CALGARY - In his final days on the run during an international manhunt, accused murderer Ryan Jenkins sent text messages to least one apparent friend in Calgary, say sources.
Sources said Calgary police worked with a man claiming to be a friend of Jenkins after he reported getting texts from the fugitive in the days before he was found dead in a Hope, B.C., motel Sunday after hanging himself.
Calgary police, saying they are not the primary investigators on the file, declined to confirm or comment on any dealings sources claimed homicide investigators had with the man receiving the texts.
The man, a Calgary businessman, was in this city when he received the texts from Jenkins, the Calgary realtor turned reality star who was accused of murdering his ex-wife model Jasmine Fiore.
While Jenkins' father Dan doubts his son was a killer and demands proof, the District Attorney's office in Orange County said it has evidence he was responsible for the death of Fiore, whose strangled and mutilated body was found stuffed into a suitcase in a dumpster, said spokeswoman Farrah Emami.
"We believe Mr. Jenkins was responsible -- the evidence points to the fact Mr. Jenkins did murder his wife and fled to Canada," she said. "We feel with the evidence we have we could prove Mr. Jenkins was responsible for this murder."
Dan wants police to use DNA to confirm whether Jenkins was involved, but Emami said it wouldn't be an indicator given Fiore's relationship with Jenkins.
"This was her husband so DNA is going to be less of an indicator in this case -- DNA isn't going to be a factor in this case," she said.
Meanwhile, cops are searching for the white, 2007 Mercedes CL S550 they believe may contain other evidence, said Sgt. Bill Kohanek with Buena Park, Calif., police.
"We're thinking it might have been carrying the victim before or after the homicide or may have been the actual scene of the homicide," he said.
While police still see Jenkins as the primary suspect, they are also investigating whether someone may have helped with the murder in any way, such as with dumping the body or escaping, Kohanek said.
"We are keeping our options open -- right now everything still points to Jenkins being involved alone," he said.
Kohanek said though it frees up police resources who were looking for him, Jenkins' suicide is not the way he hoped the manhunt would end.
"We would have preferred to have him alive and get his statement and story and explanation of what had happened and why," Kohanek said.
-- With files by Nadia Moharib
