Nearly three months after Larissa Garcia’s murder, her friends and colleagues are still calling for justice and drawing attention to the crisis of violence against sex workers.
Garcia, an alleged sex worker, was fatally strangled by her client, Jason Kendall. According to police records, “Jason said Larissa requested additional payment and he ‘snapped.’” He reportedly struck her in the face, choked her for 10 minutes and then assaulted her. Garcia was found unconscious in a room at the Palms Casino Resort and died days later.
Ivy Love, a UNLV student and board member of the Red Umbrella Collective, described Garcia as a passionate advocate for sex worker, queer and human rights. “She was a student at UNLV, working on her master’s degree, and she had two young kids,” Love said.
The Red Umbrella Collective, a mutual aid network for sex workers in Las Vegas, mobilized the public to attend court hearings for Garcia and organized a press conference and memorial in her honor. Members are demanding that her murder not be dismissed or overlooked because of her profession.
According to Love, processing Garcia’s death has been extremely difficult. “Larissa was a sex worker, but she was so much more. She had incredible compassion that made everyone who knew her light up when talking about her,” Love said, smiling wistfully at the memory. “She was someone you instantly connected with, and her life experiences made her uniquely wise.”
Dawn Brown, who organized a GoFundMe page for Garcia’s mother and children, also expressed a sense of loss. “At just 30 years old, she was taken from us unexpectedly, leaving a void that can never be filled,” Brown wrote. “We want to make sure that Larissa has the beautiful and dignified farewell she deserves.” The Scarlet & Gray Free Press reached out to the GoFundMe organizer for further comment but did not receive a response.
At a hearing on Aug. 21, Jason Kendall was found not competent to stand trial, leading to a pause in further legal proceedings. Frustrated by the lack of progress, Love said, “For me, this underscores the reality that justice delayed is not justice served.”
The larger picture
“There is so much violence against sex workers in Las Vegas. This year alone, I’ve lost five friends,” Love said. “Unfortunately, I’m on the lesser end of it. Some of my friends have attended more than 30 funerals this year.”
A 2014 systematic review found that the lifetime prevalence of physical, sexual, or combined workplace violence against women sex workers ranged from 45% to 75%.
Nevada is the only state in the U.S. where brothels are legal, but they operate under strict limitations, allowed only in counties with fewer than 700,000 residents—effectively making prostitution illegal in major cities like Las Vegas and Reno. Barbara Brents, a UNLV professor and renowned expert in sex industry research, notes that many sex workers opt to work outside of legal brothels due to their restrictive conditions.
Brents notes that Nevada’s brothels are small, limited in number and require workers to surrender 50% of their earnings. Strict rules, which often go unquestioned, leave workers with few alternatives. While brothels are generally successful at preventing violence, working conditions vary significantly. “Although it is more dangerous, underground sex workers have a lot more freedom,” Brents said.
In Nevada, prostitutes also operate as independent contractors, devoid of typical employment benefits such as health insurance, sick leave, or retirement packages. However, they are responsible for covering costs such as licensing fees, work eligibility certifications, medical clearances, and weekly out-of-pocket expenses for STD testing.
Love argues that Nevada’s approach, which legalizes brothels but does not decriminalize sex work, penalizes sex workers who report abuse rather than holding perpetrators accountable. “All we have is our community and our solidarity with one another,” she said.
Brents emphasizes that decriminalization is essential to improve the violent working conditions for sex workers. “The more avenues people have to access assistance from authorities, the better they can protect themselves,” she said.
