo said he "had to pull Griffith off of Flores Narvaez because he was choking her with his hands around her neck," according to the police report.
When Colombo returned to the house on Russian Olive Street in North Las Vegas later that night, Griffith confronted him at the front door and led him to Flores Narvaez's dead body in another room.
The two then mixed concrete and poured it over Flores Narvaez's body in a plastic tub. The next day, they rented a U-Haul truck and tried to store it at an apartment belonging to Griffith's friend in Henderson.
When that didn't work, they eventually decided to leave the tub at the house of Colombo's friends, who were out of the country.
After the tub started leaking at its new location, Colombo told police Griffith returned with new plastic tubs, a sledge hammer, a handsaw and cleaning supplies from Walmart. The two broke Flores Narvaez out of the concrete, and Griffith allegedly dismembered her body before placing it in two separate tubs and filling them with concrete.
Before leaving the residence, they sealed the closet doors and the tools in another room.
After interviewing Colombo, police executed a search warrant at the apartment on Bonanza Way, where they found the plastic tubs as described by Colombo, according to the police report.
Police met Griffith at the Mirage Resort and Casino as he left work late Friday night. Griffith denied any involvement in the death of Flores Narvaez when questioned by police that night and into Saturday morning.
When police arrested him after the interview, Griffith allegedly told a detective en route to the Clark County Detention Center that Flores Narvaez's death was "not a premeditated thing."
Police said Saturday that more arrests are possible in the case, but Colombo has not been arrested so far, according to inmate records at the Clark County Detention Center.
Flores Narvaez’s sister, Celeste Flores Narvaez, told KSNV Channel 3 on Monday that she hopes Griffith is handed the death penalty.
"I don't understand how someone could have such a demonic mind to thought your plan out and do this to my sister," she said.
Flores Narvaez, a part-time dancer in Luxor's "Fantasy" show and a two-year resident of Las Vegas, was last seen the evening of Dec. 12 leaving her apartment near Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue.
Celeste Flores Narvaez, of Atlanta, told the Sun in December that her sister's roommate contacted their family in Atlanta on Dec. 13 when Flores Narvaez failed to show up for a late-night dance practice and show at the Luxor. Celeste Flores Narvaez has said Griffith told their family she left his home the previous night before the season finale of the television show "Dexter."
"I want to see him face to face. I want to see him dead in his eye," Celeste Flores Narvaez told KSNV on Monday. "I want to know every moment -- every detail."
Griffith is being held in the Clark County Detention Center without bail. He is scheduled to appear before a judge Tuesday morning in North Las Vegas Justice Court.
Griffith worked as a performer in Cirque du Soleil's "The Beatles LOVE" show at the Mirage. Officials from Cirque du Soleil declined to comment Monday about his legal situation.
Some people gravitate to "soap opera" dysfunctional relationships. I think the fact that the dance company didn't offer a reward shows people knew what happened from the get go.
Her #1 claim was that she possessed an abundance of common sense. 3 incidents of domestic violence and she still didn't have enough of this guy. She's dead, which is beyond tragic, but jeez where the hell was all this common sense??
This guy is an animal. Pure animal.
One incident of domestic violence. Done. Out..gone. It's finished.
Terrible. Horrific. Beyond belief what they did to her. Don't know how you can function in your daily life when your mindset is that you could do something like this.
Horrendous. Clearly, this idiot wasn't too bright. Enjoy spending quality time with Keon Parks and Min Chang.
Reading this article sent shivers up my spine. It only confirmed what I blogged when this happened. I wrote that Blu killed Debbie. Now us tax payers are going to foot the bill to house this POS. Let put a hollow point 45 between the eyes, then on to new business. Everyone from the roommate Colombo to the friend who was going to let Blu store items at her apartment should be prosecuted. God I'm so worried that people value right and wrong could stand by and not report a crime. No one could be that afraid of someone, not me and Mr. Smith & Wesson. Let this be a lesson to all you young ladies and some older ones. Why be with a thug wanna be with his pants hanging off his butt when there are men that will treat you like a queen and take care of you.
he just took domestic violence to the next level...
this sick bastard does not deserve to live...the very thing he did to the girl should be done to him as well. then, justice will be served!
another day in the land of the spree
@mred - did you just go with a pseudo 'blame the victim' comment? Whether this young woman gravitated towards 'drama' in a relationship is neither her nor there. Yes, when in a violent/toxic relationship we should all know better, we should all engage in self preservation and get out! But lets not blame the victim....This animal went from beating her to killing her.
