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'America's Next Top Model' Contestant Among Dead In Drug-Related Triple Homicide

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CBS/AP) — A young man has been charged with killing a former contestant on "America's Next Top Model."

Police in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., said in a statement Wednesday that 19-year-old Emmanuel Jesus Rangel-Hernandez has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the death of 19-year-old Mirjana Puhar and two other victims. The victims' bodies were found Tuesday in a Charlotte home. Police did not reveal how they were killed.

TMZ reported Puhar was killed along with boyfriend Jonathan Alvarado, 23, and Alvarado's roommate, Jusmar Gonzaga-Garcia, 21.

Tyra Banks and Ken Mok, co-producers of the reality TV show "America's Next Top Model," confirmed Wednesday in a written statement that Puhar appeared on the show last year.

Police say Rangel-Hernandez is also charged in connection with a murder at a motel Sunday.

The suspect is being held at a local jail. Online records don't indicate whether he has an attorney.

CNN reported Puhar was a Serbian refugee who came to the United States along with her family when she was 5. She began modeling at 12.

Puhar finished in eight place and was eliminated in episode 10. Tattooed former pro football player Keith Carlos, 26, was cycle 21's winner, the first male to ever win the top spot.

Sources told TMZ Puhar only had been dating Alvarado for a couple of months and that they believed the murders were drug-related and that the victims knew their killer.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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