Police find blood, evidence of struggle in model’s Mercedes

BUENA PARK, Calif. (AP) — Police in Buena Park, Calif., say they found blood and evidence of a violent struggle inside a car belonging to an ex-model whose brutal slaying prompted a massive manhunt for the reality TV contestant wanted in her murder.

Sgt. Roger Powell said Thursday afternoon that investigators found blood splattered on the passenger seat, back seat and rear windshield.

Jasmine Fiore’s white Mercedes-Benz was found abandoned Wednesday in West Hollywood.

Powell says detectives found mud stains, weeds and twigs on the car’s undercarriage, which could indicate it went off-road.

Fiore’s body was found Aug. 15 stuffed in a suitcase in a Buena Park trash bin. Ryan Jenkins, a contestant on VH1’s “Megan Wants a Millionaire,” was found dead of an apparent suicide in a British Columbia hotel room Sunday.

The Mercedes-Benz was discovered about a mile from the penthouse she shared with wealthy real estate investor Ryan Jenkins. Investigators spent Thursday combing it for clues.

Kohanek said tests for DNA, blood and other forensics, including hairs, fibers and fingerprints, were conducted on the vehicle. Police had been searching for the missing car for days and hoped it would yield clues as to where Fiore was slain, the timeline of Jenkins’ flight to Canada and if anyone else was involved in helping him make it to the border.

Fiore and Jenkins, a contestant on VH1’s “Megan Wants a Millionaire,” were last seen together on Aug. 13 checking into a luxury boutique hotel in San Diego. Jenkins checked out alone the next day and Fiore was not seen alive again.

Hours after Fiore’s body was found, Jenkins walked into a West Hollywood sheriff’s station and reported her missing, said Steve Whitmore, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He told a deputy his wife had gone missing after running errands and that he hadn’t seen her since Friday night.

Jenkins, 32, then made a 1,000-mile dash for the border by car and boat before crossing into Canada on foot. He eventually wound up in an isolated motel in Hope, British Columbia, where he was found hanging from a coat rack on Sunday.

An autopsy by Canadian officials indicated suicide.

The motel’s manager, Kevin Walker, told the AP that Jenkins was dropped off at the motel Thursday by a young woman in a Chrysler PT Cruiser with tinted windows and a license plate from Alberta, Jenkins’ home province. Jenkins stayed in the car, Walker said, and the woman paid cash for a three nights’ stay and left about 20 minutes later.

A Chrysler PT Cruiser with Alberta plates was seen parked Wednesday outside the Vancouver, British Columbia condominium complex where Jenkins’ half-sister lives. A message left at the home was not returned and police would not confirm if she was the mystery woman who dropped him at the motel.

Jenkins, the wealthy son of a prominent Calgary architect, moved to Los Angeles earlier this year to pursue an acting career. He found some success on “Megan Wants a Millionaire,” a reality show where wealthy bachelors woo a materialistic blonde. He also completed filming for “I Love Money 3,” but VH1 canceled the show before it aired because of the murder.

Jenkins met Fiore in Las Vegas shortly after he wrapped filming for “Millionaire” the two were married in a quickie Vegas wedding on March 18, according to court documents. Friends said Fiore was a model who worked mainly in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, doing gigs such as being bodypainted at parties.