A former Manhattan model set fire to her New Jersey home and killed both herself and her boyfriend last week. In 2004 the cover girl made headlines for successfully fighting off the advances of a would-be rapist in Central Park, but in the end her “emotionally unstable” personality got the best of her. "They had their up and down moments," said Scott Broschart a close friend of Carina Schlesinger and Daniel Cresci, who’d been together 18 months.

According to police, Schlesinger shot Cresci, a 29-year-old lawyer, pilot and “aspiring restaurateur,” before setting fire to their rented home, though it’s unclear whether days or hours elapsed between the two events. As the house went up in flames the 36-year-old ex-model and dog obedience school proprietress shot herself. She and Cresci were neighbors before becoming romantically involved. They met in the field behind their homes, Broschart told the Ashbury Park Press.

In 2004, Tito Rodriguez attacked Schlesinger in Central Park, but she warded him off courageously with the help of her dog Cookie. Schelsinger scratched her aggressor in the face as the pooch sunk its teeth into his leg. Blood splattered onto Schelsinger’s shirt and the dog was used as DNA evidence, that helped put Rodriguez—who went on to assault another woman days later—behind bars for life.