LAS VEGAS (AP) — Prosecutors urged a jury to reject a claim of self-defense and convict a former Las Vegas Strip performer of first-degree murder in the death of his dancer ex-girlfriend almost 3½ years ago.
Jason Omar Griffith’s defense attorney said Tuesday that voluntary manslaughter would be more appropriate in the strangulation death of Deborah Flores Narvaez during an argument at Griffith’s home in December 2010.
The jury adjourned Tuesday evening and will begin deliberating Griffith’s fate Wednesday.
The nine-day trial in Clark County District Court featured lurid testimony about violence between the two performers, his ongoing relationships with several women while she sought exclusivity, and the dismemberment of Flores’ corpse before it was found in tubs of cement.
Griffith testified that Flores stalked, harassed and assaulted him and that he feared she had a gun.