Bio

Ryan Alexander Jenkins was born on February 8, 1977, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He later became known publicly as a real estate investor and reality television contestant. Before the murder case, Jenkins appeared on VH1’s reality dating series Megan Wants a Millionaire. He was also connected to the unreleased third season of I Love Money.

Jenkins met Jasmine Fiore in Las Vegas shortly after filming Megan Wants a Millionaire. Fiore, born Jasmine Lepore, was a 28-year-old model from Santa Cruz, California. She worked as a swimsuit and body-painted model and also had a real estate license. She had plans to open a gym and personal training business.

Jenkins and Fiore married on March 18, 2009, at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. Their relationship was troubled within months. In June 2009, Jenkins was charged in Clark County, Nevada, with misdemeanor domestic battery after an incident involving Fiore. The case was still pending at the time of Fiore’s death.

Reports from Fiore’s family and friends described tension in the relationship, including jealousy related to Fiore’s friendships with former partners. Fiore’s mother later said her daughter had sought an annulment, though no official annulment record was found in Nevada or Los Angeles County.

Murder Story

On August 13, 2009, Ryan Jenkins and Jasmine Fiore checked into the L’Auberge hotel in Del Mar, California. They were in the San Diego area for a charity poker event connected to the Carma Foundation. Surveillance footage later showed the couple leaving the Del Mar Hilton at about 2:30 a.m. on August 14. They were also seen at the Ivy Hotel in downtown San Diego.

At around 4:30 a.m. on August 14, Jenkins returned alone to the L’Auberge hotel. Fiore was not seen alive again. Jenkins left the hotel later that morning at around 9 a.m.

On August 15, 2009, Fiore’s body was found inside a suitcase in a dumpster in Buena Park, California. Her body had been badly beaten and mutilated. Her teeth and fingers had been removed, which investigators believed was done to delay identification. She was later identified through the serial numbers on her breast implants. A preliminary coroner’s report indicated that she had been strangled.

That same evening, Jenkins reported Fiore missing. He told police that he had last seen her at their Los Angeles home on August 14 after they returned from San Diego. According to his statement, she dropped him off and left to run errands but never returned.

Investigators soon became suspicious of Jenkins’ account. Fiore’s white Mercedes was later found abandoned in West Hollywood, near the area where she and Jenkins lived. Police reported evidence that included blood and signs of a struggle.

After reporting Fiore missing, Jenkins left Los Angeles. He traveled through Nevada and toward the U.S.-Canada border. Authorities later found his BMW SUV and an empty boat trailer near Blaine, Washington. Investigators believed he crossed into Canada by boat sometime between August 19 and August 20, 2009.

On August 20, 2009, Jenkins was formally charged with Fiore’s murder, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

That same day, Jenkins arrived at the Thunderbird Motel in Hope, British Columbia. He was accompanied by a young woman who paid cash for the room. Police later identified her as his half-sister. Jenkins stayed at the motel over the weekend.

On August 23, 2009, motel staff checked the room after Jenkins failed to check out. He was found dead, hanging by a belt from a clothes rack. Canadian authorities treated the death as suicide.

Because Jenkins died before arrest and trial, he was never convicted of Jasmine Fiore’s murder. However, he remained the only publicly identified suspect and had already been formally charged before his death.