Reality contestant charged with murder
California prosecutors say former reality TV contestant Ryan Alexander Jenkins was charged with murder Thursday in the death of his ex-wife, who was found stuffed in a suitcase in a trash bin.
Police say Jenkins, a former “Megan Wants a Millionaire” contestant, apparently slipped into his native Canada on foot after a 1,000-mile car and boat trip from southern California.
Canadian authorities say they’re looking for Jenkins, a Calgary native who originally was sought only for questioning. He vanished after the body of 28-year-old former model Jasmine Fiore was found Saturday.
Associated Press )
It’s been a bad week for reality.
On Tuesday, “So You Think You Can Dance” choreographer Alex Da Silva was arrested again for allegedly sexually assaulting four women between 2002 and 2009. This was the choreographer’s second arrest on similar charges. Then later on Tuesday, tax-evading, outspoken “Survivor” winner Richard Hatch was arrested again following a “Today” interview in which he claimed he was sent to prison because he was gay. Now, “Megan Wants a Millionaire” contestant Ryan Alexander Jenkins has been named a “person of interest” by authorities in the U.S. and Canada in the investigation of the slaying of former swimsuit model Jasmine Fiore. (From left, that’s Jenkins, Hatch and Da Silva.)
But these three are just the latest in the never-ending line of tabloid headlines generated by the ever-expanding members of the reality TV community. Take a look at some past standouts.
Copperfield sued
A Seattle woman has filed a federal lawsuit against magician and entertainer David Copperfield, saying he sexually assaulted and threatened her while she was a guest on his private island in the Bahamas two years ago. The lawsuit was filed even as the U.S. Attorney’s Office is considering whether to file criminal charges in the case.
The woman, is seeking unspecified damages for infliction of emotional distress, false misrepresentation and false imprisonment.
“Nothing of the sort ever happened,” Copperfield says on his Web site, www.copperfieldsetstherecordstraight.com. “This lawsuit is extortion for money, plain and simple.”
Arrest called unfair
The American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday it’s unfair that former “Survivor” winner Richard Hatch was jailed for granting two unauthorized TV interviews.
Hatch was serving out the remainder of his tax evasion prison term in home confinement and was arrested Tuesday after appearing on NBC’s “Today.”
Seinfeld honors Cosby
Soon-to-be-”Curb Your Enthusiasm”-star Jerry Seinfeld will honor Bill Cosby with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 26.
Chris Rock, “Cosby” costars Phylicia Rashad and Malcolm-Jamal Warner and others will join Seinfeld for the sold-out show.
Great escape in Fowlerville
Michael Griffin will wow Fowlerville audiences today when he attempts to unlock himself from handcuffs within 30 seconds. The hitch? The cuffs will be attached to 100 feet of rope connected to the back of a motorcycle that will be revved up and set to peel out at the half-minute mark.
Griffin, twice named the best escape artist at the World Magic Awards, will attempt to walk away with both his arms during the Easyriders Tour 2009 at the Fowlerville Fairgrounds.
The death-defying action begins at 6 p.m. Details: 517-223-8186 , www.easyriderevents.com.
Briefly
• The trailer for Michael Moore’s new documentary, “Capitalism: A Love Story,” can be viewed here. Moore’s take on the economy hits big screens Oct. 9.
• Nadya Suleman’s freaky Fox prime-time special, “Octomom: The Incredible Unseen Footage,” drew a lame 4.2 million viewers Wednesday night and was the least-watched show on the major networks, Eonline.com reports.
• When Elisabeth Hasselbeck takes time for maternity leave this fall, “The View” will fill in with conservatives Meghan McCain and former Fox News personality E.D. Hill.
Mutilated Playboy model Jasmine Fiore identified by her breast implants
Jasmine Fiore, a former Playboy model who was found dead in a suitcase with her fingers and teeth removed, has been indentified by her breast implants.
