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WORLD> America
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Officials: Slain ex-model ID'd by breast implants
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-22 16:46 BUENA PARK, California: An ex-model found stuffed in a bloodstained suitcase without fingers or teeth was so badly mutilated that authorities had to use breast implants to identify her body, prosecutors said.
Meanwhile, the US Marshals Service offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Ryan Alexander Jenkins, a wealthy reality TV show contestant who was charged Thursday with murder in the gruesome slaying of Jasmine Fiore. Detectives tracked the serial number on the implants because they could not use fingerprints or dental records, Farrah Emami, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney's office, said Friday. Fiore's body was found August 15 in a trash bin in Buena Park, an Orange County city about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles. Authorities believe Jenkins, a contestant on VH1's "Megan Wants a Millionaire," may have fled more than 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) to reach his native Canada. VH1 canceled the show, in which wealthy young men tried to win over a materialistic blonde, network spokesman Brett Henne said Friday. Previously the network had said the show was postponed after three episodes. On the third episode, which aired the day after Fiore's body was found, Jenkins won a "challenge," to design a business plan featuring the star's dog, and took the star, Megan Hauserman, on a date to a French restaurant. Alexander also was a participant in an as-yet-unaired competitive reality series, "I Love Money 3." A VH1 spokesman said no decision has been made on whether or not to run the show.
Prosecutors revealed the US Coast Guard briefly pursued a boat Wednesday off the northwest coast of Washington state that was registered to Jenkins, but it eluded them. The Coast Guard was unable to verify that Jenkins was aboard but believe he was, Emami said. Authorities in Whatcom County, Washington, have said they received a report that a man matching Jenkins' description arrived by boat Wednesday at Point Roberts, US territory about 10 miles (16 kilometers) away at the tip of a peninsula reachable by land only from Canada. Authorities believe Jenkins walked across the border to British Columbia. Jenkins' car and an empty boat trailer were found at a marina in the northwest Washington town of Blaine, just across the bay from Point Roberts. Canadian authorities have since ended a massive border search using helicopters, ground police and dogs but continued their investigation, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Duncan Pound said. Tips in Canada were "on the low end," he said. However, a Thursday news conference in Southern California prompted phone tips to American authorities that were being pursued, said Tom Hession, chief inspector for the US Marshals Service's regional fugitive task force. He declined to elaborate. Jenkins is a real estate developer and investor who is also the son of a prominent Canadian architect. On the reality show, he said he had between $1 million and $2.5 million, Hession said, adding the money could help Jenkins stay ahead of police or work against him. "It could be an area where he may not have access to that wealth, where he has assets that he has to sell or something like that and then he's going to have to expose himself to potential arrest," Hession said. Hession declined to say if authorities were watching Jenkins' assets as part of their investigation. "When we're looking for someone who's a fugitive, we try to find out everything we can about that person," he said. "We're going to turn every rock over." Fiore and Jenkins were briefly married in a quickie Las Vegas wedding in March and had been fighting in recent months. Prosecutors said the two checked into a San Diego hotel August 13, and Jenkins checked out the next morning. Fiore was not seen alive again. |
