Trial of man charged in death of dancer is delayed

By Conor Shine

Monday, Nov. 21, 2011 | 1:06 p.m.

The trial set to begin next week for the man charged in the death of Luxor dancer Debora Flores Narvaez has been delayed to give defense attorneys more time to gather evidence.

Jason Griffith, 32, appeared today before Judge Donald Mosely in District Court in Clark County for a calendar call in advance of his jury trial that was scheduled to start Nov. 28.

Griffith is charged with murder in the strangulation and dismemberment of Flores Narvaez, his ex-girlfriend, in December.

Griffith’s attorney, Abel Yanez, asked the judge for more time to prepare for trial, noting that there is evidence on a computer hard drive the defense is trying to locate.

“At this point we’re not ready to proceed at trial,” Yanez said.

A hearing was set for Dec. 19 to possibly set a new trial date.

Griffith is being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center. He was a performer in “Love” at the Mirage.

Flores Narvaez was reported missing Dec. 12 after she didn’t attend a practice for the “Fantasy” show at Luxor, where she worked part-time.

The search for the woman received national attention before her body was found Jan. 7 encased in concrete at a downtown residence, police have said.

Police say Griffith’s roommate, Louis Colombo, told them Griffith killed Flores Narvaez and that he helped Griffith try to dispose of the body.

The Clark County Coroner’s Office ruled that Flores Narvaez’s death was the result of asphyxiation due to neck compression.

Colombo, who has not been arrested, told police the two of them first encased the body in concrete in a large plastic tub. Colombo told police they tried to store it at a friend’s apartment, but the friend refused when she was told that Florez Narvaez was in the tub.

Colombo told police he and Griffith then decided to break the body out of the large plastic tub and dismember it so it would fit into two smaller plastic tubs. They filled the two tubs with concrete and stored them in an apartment near Bonanza Drive and Las Vegas Boulevard, according to the police report.

Police learned the location of the body after the woman came to them and then they questioned Colombo, who gave them the location, the police report said.

At an evidentiary hearing this month, Mosley ruled that statements Griffith made while in a police car on the way to jail can be used during the trial.

According to the arrest report, Griffith told a detective that Flores Narvaez’s death was not a “premeditated thing,” but that it happened in the “heat of the moment.”