The RCMP say they know the identity of the mystery woman who helped reality TV show contestant and murder suspect Ryan Jenkins check into the motel where he died.

"We believe we know who this individual is and we know how to locate her," Sgt. Duncan Pound said at a Monday afternoon news conference.

The body of 32-year-old Jenkins -- a reality TV show contestant and one-time Calgary real estate developer -- was found Sunday hanging by a belt inside a motel room in Hope, B.C., about 100 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.

Pound said police are confident that the mystery woman is not a threat to the public.

A witness described her as a "very beautiful" blond-haired woman, who is between 20 and 25 years of age and an estimated 5'10" in height.

"We do believe they knew each other and there was a past history," Pound said of her relation to Jenkins. He would not give details on the nature of their relationship.

The woman could face accessory after the fact charges relating to the Canadian Customs Act, but would not face any charges from U.S. authorities, Pound said.

Jenkins was wanted for the brutal murder of his 28-year-old ex-wife, Jasmine Fiore, a former swimsuit model whose mutilated remains were found in a Los Angeles-area dumpster two weekends ago.

Fiore's body had been stuffed into a suitcase and was missing its fingers and teeth.

She was later identified using the serial numbers on her breast implants.

The day after Jenkins was found dead, Fiore's mother said the accused killer "took the easy way out" by taking his own life.

Lisa Lepore told ABC's "Good Morning America" TV show that Jenkins didn't want to face the consequences of his actions and "that's how he dealt with it."

But she also said the fact that Jenkins was dead would spare her family the stress and grief that would come with a prolonged hunt for his capture.

"It brings some closure to what's been going on," Lepore said. "We don't have to worry about looking for him anymore or being worried that he is a threat to any other women or men."

CTV News reached Jenkins' mother, Nada Jenkins, Monday afternoon and she proclaimed her son's innocence.

"My son is innocent and I think he panicked and . . . I'm just dead, I'm dead inside. I'm devastated,  what can I tell you? I love him, he's my only child," she said in a short telephone interview.

Jenkins found in motel

A cross-border manhunt ended when Jenkins' death was confirmed Sunday.

Kevin Walker, the manager of the Thunderbird Motel where Jenkins was found dead, said a woman had checked the fugitive into his room on Thursday.

Jenkins and the woman had arrived at the motel in a silver Chrysler PT Cruiser with Alberta plates, Walker said.

The woman checked into the hotel by herself and paid enough cash for three nights' stay.

"He stayed in the car, far, far away from the front of the office," Walker told The Canadian Press. "I didn't think nothing of it because it's just a couple checking in."

In a separate telephone interview with CTV News Channel on Monday afternoon, Walker said the woman was "very calm, very cordial" when checking into the motel.

He believes she was at the motel for about 20 minutes before she left. She did not show up again.

Walker said he saw Jenkins alive only once more.

The motel manager went to check on Jenkins' room the day he was supposed to check out -- Sunday -- and found the fugitive dead.

"There he was in front of me, hanging from the coat rack," Walker told CTV News Channel on Monday.

When Walker later saw a news report about Jenkins that featured a picture of the fugitive with a "thinner profile" that same day, the motel manager said he put two-and-two together.

The RCMP said Sunday that it looked like Jenkins had hanged himself.

"At this time the investigation into the circumstances of his death is continuing but preliminary evidence suggests that he took his own life," said spokesman Sgt. Duncan Pound.

An autopsy was scheduled to be performed Monday in B.C.

"It's a non-suspicious death, all indications are that this will likely be classified as a suicide," Jeff Dolan of the B.C. Coroners Service said.

"Autopsy and toxicology examinations will work towards confirming that."

The wanted man's appearance had changed since Jenkins was last seen, which CTV British Columbia's Norma Reid said made it hard for motel staff to recognize him.

"He was much thinner than the photos they've been seeing on the news lately, he was disheveled, he had a bit of a goatee and some facial hair growing," Reid said during an interview with CTV's Canada AM from Hope, B.C., on Monday morning. "He did not look like the man that they had been seeing on the news. That's why they never suspected that this was him."

Hunt for Jenkins

Authorities had been looking for Jenkins ever since his ex-wife's body was found earlier this month.

Jenkins and Fiore had been seen checking into a high-end hotel in San Diego on Aug. 13.

The couple had reportedly reconciled after a rocky period in their relationship. That was the last time that anyone saw Fiore alive.

The next day, Jenkins checked out from the hotel by himself and reported that Fiore was missing.

Around the same time, police in the L.A. suburb of Buena Park found Fiore's remains and soon began looking for Jenkins.

Jenkins' SUV was found last Wednesday at a launch ramp in Washington state near the Canadian border and his boat was found in Point Roberts, Wash.

On Friday, Jenkins was formally charged with Fiore's killing and a Canada-wide warrant was issued for his arrest.

In March, Jenkins and Fiore married in Las Vegas after a brief romance.

They met around the time that Jenkins was a contestant on a VH1 reality show called "Megan Wants a Millionaire."

Prior to his death, Jenkins had recently been charged with allegedly hitting Fiore on the arm, according to court records.

He had also been sentenced to 15 months probation in 2007, for an unspecified assault charge.

With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press