A former contestant on the reality show America's Next Top Model has reportedly been found dead in what appears to be a triple homicide. Mirjana Puhar, a 19-year-old contestant on the show's 21st cycle, which aired last year, was found dead inside her boyfriend's home in North Carolina yesterday, according to TMZ, who broke the story on Wednesday. The site reports that Mirjana and the other two victims—her boyfriend Jonathan Alvarado and Jonathan's roommate, Jusmar Gonzaga-Garcia— most likely knew their murderer.
"I think it was somebody in their inner circle," one of the victims' neighbors told WCNC.com.
According to TMZ, the killings may have been drug-related, but law enforcement agents have not been able to confirm that theory yet.
Mirjana Puhar starred on the most-recent season of ANTM. (Instagram)
Early Wednesday morning, police arrested a 19-year-old man and charged him with three counts of first-degree murder for the crime involving Mirjana and her roommates. He was also charged with another count of first-degree murder for being involved with another shooting that happened over the weekend.
Although Mirjana was not the winner of her season of America's Next Top Model, she did manage to make it relatively far in the game. She was eliminated during the season's tenth episode. During her time on the show, Mirjana mentioned having a boyfriend back home, although it is not known if that boyfriend was Jonathan. She had a brief fling with Denzel Wells, one of the male contestants in the house.
A model of Serbian, Asian and European heritage, Mirjana's exotic look helped her excel in the modeling competitions during her time on the show.
After news broke of Mirjana's murder, J Alexander, who starred as a judge on her season, expressed his feelings about the young model.
“Saddened to learn about #ANTM Cycle 21 contestant Mirjana Puhar's murder. Remembering her fondly. RIP,” he tweeted.
Contestants from Cycle 21 also took to social media to express their heartbreak over her death.
Mirjana with several other cast members from ANTM Cycle 21. (Instagram)
“RIP Mirjana, we love you. Such an unbelievably tragic day. #ANTMfamily,” posted Adam Smith.
“Life's too short. Celebrating our top model family #antmfamily” contestant Will Jardell captioned a cast photo he posted to Instagram. “We are and always will be a family #queenmirjana we miss you.”
Tyra Banks, the creator and star of the show, has not yet issued a statement regarding Mirjana's death.
