Swimsuit Model's Suspected Killer Husband Found Dead

Aug. 23, 2009— -- Reality TV star Ryan Alexander Jenkins, the prime suspect in the grisly murder of his swimsuit model wife, Jasmine Fiore, was found dead today after he apparently hanged himself in a motel room, Canadian police said.

The manager of the Thunderbird Motel in Hope, British Columbia, who said he found the body, said Jenkins hung himself from a coat rack.

Local police answered a call regarding a dead body found at the Thunderbird Hotel in the town, which is east of Vancouver, and after seeing the person called in investigators involved in the manhunt for Jenkins.

"At this present time the investigation into the circumstances of his death is continuing, but preliminary evidence suggests that he took his own life," Sgt. Duncan Pound of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police border integrity unit said at a news conference this evening. "Any further details will not be released at this time as this investigation remains in its infancy."

Jenkins, 32, is Canadian citizen who police said fled to his home country after the former Playboy model's body was discovered stuffed in a suitcase in Buena Park, Calif., just south of Los Angeles on Aug. 15.

Fiore, 28, had her fingertips cut off and her teeth pulled out, apparently to make it difficult to identify her.

She was subsequently identified by the serial number on her breast implants, The Associated Press reported Friday.

Kevin Walker, the manager of the Thunderbird, told ABC News he found the body at 11:30 this morning, about 30 minutes after checkout. He opened the door, called out and saw a laptop computer in the room, and when he entered, Jenkins was hanging from the coat rack, the manager said.

Jenkins had been checked in Thursday about 6:30 p.m. by an attractive young woman who left after about 20 minutes, Walker said. He said he saw the man police now say was Jenkins only once and that he looked gaunt and did not appear to be the wanted man.

Canadian authorities had been looking for Jenkins since Friday, after U.S. police found evidence he had run north of the border.

Sheriff's officers in Whatcom County, Wash., found Jenkins' car with an empty boat trailer attached Wednesday night, and then Thursday morning found his boat at a marina 10 miles away.

Authorities said they believe Jenkins walked across the border into the Canadian province of British Columbia.

A source that was with the couple shortly before Fiore died told ABC News about the couple's "blow-out fight in front of everyone" in San Diego overnight Aug. 13-14 -- the last night she was seen alive.

"Jasmine was playing poker with a big group of friends at the Hilton Hotel," the source said. "She was being very rude and kept putting Ryan down. It was really awkward. She has a cutting sense of humor. He was getting really angry, and it totally set the tone for the rest of the evening."