On 15/8/2009, the naked, mutilated body of a woman was found stuffed in a suitcase, discarded in a dumpster in Buena Park, California. Her nose was broken, and she had been severely beaten. Her teeth and fingers had been removed in an apparent attempt to prevent identification.
Three days later, police identified the body as 28-year-old Playboy model Jasmine Fiore, using the serial number on her breast implants.
A medical examiner explained, "If a surgeon puts something in you, it will have a serial number, and that serial number is documented." This procedure is designed for the swift recall of faulty implants and prosthetics to ensure patient safety.
Investigators reported that Fiore had died just hours before her body was discovered. The cause of death was determined to be strangulation.
A troubled marriage to a prominent husband
Born in 1981 in California, Fiore lived with her mother from the age of 8 after her parents divorced. She became a swimsuit model, promoting Playboy events and appearing in shows at Las Vegas casinos.
Fiore met Ryan Jenkins, a 32-year-old Canadian real estate developer, at a Las Vegas casino in 3/2009. They married just two days later.
At the time, Jenkins was gaining attention as a contestant on VH1's reality show "Megan Wants a Millionaire," which followed Playboy model Megan Hauserman's search for a wealthy husband.
On the show, Jenkins portrayed himself as a wealthy, charming, and sophisticated entrepreneur. Hauserman later commented that Jenkins was almost her final choice, but he was eliminated just before the finale.
Hauserman later contacted Jenkins, only to be surprised when he told her he had gone to Las Vegas after the show and "met a girl." He described Fiore as his "soul mate" and announced they were married.
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Jasmine Fiore and Ryan Jenkins at their Las Vegas wedding in 3/2009. Photo: TMZ |
Jasmine Fiore and Ryan Jenkins at their Las Vegas wedding in 3/2009. Photo: TMZ
"Megan Wants a Millionaire" wasn't Jenkins's last foray into reality TV. He appeared on "I Love Money 3" as a contestant, vying for a $250,000 prize for his new wife. However, calls home during filming revealed his suspicion that Fiore was being unfaithful.
"He kept telling her on the phone, 'I'm going to win, and you and I are going to have the life I promised you,'" recalled Mark Cronin, founder of production company 51 Minds. "Then he'd ask, 'Where were you last night?' because he was in Mexico filming, and she was in Las Vegas. He was incredibly jealous and suspicious."
According to police records, about a month after their wedding, Jenkins saw Fiore talking to someone, became jealous, and pushed her into a swimming pool. He spent a night in jail after being arrested for domestic violence.
Jenkins and Fiore briefly separated in 6/2009. "Ryan told me that Jasmine was ruining his life," Hauserman said. "But he was also obsessed with not being able to let her go, because he wanted to win. He couldn't take no for an answer." Due to Jenkins's persistence, the couple reconciled.
On 15/8/2009, shortly after "I Love Money 3" wrapped filming, Fiore's body was discovered.
A missing person report
After Fiore was identified, police learned that Jenkins had reported her missing at 8:55 PM on 15/8. He told police he last saw Fiore around 8:30 PM on 14/8 at their home on Edinburgh Avenue in Los Angeles. According to Jenkins, they had gone to San Diego for a poker event on the evening of 14/8. After returning, Fiore drove off on an errand and never came back.
Around 9 AM on 16/8, a day after reporting Fiore missing, Jenkins was seen leaving their penthouse. On 17/8, when contacted by police about the missing person report, Jenkins said he was returning to Canada to address immigration issues.
On 18/8, Fiore's body was identified, and the murder was reported in the media. On the afternoon of 19/8, Jenkins called his father from Birch Bay, Washington, having been informed of his wife's murder.
Suspect identified through surveillance footage
Police found Fiore's white Mercedes abandoned in a parking lot in West Hollywood, about 2 km from the couple's penthouse. A significant amount of blood was found on the passenger seat, back seat, and rear windshield, suggesting a violent struggle. There was also evidence of an attempt to clean the blood. Several hairs were also found on the car floor.
