Ryan Jenkins' death: Justice for Jasmine Fiore?
The apparent suicide of fugitive former reality TV contestant Jenkins is "the final macabre twist" in a brutal murder case
What happened
Murder suspect and former reality TV contestant Ryan Jenkins was found dead—hanging by his belt from a coat rack—in a Canadian motel on Sunday. Police had been searching for Jenkins since the mutilated body of his wife, swimsuit model Jasmine Fiore, was found in California a week ago. "The sadness of this," said Lt. Steve Holliday of the Buena Park, Calif., police department, "is that Mr. Jenkins will not stand before an Orange County jury for his crime." (TMZ)
What the commentators said
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The way Jenkins died "could have been scripted for TV," said Britain's Telegraph. "The dramatic end came at an isolated motel at the edge of British Columbia's mountainous interior," far away from the glitz of Hollywood but close to the home of Jenkins' mother. But the case still has loose ends—police are now searching for a young woman who reportedly checked Jenkins into the motel.
The news that Ryan Jenkins had been found dead at the Thunderbird Motel, said Steven Mikulan in LA Weekly, "seems to be the final macabre twist to the bizarre and brutal murder case of Los Angeles model Jasmine Fiore." Jenkins had been on the run since Fiore's body was found—her fingers cut off and her teeth pulled out, apparently to make it harder to identify her. Authorities believe he escaped into Canada via speedboat.
The manhunt for Ryan Jenkins is over, said Britain's In Entertainment, but the news that the former contestant on VH1's Megan Wants a Millionaire won't be much comfort to the loved ones of Jasmine Fiore, whose naked body was found stuffed inside a suitcase and dumped in a trash bin. "There will be no justice for Jasmine and her family, as it appears Ryan took the easy way out."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Underneath the noise, however, there’s an existential crisis'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
2024: the year of distrust in science
In the Spotlight Science and politics do not seem to mix
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
The Nutcracker: English National Ballet's reboot restores 'festive sparkle'
The Week Recommends Long-overdue revamp of Tchaikovsky's ballet is 'fun, cohesive and astoundingly pretty'
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published