Ryan Jenkins, a Canadian man wanted for the murder and dismemberment of his model ex-wife in Los Angeles, has been found dead in a motel room in Hope.
Police say staff found Jenkins yesterday afternoon, and that it appears he committed suicide. He was found hanging in a room at the Thunderbird Motel.
Manager Kevin Walker said he opened the door and saw a laptop on the bed.
“I called out ‘hello,’ and when no one responded, I pushed open the door some more,” he said.
“He was hanging off a belt, tied to the coat rack on the wall, right in front of me.”
Walker told media that Jenkins was accompanied by a young woman when he checked in on Thursday. They arrived in a Chrysler PT Cruiser with Alberta licence plates. The woman checked them in for three days.
“We’ll carry on with the investigation into the circumstances of his death and … how he came to be in that motel room,” said RCMP Sgt. Duncan Pound at a press conference in Surrey last night.
“We’re still liaising with the U.S. authorities. We made them aware of the circumstances and notification of kin has been completed.”
Police said they’re still confirming how long Jenkins had been at the motel.
“Our main focus has always been to ensure public safety and we thought it was important to tell the Canadian public that he’s been confirmed deceased.”
Police had held a press conference in Surrey earlier in the afternoon to say that Jenkins, 32, a wealthy Calgary native, crossed the border sometime after the remains of Jasmine Fiore were found in a dumpster.
At the time, Pound said he couldn’t comment on how police knew he was in Canada, but urged Jenkins, if he was watching the news, to turn himself in.
A homeless man found Fiore’s naked body stuffed in a suitcase in a dumpster on Aug. 15 — a day after Jenkins reported her missing.
Her teeth and fingers had been removed and investigators identified her by tracing the serial number on her breast implants.
On Aug. 20, police found Jenkins’ boat in Point Roberts, Wash., leading authorities to believe he walked across the border into Tsawwassen.
WITH FILES FROM ANDREA WOO
