Coroner's Report Shows Las Vegas Dancer Strangled

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 Debora Flores Narvaez, 31, also was ruled a homicide, Clark County Assistant Coroner John Fudenberg said.

Flores Narvaez's body was found early Saturday in two plastic tubs filled with concrete 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, was arrested Saturday as he was leaving his job at the Cirque du Soleil show "Love" at the Mirage hotel and casino. Griffith was also a dancer and had performed in the "Love" show since April 2008.

He did not speak as he appeared briefly Tuesday by video monitor in North Las Vegas Justice Court, where a judge ordered him held without bail, the Las Vegas Sun reported.

Griffith is due in court Wednesday for a probable cause hearing. He told police he killed Flores Narvaez during an argument in "a heat of the moment thing," according to an arrest report.

Flores Narvaez danced in the burlesque show "Fantasy" at the Luxor hotel and casino.

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

The coroner's report said the family wanted her name published as Flores Narvaez, but the dancer spelled her name Deborah Flores-Narvaez on several personal websites verified by her only sister.

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.

Flores Narvaez told her roommate she was going to watch "Dexter," a television show about a serial killer, with Griffith on Dec. 12. Police said Griffith killed her that night in his home.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)