Lisa Lepore, second from right, mother of former model Jasmine Fiore, is comforted by unidentified family friends at news conference at the Buena Park City Hall, in a Buena Park, California Photo: AP
Investigators in California said Jasmine Fiore, 28, was identified using the serial number from her implants because detectives could not use fingerprints or dental records.
The US authorities are hunting for Ryan Alexander Jenkins her boyfriend, a reality TV contestant, who on Thursday was charged with her murder.
Mr Jenkins, 32, is thought to haev slipped into Canada after driving and power-boating more than 1,000 miles from southern California after the corpse of Miss Fiore was found in a suitcase dumped in a rubbish bin in Los Angeles on Saturday.
“The victim had been badly beaten, all of her fingers had been cut off, and all of her teeth had been forcibly removed,” said a statement from the California prosecutors.
Canada said its security forces were looking for Mr Jenkins.
Police believe Mr Jenkins reported her missing on Saturday night – after her body had been found – and then disappeared when detectives said they wanted to talk to him.
Mr Jenkins was a contestant on the VH1 reality show Megan Wants a Millionaire, a US television show in which men with a net worth of at least $1 million vie to win a woman seeking to become a “trophy wife”. He is variously described as an architect, property developer and investment banker.
Girlfriend of reality TV star Ryan Alexander Jenkins had her fingers and teeth ‘forcibly removed’
The Playboy model whose death has sparked a hunt for Ryan Alexander Jenkins, the US reality TV contestant, had her fingers and teeth “forcibly removed”, prosecutors said.
Mr Jenkins, 32, apparently slipped into Canada after driving and power-boating more than 1,000 miles from southern California after the corpse of his 28-year-old girlfriend, Jasmine Fiore, was discovered.
Her naked body was found in a rubbish bin in Los Angeles on Saturday. “The victim had been badly beaten, all of her fingers had been cut off, and all of her teeth had been forcibly removed,” said a statement from the California prosecutors.
Canada said its security forces were looking for Mr Jenkins, who is officially described as a “person of interest” in the investigation into Fiore’s death. “Police forces are on the lookout with the potential that he might be in this country,” said Peter Van Loan, the Canadian Public Safety Minister.
Police believe Mr Jenkins reported her missing on Saturday night – after her body had been found – and then disappeared when detectives said they wanted to talk to him.
Mr Jenkins was a contestant on the VH1 reality show “Megan Wants a Millionaire”, a US television show in which men with a net worth of at least $1 million vie to win a woman seeking to become a “trophy wife”. He is variously described as an architect, property developer and investment banker.
He appeared in three episodes of the TV series “Megan Wants a Millionaire”, during which he had to complete such tasks as designing a marketing campaign for her pet chihuahua.
Mr Jenkins’ disappearance has sparked a media frenzy. A white car police believe he was driving and an empty boat trailer were found at a marina in the US border town of Blaine, close to Vancouver.
A man matching Mr Jenkins’ description arrived by boat at Point Roberts, US territory about 10 miles away, at the tip of a peninsula which is reachable by land only from Canada.
Mr Jenkins’s mother reportedly lives in Point Roberts and a local television station quoted a family friend, who said Mr Jenkins’ mother went met him in Seattle, Washington, on Wednesday, saying it was a family emergency.
A preliminary coroner’s report indicated that Miss Fiore was strangled.
Mr Jenkins appears to have met her in a Las Vegas casino after recording the VH1 series. The two were married soon after.
According to Miss Fiore’s mother, Lisa Lepore: “they had a big blowout” in May and Miss Fiore had the marriage annulled.
Court records show that Mr Jenkins was charged in June in Clark County, Nevada, with a misdemeanour count of “domestic violence” when he was accused of hitting Miss Fiore on her arm.
Mr Jenkins was also charged with assaulting his girlfriend in July 2005 in Calgary and given a conditional discharge with 15 months probation.
Stumble Upon
Del.icio.us
Buzz
