Post by Scumhunter on May 24, 2016 6:46:24 GMT -5
(Above: Left: Paula Sladewski Photo Credit: examiner.com. Right: Sketch of possible suspect. Photo Credit: miaminewtimes.com )
From the AMW archives:
Model Mystery
It all started with a missing persons report for 26-year-old Paula Sladewski -- a former Playboy model who was last seen leaving a trendy Miami nightclub. But the case has taken many twists and turns, leaving detectives with a murder mystery on their hands.
Paula -- a tall, attractive, platinum blonde who was aspiring to be a model -- had planned a romantic getaway in sunny South Florida with her longtime boyfriend, Kevin Klym. The couple, who split their time between California and Michigan, spent the holidays in Michigan with family and friends before flying to Miami on Dec. 31 to ring in the New Year.
According to Kevin's attorney, the couple bounced from club to club in Miami. In the early morning hours of Jan. 3, the couple argued at the hip Club Space nightclub. The two had been drinking and partying all night prior to the disagreement, and their fight led club bouncers to kick Kevin out.
Police say Kevin took a taxi back to their Miami Beach hotel where he awaited Paula's return, but she never came back. Kevin grew concerned about where Paula could be in a city far from home, and he filed a missing persons report with the Miami Police Department.
About 14 hours later, North Miami Police and Fire and Rescue responded to a burning trash bin in the 1400 block of Northeast 130th Street. Detectives say inside the bin were the remains of a body, burned beyond recognition.
Miami detectives searched for Paula for three days while miles away, North Miami detectives sought to ID the charred remains.
On Jan. 6, dental records confirmed the badly burned body was that of Paula Sladewski.
Now the case has been turned over to North Miami detectives to try and solve the mysterious and gruesome murder.
A Killer Still Lurks
After identifying the corpse, detectives began to work on a timeline. Police say Kevin is the last person to have seen her alive. Kevin is not currently a suspect but is a person of interest, police say.
North Miami Police Lt. Neal Cuevas said, "All the facts that Kevin gave police of that night -- including a fight at the club, taking a cab to the hotel and making phone calls searching for Paula -- have all been verified."
Grainy surveillance video showed Paula leaving the nightclub 20 minutes after Kevin was kicked out.
"Without a doubt that is her in that video leaving the club," Lt. Cuevas said. The video showed several people leaving the club at the same time, and police have worked hard to identify those patrons in hopes they may have seen something that could lead them to Paula’s killer or killers.
North Miami police want to talk to witnesses who may have seen Paula between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Jan. 3 in the Miami area.
Police have released a sketch of a person seen leaving Club Space with Paula that night.
Police say the person is about 6 feet tall with a stocky build and light skin.
"Whoever did this murder is a deranged and dangerous individual who must be found,” Lt. Cuevas said.
The difficult part is trying to find out who the suspect is, because investigators have little to go on.
"We know our victim was dead before she was set ablaze. However, we are unsure where the crime scene is," Lt. Cuevas said. "Paula was so badly burned, the medical examiner cannot conclude the cause of death, or if there was rape or another crime at this time."
Investigators have spent most of their time going through other surveillance videos from the club as well as finding witnesses or people who saw Paula leaving that Sunday morning.
"Witnesses described Paula walking away with a black male,” Lt. Cuevas said. “The man described is not the same male on the surveillance video where Paula is leaving." He said due to the angle of the cameras outside Space Club, Paula's image was not captured walking away.
One Possible Clue Discovered
Detectives have recovered one clue so far -- a car seen in the area of the North Miami trash bin where Paula’s body was found. That vehicle was found abandoned Jan. 12 in the Miami area. While it’s unclear if the car is connected with the crime, police are searching it for clues, leaving no stone unturned in hopes of finding new details.
Police have released pictures of the blue dress Paula was wearing the night she disappeared and an earring found five feet from the dumpster containing her body.
Paula's family in Michigan and her boyfriend are asking for the public's assistance in finding her killer or killers.
web.archive.org/web/20110811020208/http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=70593#case
Thoughts? The above is from the AMW archives. Paula Sladewski's murder was aired on the February 13th, 2010 episode of America's Most Wanted. The bad news is some of those aforementioned clues the photos no longer work on the AMW archive website. The good news is we now have a media source that has updated Paula's case, as she was aired on the March 11th, 2016 episode of Crime Watch Daily. It was a three-part segment and you can view the story along with links to all three parts at this web page link: crimewatchdaily.com/2016/03/07/miami-murder-mystery-who-killed-model-outside-after-hours-club/
Admin Note #1: If you have any information on this case,our advice based on tv airings would be to submit a tip to Crime Watch Daily, or call or text their toll-free tip line at (844) 800-CRIME.
Admin Note #2: If you have any news-related updates on this case, please contact us here: amwfans.com/thread/1662/website-contact-form