Reviewing surveillance video, police saw Jenkins and Fiore checking into the L'Auberge hotel in Del Mar, San Diego on the evening of 13/8/2009. They attended a poker tournament at the Del Mar Hilton hotel. Surveillance footage captured the couple leaving the Del Mar Hilton around 2:30 AM on 14/8. They were then seen at Ivy Hotel, a nightclub in downtown San Diego. Witnesses reported seeing the couple arguing about Fiore texting her ex-boyfriend, with Jenkins becoming enraged.
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Surveillance footage shows Jasmine Fiore and Ryan Jenkins arriving at a nightclub on 14/8/2009. This was the last time Fiore was seen alive. Photo: ID |
Surveillance footage shows Jasmine Fiore and Ryan Jenkins arriving at a nightclub on 14/8/2009. This was the last time Fiore was seen alive. Photo: ID
Around 4:30 AM, Jenkins returned to the L'Auberge hotel alone, appearing distraught. He left with some clothes around 9 AM that day.
The suitcase containing Fiore's body was one of the suitcases the couple had brought to San Diego, leading investigators to identify Jenkins as the prime suspect in Fiore's murder.
On 19/8, a man matching Jenkins's description was seen piloting a boat into a marina in Point Roberts, Washington, where Jenkins's stepmother lived. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) believed he had used the boat to reach Point Roberts and then walked across the border into Canada.
On 20/8, Jenkins was formally charged with Fiore's murder, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. An international manhunt began across the US and Canada.
Suicide note in motel room
On 23/8/2009, Jenkins's body was discovered by a motel employee in a rundown room on a secluded road outside Hope, British Columbia, east of Vancouver. He had hanged himself.
Jenkins left a one-page suicide note on his laptop, titled "Last Will and Testament." In it, he wrote extensively about his conflicting feelings for Fiore. "About half of the letter described how much he loved her, and then went on to talk about how she had disappointed him, and that he was very jealous of a couple of relationships she had," an investigator revealed. "I'm sorry for running from responsibility," Jenkins wrote.
"This kind of brings closure to what happened. We don't have to worry about looking for him or worry about him being a threat to anybody anymore," Fiore's mother told the media.
Scandal rocks the industry
While Jenkins was on the run, his criminal record came to light. He had been arrested in 2005 for assaulting his girlfriend in Calgary, Canada. In 2007, he received a 15-month suspended sentence and was required to attend an outpatient treatment program for anger management and sex addiction. However, VH1 and 51 Minds claimed this information did not appear on his background check.
When Jenkins was found dead on 23/8, the reality TV industry was shaken. Although Jenkins never exhibited violent behavior on the set of "Megan Wants a Millionaire" or "I Love Money 3," his murder of Fiore so soon after filming two reality shows linked his crime to the booming genre. Viewers questioned whether reality TV shows were doing enough to ensure the safety of their contestants, having failed to uncover Jenkins's past.
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Ryan Jenkins on "Megan Wants a Millionaire." Photo: VH1 |
Ryan Jenkins on "Megan Wants a Millionaire." Photo: VH1
VH1 had hired Collective Intelligence, a private investigation firm, to conduct background checks on Jenkins and other contestants. Collective Intelligence, which didn't conduct background checks outside the US, subcontracted the check on Jenkins, a Canadian citizen, to another company, Straightline International.
Following the murder, Collective Intelligence sued Straightline for breach of contract, alleging that Straightline falsely claimed Jenkins's record was clean and failed to check the RCMP criminal database. Straightline eventually paid Collective Intelligence $810,000 to settle the lawsuit.
In 2020, the founder of Collective Intelligence revealed that he had to lay off most of his staff and spent years rebuilding the company due to the damage to its reputation.
Meanwhile, within days of the murder, the media backlash led VH1 to pull "Megan Wants a Millionaire" from the air and cancel "I Love Money 3." 51 Minds had to reimburse VH1 for losses exceeding $12 million USD.
Tue Anh (via Investigation Discovery, Entertainment Weekly)