My condolences to her family, this must be a horrible ending for them realizing that there is now no hope of this young lady being alive.
Death penalty time for Buckwheat.
karina great post!
So she stayed with him after the first time why? Yes I agree hang Buckwheat
if it were my sister and the cops didn't lock up colombo (the snitch) as well ... our family would definitely take matters into our own hands. no way someone who DISMEMBERS a body should be allowed out of a cage.
She liked bad boys.
isohatethem, I couldn't agree with you more, "the very thing he did to the girl should be done to him as well. then, justice will be served"....heck I'll even pay for the concrete, sledge hammer and plastic tubs!
A Bad boy or a little bit of a roughneck is one thing, this guy is something completely different. Unfortunately she either didn't know the difference or didn't care. Too bad. With her looks she could have been having her pick of the litter rolling with any nicer, educated, gainfully employed, not to mention better looking gentlemen.
Tuesday - Appear before judge
Wednesday - Select a Jury
Thursday - Trial
Friday - Firing squad
Case Closed = minimal cost to taxpayers!!
Who's with me on this one?
and Colombo's not in jail because.....
sick freak, enjoy the boys in the pen.
Instead of cutting the budget for Education in this state how about cleaning out the prison system and death row. Fast track the executions and shorten non-violent terms.
Instead of wasting money on criminals with no life invest it with our children so they can have a life!!!
What a world, everyday is a horror movie!
Ladies let this be a reminder to you that you are the only person who should make the decisions in your life not some guy who's 'body is to die for' because you just might be right!
"Some people gravitate to "soap opera" dysfunctional relationships. I think the fact that the dance company didn't offer a reward shows people knew what happened from the get go."
mr.red--You're a total idiot.
A few of you are missing the point here and all you do is say stupid stupid stuff on the dept of the article or the "why" from the idiot that killed her..
The fact is there is a poor woman who's family and friends have lost a daughter and friend, by means of a murderer, who abused her during their relationship, then killed her by what ever means. Not only did he kill her, but then dismembered her body, put it in tubs and filled them with cement.
WHAT PART OF THIS DON'T YOU GET, that its horrible to die by any means, but in this case, this guy should never get out of prison - EVER along with anyone in connection with the killing including Columbo or anyone else.
Keep your idiotic comments to yourself if you have nothing good to say for this poor woman and her family..
I hope they fry him burnt and blu.
But ya gotta ask yourself why was this girl at his house that night in the first place? She was already away from him and chased after him even though she claimed he beat her. I've met some latina girls with bad bad tempers that I had to run from as they threw stuff at me but I never felt the need to choke one to death.
This is just too horrid for words. All I can say is RIP Debbie. My deepest condolences to her family, and may the monsters who did this to this lovely young woman get what they deserve.
First condolences to her family and friends may God lay his healing hand on your grieving family.
I also don't think that Colombo's hands are as clean as he tells in his statement that he pulled this guy off her and.........
Later returns to be lead to her body in another room, That's the part I am having trouble with I just don't think he left there and her still alive I think he left there to get cement while the other watch out, I just don't believe he tried to save her life. What he should have done if his hands were clean was to say he was going after cement and tubs as a ruse and then called police because if he wasn't involved with her death then he would not have been held accountable for her death.
This statement is a ostensible one.
"An acquaintance of Griffith contacted police Friday to report he tried to leave Flores-Narvaez's body, which was cemented in a plastic tub, at her residence Dec. 15. Griffith and his roommate, Louis Colombo, left the woman's residence when she "freaked out" after being told Flores-Narvaez's body was in the tub, according to the report."
This paragraph is incomprehensible.
The first time she was mistreated she should have left... no doubt about that but, so many don't listen. Ahhhhh love. Another needless waste of a precious life. Well, continue to sleep with a dog and sooner or later... fleas. Too bad they can't just drag him out into the desert and shoot him.
