 McDonald offered to take him to the Ashland Hotel, where he kept a room.Nordkvist met Hughes, who demonstrated some old dance routines for him, and they drank beer through the night and into the next morning; all the while, McDonald was driving his taxi.After Hughes rebuffed Nordkvist's advances, Nordkvist strangled her by tying his handkerchief around her throat and stuffing a silk scarf into her mouth.