Would-be social media star from the Sault charged with murder in L.A.

A man from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., who documented his travels across the U.S. on social media, is in jail in Los Angeles, Calif., and charged with murder, CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca has confirmed.

Jeff Primeau in front of white school bus camper. (Facebook)

Jeffrey Gary Primeau was arrested by the L.A. Police Department West Bureau on Feb. 9, the L.A. County Sheriff's office confirmed on the phone to CTV News.

Primeau is being held at Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown L.A., the U.S.'s biggest mental health facility.

His bail is set at $2 million and his next court date is March 14.

Several media outlets are reporting Primeau confessed to killing his girlfriend in self-defence after she allegedly threatened him with a knife around Nov. 22.

The woman's decomposed body was allegedly found in an RV near the L.A. International Airport by police and Primeau was arrested.

Social media posts

CTV News obtained two videos Primeau posted on Nov. 12 to his Facebook account – which was deactivated the evening of Feb. 19 – showing him and a woman inside what looks to be a camper.

Jeff Primeau and woman said they crossed the U.S.-Canada border with no problems. (Facebook)

"So, yeah, we're still finding out a lot about each other, like what our real names are," he said, as a woman with dreadlocks started laughing behind him.

"That's cool … we're going on a cross-country adventure. I was like 'So, my name actually is …' Alright, well, here we go. We’re going to the border with our real names now."

In one of his social media posts, he tagged a woman whose Facebook name is Ashley Strnad and who resembles the one seen in his Nov. 12 video.

Facebook user Ashley Strnad profile pic.

Her Facebook cover photo also shows a short, white school bus, which appears to have been converted into a camper.

White school bus converted into camper (Ashley Strnad Facebook)

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The second video Primeau posted on Nov. 12 said they were able to cross the border successfully and were in Port Huron.

"They let us in," he said as the woman who paces behind him laughs.

"First thing we're going to do, we're going to look for a dispensary and have a little celebration I guess … the adventure begins."

Primeau said the pair crossed the border without a problem.

"They asked where we're going, I said 'Arizona' and they said 'For how long?' I said 'three-four months' and he says 'OK, have a great day,'" he said.

Knife fight

On Nov. 16, Primeau posted a photo on Facebook of him next to a bearded man in a white shirt with a caption that read "After almost getting into a knife fight … I found peace in Texas lol."

Jeff Primeau Facebook post on Nov. 16/23 about almost getting into a knife fight.

In the comments of that post, he mentioned he was making his way to California.

The next day, he posted a photo of himself with someone in a bunny mask and in the comments someone asked "She kick you out of the bus already?"

Primeau replied with a photo of a green tent set up in front of a parked white bus, that appears to be Strnad's.

Jeff Primeau posted a photo of a green tent set up by a white camper bus as a reply to someone asking him in the comments if 'she kicked you out of the bus already?' (Facebook)

Primeau posted on his Facebook page regularly Nov. 16-19 with photos claiming to be in various places in Texas. 

His posts stopped for more than a month before resuming Jan. 1. with photos of Salvation Mountain, located east of L.A., saying "I'm alive! Be healthy, happy and humble."

Jeff Primeau post on Facebook on Jan. 1/24

L.A. police have not released the identity of the murder victim.

CTV News has reached out to Strnad and a restaurant that she listed as having worked for through social media, but have not received responses as of publication time.

L.A. police have also not released a photo of the accused.