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Chance Comanche, charged with murder, to face judge Tuesday

LAS VEGAS -- A former NBA developmental league player accused with his ex-girlfriend of killing a woman whose body was found last month in southern Nevada is due to face a Las Vegas judge Tuesday following his transfer in custody from a jail in Sacramento, California.

Chance Comanche, 27, who played for the Stockton Kings before his Dec. 15 arrest in Sacramento, arrived Sunday at the Clark County Detention Center and is due for an initial appearance, jail and court records showed.

Comanche allegedly admitted to strangling Marayna Rodgers, 23, to detectives last month, according to a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department affidavit.

Comanche's defense attorney, Gary Guymon, declined comment Monday ahead of the court appearance.

Comanche's former girlfriend, Sakari Harnden, 19, also is jailed in Las Vegas pending a separate preliminary hearing Wednesday on charges related to the disappearance and death of Rodgers, who is from Lynnwood, Washington.

Police in Las Vegas said Rodgers, a medical assistant, was choked to death early Dec. 6. Her remains were later found in a roadside ditch in suburban Henderson.

Comanche, a 6-foot-10 power forward and center, was dropped following his arrest by Stockton, the NBA G League affiliate of the Sacramento Kings. The team had played the G League Ignite in Henderson on Dec. 5.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.