By Samrat Banerjee

Aug 26 (IBNS) Appearances are liable to counter realities at times! So is the personality of a bikini model.

Although slain swimsuit-model Jasmine Fiore was known for her looks and various modeling gigs, she was known as a small town girl with a love for nature and animals, a strong work ethic and a warm personality.

The bikini model’s dreams of stepping away from the spotlight and working in real estate and as a personal trainer ended abruptly after her mutilated body was found stuffed in a suitcase in a trash bin in Buena Park, Calif., on August 15.

Her husband, Ryan Jenkins, was charged with her murder on August 20 and killed himself days later while police mounted an international manhunt.

But before the photo shoots and Playboy party appearances, Fiore, 28, was a girl from Bonny Doon, Calif., where she rode horses and bagged groceries at the local market.

Raised by a single mother (her parents divorced when she was 8), Fiore’s decision to leave her hometown – where she enjoyed sailing boats and riding motorcycles – for a modeling career came with some trepidation. “She started out nervous and wary of the big city,” says pal Lawrence Azzaro, whom Fiore called “Uncle Larry.”

On one occasion, Fiore’s former fiancé, Travis Heinrich, said he saw Jenkins – who had a history of domestic violence and attended court-ordered counseling – “punch her in the arm with enough force to push her into a pool.”