Performer convicted in Vegas dismemberment slaying

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — A former Las Vegas Strip performer was
found guilty Thursday of second-degree murder for killing and
dismembering his dancer ex-girlfriend in a closely watched case that
offered a lurid glimpse behind the scenes of the Sin City stage
community.
Jason Omar Griffith sat motionless as the verdict was
read in Clark County District Court, but blew a kiss to his mother,
Charlene Davis, as he was handcuffed to be taken to jail.
Defense attorney Abel Yanez characterized Griffith’s reaction as "numb. Not upset, not happy."

The
jury deliberated for about 14 hours over two days after hearing nine
days of testimony about the strangulation death of Deborah Flores
Narvaez during a Dec. 12, 2010, argument at Griffith’s home.
Flores’
sister Celeste Flores Narvaez sobbed into her mother’s shoulder as the
verdict was read. She had said she wanted Griffith to be convicted of
first-degree murder. The family left the courthouse without speaking
with reporters.
Griffith’s defense attorneys said they will
appeal, and Yanez added that his client was not the person the killing
suggested he was.
Prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo said he respected the
verdict and understood it was difficult for jurors to decide guilt in
domestic violence cases.
He also said he expected Griffith to receive the maximum 10 years to life in prison at sentencing July
23.
"You don’t get to dismember a body and not serve life in prison," DiGiacomo said.
Griffith
could also get a definite 10- to 25-year sentence. He could have faced
up to life in prison without parole for first-degree murder.
Deborah
Flores’ disappearance in mid-December 2010 drew intense attention for
almost a month before Griffith’s housemate, Louis Colombo, led police to
her dismembered remains in tubs of concrete in a vacant house.
The trial was a tale of sex, lies, betrayal and violence between two passionate and ambitious Las Vegas
Strip dancers.
Griffith
spent four days testifying that Flores’ death was self-defense. He said
he grabbed her from behind with his arms around her neck when he
thought she was reaching for a purse that may have contained a gun. No
weapon was found. He said he panicked afterward and asked Colombo to
help dispose of the body.
DiGiacomo derided Griffith’s self-defense claim as a fabrication and said he did nothing to resuscitate
Flores.
Griffith,
35, is originally from Brooklyn, New York. He went by the name "Blu" as
a performer in the Cirque du Soleil show "Love," based on Beatles music
at The Mirage resort.
He testified that he juggled girlfriends
and sexual acquaintances before and after he met Flores at a football
halftime show in November 2009.
Flores, who went by Debbie, moved
to Las Vegas from Maryland. She worked her way from go-go club work to a
stage role in the racy "Fantasy" revue at the Luxor.
Evidence
showed that by the time they became intimate in early 2010, Flores
thought their relationship was monogamous. But Griffith was meeting
several women for casual sex and pursuing Agnes Roux, a performer in the
Cirque show "Zumanity" at the New York-New York hotel.
Griffith
testified that his relationship with Flores had movie-style "Fatal
Attraction" characteristics. He said she stalked, threatened, harassed
and assaulted him when he tried to limit their time together, and that
no one took him seriously despite more than a dozen calls to police for
help.
Prosecutor Michelle Fleck said Griffith fanned Flores’ anger
by deceiving her about his sexual relationships, pulling away after
accompanying her to an abortion clinic in May, then resuming their
intimacy about the time of her 31st birthday in early July. The two
continued an off-and-on relationship until her death.
Flores had a
temper, and several of Griffith’s friends and co-workers testified that
she became violent when she was angry — drawing stares and sometimes
security officers during outbursts in public places.
Roux
testified that she broke up with Griffith after learning that he was
sleeping with other Cirque dancers. She said she told Griffith in early
December 2010 they couldn’t be together if he was still seeing Flores.
On
the witness stand, Griffith testified the fatal argument developed
after Flores told him she was pregnant for the second time in about six
months and wanted another abortion. He said it escalated after Flores
demanded he quit seeing Roux and devote his full attention to her.
Flores’
arm hit his face, Griffith said, as she reached past him toward her
purse. Griffith said he grabbed her from behind, fell backward to the
floor and held tightly until she stopped struggling.
Colombo
testified he helped entomb and move the remains. He received immunity
from prosecution before leading police to the tubs of concrete on Jan.
8, 2011.
Griffith was the one who sawed Flores’ legs from her torso, Colombo said. Griffith said it was Colombo.

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