"An acquaintance of Griffith contacted police Friday to report he tried to leave Flores-Narvaez's body, which was cemented in a plastic tub, at her residence Dec. 15."
Wow...nice use of pronouns. I had to read the sentence three times to figure out who the hes and shes were!
But on another note - why would anyone put a body in a plastic tub and fill it with cement? I can't even imagine how much that must have weighed. And then to be carting it all over town. Didn't anyone notice these two lugging around a four hundred pound Rubbermaid container? I suppose there's nothing suspicious about taking bags of cement into an apartment either? With all the mileage this corpse got I can't imagine they wouldn't have just cemented her into a hole in the desert to begin with. But be that as it may, why in the world do these women continue to see these losers? How many times to you have to call the police or get threatened by your mate before you call it quits?
I also like how someone shows up at your house and says they'd like to stash a body in your closet and you don't call the police. Such quality people we have here in grand ol' Vegas. If the woman had called the minute they left the police could have bagged both of them with the evidence and she wouldn't have to worry about either one of them ever again.
mred is blaming the gal for picking a black guy for a boyfriend.
MRED is a racist and a creep.
Justice would be to put this guy in a burlap bag, tie the top and keep hitting it with bat until the bag stopped moving. (This is how animals are sometimes treated).
I wonder if we should blame Sarah Palin, the Tea Party and right wing radio for his actions
I'm with you Denver21,...only I believe we could get it all handled on Wednesday,...this week before noon.
Our Stephen King novel, LostVegas, is getting to the scary parts... what the hell is next???
They need to strap this guy in a strait jacket and drop him on his head in wet concrete from a helicopter!
I completely agree with Denver21, and i also think that we need to remember who the other victims are in all of this. The ladies child and her family. A prayer goes out to them, now that said.
Retiredyoungster very well said. and MRED if you don't have anything intelligent to add please stop wasting our time.
And the roommate should fry just as much as the boyfriend and a fitting punishment for both of them should to be locked in a room handcuffed to a chair let the family have thirty minutes with them, or maybe we should do to them what they did to this young lady except do it while they are alive.
This story is just chilling beyond words.
For the life of me, I can't understand why Colombo wasn't arrested on the spot as an accessory after-the-fact. Nor can I understand why the woman referenced in this story waited as long as she did before contacting the police.
Again, just chilling.
Wow, this is pretty gruesome. To first place her body in a tub and cement it, then to go back and break it out because it was leaking, dismember it and then cast it back in concrete...again? Man, I just don't know how someone could do that!?
And yes, why is Columbo not arrested, considering he helped the 2nd time around with dismembering and casting the body the 2nd time? What? Is he not an accomplice? What?!
I think there should be a two tier execution process in Nevada. Normal and "fast track" (executed in less than 5 years after conviction). If "Blu" is found guilty as charged, then perhaps he should be considered for "fast track" based on the following circumstances:
1. Murder of a pregnant woman.
2. Disrespect for human life.
3. Obstruction of justice.
4. Previous violent and anti-social behavior.
It is very hard for me to believe that the individuals involved did not come forward sooner. If the information we've been given is correct, then they should all face criminal charges, e.g. conspiracy, obstruction of justice.
This is truly a chilling crime. I too am astonished at the lack of conscience by all involved. It is additionally astonishing to see the level of effort involved in attempting to conceal the murder. Why the roommate Columbo has not been charged is a great question. There must be some reason because I know the police are not daft. I'm sure he will be in custody soon as well. My condolences to the family of this victim. There are some really depraved people in this town and world. These last few months seem to have had back to back gruesome crimes with some primitive and evil people. Lock them all away even though that is merciful. I can't make an argument that any of them deserve mercy though.
He must have been high to twice put her in concrete in plastic tubs. Or was he just that dumb and desperate? I know he is a p.o.s. abuser, but what else do we know about him? Anyone?
Let's chop him up alive and feed the creep to the fish at Lake Mead!
