Reality star charged with murder of model

A former contestant on VH1's Megan Wants A Millionaire has been charged with the murder of his ex-wife, according to The AP.

Ryan Alexander Jenkins, 32, is believed to have fled to Canada after the body of 28-year-old Jasmine Fiore was found in an Orange County rubbish bin on Saturday.

A preliminary report has suggested that she was strangled.

Speaking at a news conference, her ex-boyfriend Robert Hasman said: "This message goes out to the family, his mother and father and to the friends that are helping him try to leave this country.

"Ryan Jenkins is an animal, what he has done to Jasmine is unspeakable and it's just not right and I'd appreciate your help."

Authorities believe that Jenkins travelled to Washington after reporting Fiore missing, then sailed to a peninsula on the border before walking into British Columbia. Police have warned that anybody caught helping him hide could face prison.

Court records have shown that Jenkins was charged in June with a misdemeanour "battery constituting domestic violence" for allegedly striking Fiore in the arm. A court date had been scheduled for December. He was also charged with a separate assault in 2007.

VH1 has postponed any future airings of Megan, while 51 Minds Entertainment, which produces and owns the show, has said that Jenkins would not have been offered a place if his criminal background had been known.