Saturday, August 29, 2009

Police Say There Will Be No Charges for Helping Ryan Jenkins Across Border

VANCOUVER, B.C. — No charges will be laid against anyone who may have helped fugitive U.S. reality TV contestant Ryan Jenkins in his run home from California to Canada.

Jenkins is the only suspect in the bloody slaying of his swimsuit-model ex-wife in San Diego, but RCMP say there isn't enough evidence to charge anyone who may have helped the former Calgary resident cross illegally into Canada.

A California police officer says it would be up to U.S. federal prosecutors to look at laying charges against anyone involved in Canada and so far, he hasn't heard that's happening.

The RCMP said previously they were investigating whether someone could be charged as an accessory for Jenkins' failure to report his return to Canada.

A mystery woman checked Jenkins into a motel in Hope, B.C., east of Vancouver, last week while he waited in the car.

"There is no evidence to support criminal charges against anyone who came into contact with Mr. Jenkins including the woman who dropped him off at the motel on Thursday August 20, 2009," Cpl. Norm Massie of the RCMP's border integrity unit said Friday in a news release.

The motel manager said the woman was driving a Chrysler PT Cruiser with an Alberta licence plate.

Police have never identified the woman but said they have been in contact with her.

Speculation about who she is led to a media frenzy, with some journalists at first identifying a Calgary model who was Jenkins' girlfriend. When that claim didn't check out, they turned to a woman in Vancouver said to be Jenkins' half-sister.

Jasmine Fiore's nude, mutilated body was found stuffed in a suitcase in a suburban Los Angeles dumpster on Aug. 15.

Hours later, Jenkins reported her missing, telling a West Hollywood sheriff's deputy that his wife had disappeared after running errands and that he hadn't seen her since the night before.

U.S. authorities said that hours before she died, Fiore was chatting on her cell phone with an ex-boyfriend - a conversation that police say threw Jenkins into a jealous rage.

Witnesses said Ryan Jenkins argued with Fiore in the lobby of the San Diego Hilton after leaving a poker tournament, telling her "you're making a fool of me in front of my friends," said Buena Park police Sgt. Frank Nunes.

Nunes said family and friends told authorities Jenkins and Fiore - who were married in a quickie Las Vegas wedding in March - had a volatile relationship and had cheated on each other.

"It all boils down to a domestic violence situation that went way out of hand as a result of jealousy," Nunes said late Thursday.

Police believe Jenkins set out on a 1,600-kilometre odyssey to Canada, eventually taking his speed boat to Point Roberts, Wash., a finger of American territory jutting into the waters by the B.C. Ferry Terminal.

From Point Roberts, they believe he easily walked into Canada.

The boat was discovered Aug. 19, the day California authorities named Jenkins a person of interest in Fiore's murder.

Jenkins was next seen Aug. 20 by a hotel manager in Hope sitting in the PT Cruiser while the woman checked him into the hotel. She left shortly afterwards and was not seen again.

The next day, last Friday, the warrant was issued.

On Sunday, Jenkins' body was found hanging from a clothes rack in the hotel.

"Consultation with lawyers and Crown has determined that there are no applicable criminal charges surrounding the Canadian investigation of Ryan Jenkins," Massie said.

U.S. investigators have released some of the details of Jenkins' preparations to flee.

Buena Park police Sgt. Bill Kohanek said in an interview Friday that investigators are waiting for test results from the "many, many blood samples" taken from Fiore's white Mercedes, found earlier this week.

"There was a good amount of blood splatter and smearing around the vehicle, which indicated a pretty violent confrontation," he said.

Kohanek said investigators are "doing quite a successful job" of following Jenkins' movements after Fiore was killed.

"He took money out, he did vehicle repairs, he placed new tires on his SUV that was later driven to Washington. He picked up dry cleaning."

Jenkins also sent a courier package to a Las Vegas jeweller which included a man's wedding ring, a woman's wedding ring and several other rings believed to have belonged to Fiore. The rings were to be cleaned.

Phone records show Jenkins made many phone calls to people he knew before he left.

When asked if these were the actions of a suicidal man, Kohanek replied Jenkins was caught in a pressure cooker of media and police pursuit.

"I think he probably felt cornered," Kohanek said. "Some of the details of the gruesome murder were coming out, so I think there were a lot more people that were not willing to help him, when they were starting to see the significance of this crime."

"I think he just met the end of his rope."

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