5 chilling details about Jasmine Fiores' murder

PD True season 1 episode 3 is entitled Death of a Swimsuit Model explores the case of detectives finding a Playboy model named Jasmine Fiore's body. She was found inside a suitcase. The episode aired on August 6, 2024 on Paramount+.

The murder of 28-year-old swimsuit model Jasmine Fiore from Santa Cruz, California, was very jolting due to the brutality the girl went through at the hands of the crime perpetrators, and also because some very chilling details emerged during the investigation.

Her mutilated body was found stuffed in a suitcase in a Buena Park, California dumpster. This tragic case not only revealed to the world the horrors of domestic violence but also how reality TV shows go about vetting their contestants since her husband and the prime suspect was a reality TV contestant named Ryan Jenkins.

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5 shocking details about Jasmine Fiore's murder

1) Gruesome discovery of Jasmine Fiore's body

On August 15, 2009, Jasmine Fiore's dismembered body was discovered inside a suitcase that had been placed in a Buena Park dumpster. Her fingers and teeth had been removed to make her unrecognizable. The mutilation was of such a degree that identifications had to be made using the serial numbers on the implants in her breasts.

This positively identified her. The fact somebody had gone to such serious efforts to avoid recognition revealed not only how brutal the crime was but also just how far the criminal had gone to protect himself from detection.

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2) Prime suspect: Ryan Jenkins

The search for her husband, Ryan Jenkins, began right after Fiore's murder. Jenkins was also a reality TV star, who had appeared in the series Megan Wants a Millionaire. He was previously accused of domestic violence against women.

Court records revealed that two months before Fiore's death, he had been charged with "battery constituting domestic violence". Friends and eyewitnesses described that the two of them were always at each other's throats, with Jenkins very jealous and possessive. This setup created a dark atmosphere for the final days of Fiore.

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3) Jenkins' flight and suicide

Following up on a missing person's report he filed for Fiore on August 15, Jenkins fled the country. His whereabouts were finally traced to Hope, in British Columbia, Canada, where he checked into a motel under an assumed name. On August 23, 2009, Jenkins was found dead; he had hanged himself in his motel room.

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4) Impact on reality TV

The murder of Jasmine Fiore sent shockwaves through the reality TV circle. The appearance of Jenkins on Megan Wants a Millionaire after his record of violent offences brought to light some huge lapses in reality TV contestant vetting processes.

(Megan wants a millionaire (Image via VH1)

VH1, the channel on which it was being broadcast, pulled the show off its schedule indefinitely and axed another series Jenkins had worked on. This again raised questions about background checks and processes for screening contestants.

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5) Public and legal repercussions

The murder of Jasmine Fiore brought the issue of domestic violence to the limelight and the various dangers associated with it. This provided a strong message that much more stringent legal protection needed to be given to the victims, coupled with strict background screenings in every walk of life, including entertainment.

The case also brought into sharper focus the importance of public awareness and education about the signs of domestic abuse and the resources available for all in need.

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Apart from its heinous shock value, the case expedited some reforms within the reality TV world and brought more focus to background checks.

Watch Jasmine's story on PD True on Paramount+.