The key here is to avoid being in relationships with bad people.
totelli, that's a great idea.....put a wood chipper on a barge, take it out in the lake and make a little chum out of blu and columbo, after all, the fish need to be fed and it would be over in seconds at very little expense
This is a really bad thing...but dear sweet women out there, what does it take to show you and convince you that there are some really twisted people out there. The first clue is when a man touches you out of hate and not love. That should be the only clue you need. Leave and don't look back! Sorry for her and her family. God Bless.
Limit the Legal Defense funds to $5,000. Present the evidence and let the jury or judge decide. No reason for appeals.
Too much focus is being placed on the perpetrators' handling of the body after death occurred. I'm sure there were a series of additional crimes committed against or in relation to the corpse, but the primary crime is the homicide itself. Let's consider that for a moment.
What events led the victim to show up at the apartment? Was she lured there?
What events led the perpetrator to attack the victim? Was he attacked first and responded in kind? Did he intentionally kill the victim with premeditation?
Until the facts come out, we really don't know if the homicide was murder, manslaughter, or self-defense.
Let's lower the noise a bit, and recognize that many people are suffering right now.
He is ugly too I swear.wtf
Funny how everyone always makes comments about how Vegas is so terrible. Crime and murder happen everywhere in every city in every state in every country everywhere! My condolences go out to her sister and family.
If police would have kept on the boyfriend and followed him they would have solved this case alot sooner. The evil in this world does not surprise me I just pray this famiy is able to recover from the horrible way she had to die. Death penalty? I say let the family take him to Cuba and do him in.
No matter what she did not deserve to die like that you evil Bastards.
I'm shocked and horrified if the DA does not press charges on the roommate also.There should be no deals,did he help saw the legs off.What kind of scum would help him do this a friend..I think everyone needs to call the DA's office,who would want a person like this roaming around in our society.If someone asked me to do something like this I would say hold on walk out the door and call the police,end of story.
The guy didn't come forward they had to find him,he knew what he did was wrong.GUILTY
Mr. Gillespie, a member of metro, care to explain the last few graphs of page 2 and the leading graphs of page 3 of the official report? seems that someone was asleep. why is that?
I missed this whole story the last few days since I haven't been online.
So please refresh my memory: This Griffith dude - was he not the one Metro said is NOT a person of interest at the beginning of this investigation? When ALL of us here fingered this ass as the one who killed her from day one???
Amazing
And yes - the roommate is an accessory to a murder and should be sitting at the CCDC. And so should the person who "freaked" at knowing there was a body in cement in those Rubbermaid tubs! She should be arrested for obstruction of justice.
What was Blu thinking?
I wonder why this case gets this amount of coverage and the baby in the stroller killed with an ax doesn't?
Metro did a good job on this case by keeping their mouth shut for the most part and following up on leads in a professional fashion.
In the City of Evil a lot of people are blaming the victim for her death. In this Godless land, it was one of the deadliest pre-Christmas seasons on record.
mred...that was last YEAR (Feb. 2010). And as I remember correctly AND can SEE online, there is STILL TONS of news reports and articles!!
family found out about how she was killed on the internet ???? WTF
Another upstanding citizen....
I Totally Agree, I'll bet that Columbo is as Guilty as Jason Griffith, I'll bet theres more we don't know too ! I've seen photos posted on another web site thats adult orientated her with 2 guys, and I wonder if they murdered her because she wouldn't play so to speak, and tempers flared ! I find this whole thing absolutely horrible , Disgusting, and extremely sadd, that this happened to this Beautiful Young Aspiring Woman, for no other reason than Sheer Stupidity, and Outright Ignorance ! What really ticks me off, to no end, is the others that were even slightly involved or at least to the point of knowing the details, and did absolutely nothing for days and weeks, knowing, even having the slightest clue, while her Sister was in Vegas looking/searching for her sister, she was on the news, crying and begging, and yet they sat on their butts for days / weeks and did nothing ,, thats just wrong, wrong I tell Ya,, because 1 person was afraid of this Columbo Moron,, I'd like to meet this Columbo idiot, remind him of Tony "Ant" Spiltoro, back in my day, I'm quite sure that Tony would have him dealt with as usual !!! JetRanger/ Kansas City !!