Dancing on Her Grave

PRAISE FOR
DANCING ON HER GRAVE

“Debora Flores-Narvaez, the Las Vegas showgirl, is front and center because Diana Montané always puts the victim first! The high-speed race-against-the-clock search for the truth of Debora’s disappearance and the ultimate frustration in seeking justice is described in painstaking detail. Diana Montané and Carolina Sarassa push the envelope and treat us to another winning exposé.”

—Mark Safarik, former FBI criminal profiler and host of
Killer Instinct

“Diana Montané and Carolina Sarassa have written a unique story about a Las Vegas showgirl’s life and murder. I felt like I was there, playing blackjack on the Strip!”

—Fred Rosen, author of
Lobster Boy

“A Las Vegas showgirl, a violent, heartless killer, and a meticulous police investigation, all set in Sin City and woven into an airtight tale . . . by Diana Montané, the grande dame of TC with numerous great titles in her bibliography, and cowriter and multi-Emmy winner Carolina Sarassa.”

—Steve Jackson,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Bogeyman

“Diana Montané and Carolina Sarassa guide the reader through the sometimes-seedy underbelly of the Las Vegas Strip, a neon backdrop to the town where Debbie Flores-Narvaez met her demise. Montané and Sarassa provide a full account, behind the headlines, of the Flores-Narvaez murder mystery that caught the attention of the national media.
Dancing on Her Grave
is a story that needs to be told. It’s the true tale of a showgirl who relocated to Sin City for a chance to break into show business but found herself hooked up with the wrong people. It’s well worth the read for the historic perspective alone.”

—Cathy Scott, true crime author of
Murder in Beverly Hills
and
The Killing of Tupac
Shakur

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DANCING ON HER GRAVE

A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with the authors

Copyright © 2015 by Carolina Sarassa and Diana Montané.

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eBook ISBN: 978-0-698-19192-1

PUBLISHING HISTORY

Berkley premium edition / April 2015

Cover photo by Ryan McVay/Getty Images.

Cover design by Erin Bolles.

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by Teresa Rodríguez, Emmy Award–winning host of Univision’s
Aquí y Ahora

As an Emmy Award–winning journalist for more than thirty years with Univision, the Spanish-language television network, and its respected news magazine show,
Aquí y Ahora
, I’ve seen my share of horrific crimes and covered more than I’d like to remember. One assignment in particular became a ten-year labor of love and a bestselling book I cowrote with Diana Montané,
The Daughters of Juárez: A True Story of Serial Murder South of the Border
, in which I investigated and exposed how poor young women and girls in the Mexican border town of Juárez were being abducted and murdered, their bodies left to rot in the barren desert that surrounds the city. Despite the hundreds of cases that were never resolved or bodies that were never found, I remember the most difficult aspect of reporting these stories was talking to the families. I spoke to the mothers who kept their daughters’
bedrooms as they’d left them when they disappeared, and who, years later, were still waiting for their daughters to return. Those assignments allowed me to report dozens of human rights violations including political and police corruption. Covering so many crimes in Mexico made me realize how little a life could be worth if one happened to be poor and a female. At this point, I thought there were few crimes that could leave me dumbfounded and shocked. That was until I saw Debora Flores-Narvaez’s story. It was 2010 and the Christmas holidays were around the corner when this beautiful, educated young woman disappeared in Las Vegas. She was at the pinnacle of her career and moments away from starring in her dream role in a very popular show. Perhaps it was the time of year that her story made headlines, or perhaps it was the gruesome facts that emerged shortly thereafter, that haunted me.

Carolina Sarassa, the reporter who filed the story for our show, was no stranger to me. She was a talented, hardworking, inquisitive young woman who’d trained with us before she joined our Las Vegas affiliate. I remember the times she would come into my office and ask me about the stories we were working on and, in particular, about the art of interviewing and the importance of credibility and impartiality.

She was a woman on a mission, and I had no doubt
she was blossoming into an accomplished reporter. To see her investigation on the air made me proud, especially when I found out how persistent she had been in staying in touch with those connected to Debora’s case.

I’ve always been one to believe that there are no coincidences in life, and when Diana Montané, the coauthor of my book, who also happened to be the cowriter of this book with Carolina, approached me to write the foreword, I knew that for some reason, I had to be a part, albeit small, of this story. Fate had once again knocked on my door to write about a Latina whose life ended all too soon and in the cruelest and most barbaric manner possible. This time, however, unlike the dozens of cases documented in my book, justice had been done; there was an accused murderer who would pay for his crime.

Carolina’s dedication not only in pursuing this story until the perpetrator was brought to justice but also in making sure that it didn’t just become another number in a growing log of cold cases was key. By securing interviews with Debora’s family and close friends, she kept the case very much alive. It was her ability to develop a trust with those closest to Debora in life that would unveil the facts behind those closest to her in death.

Like any young woman pursuing her dream away from home, Debora’s story of love and death could unfortunately happen to anyone’s child. This was not a young
lady whose parents were absent in her life; she wasn’t a dropout, an alcoholic, a junkie, or a fanatic. She was a well-educated woman with a caring and nurturing family, and she had left the nest in order to succeed but inadvertently fell prey to a chain of events that no one ever suspected could end so tragically and morbidly.

by Roselyn Sanchez, actress and producer

The story of Debbie Flores-Narvaez needs to be told. It’s very simple: no woman deserves to be killed the way she was. She was a young woman full of life, love, accomplishments, and health. Yes, she was an extremist; yes, she had a temper; yes, she got involved with the wrong person; yes, she was a Vegas showgirl. But she was also highly educated, a loving daughter, sister, and aunt, and all she wanted to do was dance.

Ever since I was a child I’ve noticed that nothing happens to me merely by coincidence or luck. I have always lived by the motto “My life is written.” Countless times I have noticed, as a situation unfolds, that I was given a sign about it beforehand. It can be anything from a simple coincidence to a life-changing circumstance.

On April 29, 2014, I received a very interesting e-mail to my personal account from Diana Montané.

The content of the e-mail was intense, an overview of
a book she and her writing partner, MundoFox anchor Carolina Sarassa, were writing, titled
Dancing on Her Grave
. I read the e-mail many times, appreciating the kind words from Diana regarding my work as an actress and becoming rapidly obsessed with the case at hand. The case immediately grabbed me for many reasons. I love dancing, and in this case, just like me, the girl from the book was also Puerto Rican. I’m a girl with a dream of becoming a successful performer as well. I also left what I had in Puerto Rico to pursue a dream that my parents thought was out of reach. I also moved to a new city with great ambition to become somebody and be really good at my craft.

While I continue to work as an actress, which is my passion, I have wanted to find projects I could produce. I envision and pray every night for God to guide my steps both in my personal life as well as in my career. The possibility of helping to share Debbie Flores-Narvaez’s tragic story with the world by bringing this outstanding woman’s life to the screen and having the world see her kind soul truly melts my heart.

I believe one can have a connection with the souls of those who have passed away. I would love to think that Debbie chose me to represent her life. My immediate interest as soon as I read Diana’s e-mail and the way everything is falling into place makes me believe I have Debbie’s blessing to portray her life in a television movie.
I promise to take this responsibility seriously and give her the tribute she deserves.

I know in my heart I was meant to get close to Debbie. I also know for a fact my life story has one more dancing chapter. What a privilege to do it while somebody is guiding me from heaven.

Rest in peace once and for all, Debbie. Your killer was found guilty, justice has been served, and now the world will know and remember your
name.