HOPE, B.C. — U.S. police say they should soon be able to paint a clearer picture of exactly what happened between Ryan Jenkins and his murdered ex-wife, but all signs still point to the former reality television contestant as the sole suspect in the gruesome crime.
Jenkins’ parents both say the son they knew could never have killed Jasmine Fiore, whose petite body was found mutilated and folded naked into a suitcase in a Los Angeles area dumpster. She had to be identified by the serial numbers on her breast implants because her fingers and teeth had been removed.
Jenkins fled to Canada after police said he was a person of interest in Fiore’s death and was found dead Sunday of an apparent suicide in a motel outside of Hope.
Sgt. Bill Kohanek of the Buena Park, Calif., police said investigators are still serving search warrants for phone and banking records and many questions, including those of Jenkins’ parents, will likely be answered in time.
“We’re just waiting until we have complete answers — at least as many as we can get — and at that time we will release a better timeline of everything.”
Nada Jenkins told The Canadian Press on Monday that her son was good and kind, adding she believed that evidence would eventually be brought forward that would clear his name.
Dan Jenkins told the Calgary Sun that he wasn’t at all convinced his son committed the crime, and he hoped California police would continue DNA and forensic work to “tell us one way or another whether our son was involved with this or not.”
One key piece of evidence is Fiore’s missing Mercedes. Investigators believe that Jenkins and Fiore were in the car together in San Diego not long before her death and finding it could solve the mystery of exactly where her murder took place, Kohanek said.
Fiore was last seen when the couple checked into a posh San Diego hotel on Aug. 13. Jenkins checked out the next day and reported her missing before disappearing himself.
Kohanek said while they haven’t ruled out the possibility that Jenkins had help, everything investigators have found so far suggests he acted alone.
“His statements, his whereabouts, his lying about the missing persons’ report. Everything leads to him and no one else.”
The RCMP said Tuesday they were still investigating a mystery woman who reportedly dropped Jenkins off at the hotel in Hope. While police say they’ve identified her, they won’t reveal whether investigators have talked to her.
Jenkins met Fiore after leaving his job in Calgary to participate in a VH1 reality show called “Megan Wants a Millionaire,” in which wealthy men compete for the hand of a self-proclaimed trophy wife.
He married the Las Vegas swimsuit model after only knowing her for two days, and family and friends have said their brief union was marked by fighting and infidelity.
Reports have suggested that Fiore was communicating with an ex-boyfriend the last night she and Jenkins were seen together
Police are not yet ready to release any details on a motive other than to say the couple “encountered a very serious domestic violence incident,” said Kohanek.
“We haven’t confirmed or are not able to release yet if it was based on jealousy or rage or cheating.”
RCMP in British Columbia have refused to comment on whether a suicide note was left in the motel room where Jenkins was found hanging from a coat rack.
Kohanek said he has not yet heard whether Jenkins left anything behind that could answer lingering questions about his role in the slaying.