Ryan Alexander Jenkins, a suspect in the strangling death of his wife Jasmine Fiore, has been found dead in British Columbia, Canada.
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MOST RECENT UPDATE – Further details are emerging in the apparent suicide of suspected murderer Ryan Jenkins. On the same day Jenkins was charged in the murder of his ex-wife Jasmine Fiore (Thursday), a woman checked into the Thunderbird Motel in Hope, British Columbia, Canada. While she paid cash for a minimum of three days rental on the room, a man waited outside in a PT Cruiser with Alberta plates. She is described by Kevin Walker – the manager of the motel – as five foot nine inches tall, about 115 pounds, slim and in her early to mid-20s. Walker doesn’t remember the name the woman used when she rented the room and said RCMP took the form she filled out. The unknown woman stayed in the room for about 20 minutes, then left.
Walker said the man looked thinner than the photos made available by police. Through the weekend there was little activity at the room and no one showed up at checkout time on Sunday so Walker knocked and said “Hello” before unlocking and cracking the door, thinking the man may have left the key in the room.
“I opened the door wider and he was hanging from the coat rack by a belt,” Walker says, still shaken by the ordeal. “After I swung the door open and saw him hanging there — I didn’t notice anything after that.” He immediately called the police.
At this point, Ryan is still the only suspect in the murder of Jasmine Fiore, but authorities are looking into the identity of the woman who paid for the room and there is also a possibility Jenkins received help fleeing authorities from either or both of his divorced parents.
Jenkins’ mother Nada Jenkins had this to say shortly after receiving the news her son had been found, “I think he panicked, my little boy, and we had to protect him, even now that he’s dead,” she said through tears. She then added, “I was paranoid this would drag on forever.”
(Thanks to vancouversun.com)
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During a 9 PM EST news conference, Sergeant Duncan Pound of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Federal Border Integrity Program said, “We were able to determine that it was Ryan Jenkins. At this point it would be speculation as to how long he had been there.”
Here’s a video of the press conference with Sgt. Duncan:
And here’s another press conference with The Buena Park PD:
An interview with the manager of the Thunderbird Motel:
CNN video interviewing someone from the Thunderbird Motel:
Piece on the Today Show:
I will update as I find out more.
The Vancouver Sun has this to add:
The accused killer was found hanging inside his room at the Thunderbird Motel, according to a spokesperson for the California district attorney’s office.
It appears the reality TV star “took his own life,” said RCMP Sgt. Duncan Pound, spokesman for the RCMP’s federal border integrity program.
“The hotel staff had gone in to check on him… it would be speculation to say how long he had been in there,” said Pound at a press conference held in Surrey less than an hour ago.
More from Sgt. Duncan Pound: “At this present time the investigation into the circumstances of his death is continuing, but preliminary evidence suggests that he took his own life. Any further details will not be released at this time as this investigation remains in its infancy.”
