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More than 10 years ago, a young and aspiring model named Paula Sladewski, 26, was brutally murdered over New Year's weekend in 2010 while on a trip to Miami, Florida, with her boyfriend Kevin Klym. Sladewski was last seen leaving a nightclub called Club Space during the early hours of January 3. Later that day, her burned remains were discovered in a dumpster about 12 miles from the location.
The gruesome murder case that remains unsolved to date will be the subject of this Tuesday's Dateline: Unforgettable episode. The upcoming episode titled Death of a Golden Girl will air on November 15, 2022, at 8:00 pm ET.
The synopsis reads:
"An aspiring Playboy model is murdered in Miami, FL. A seven second clip of her last moments alive are caught on security video and could hold key clues. The haunting images make this case one of Dennis Murphy's most memorable."
Authorities are still looking for the perpetrator behind the murder of Paula Sladewski.
A fire was reported 14 hours after Paula Sladewski left Club Space
Paula Sladewski, who once posed for Playboy Magazine in 2003, and her boyfriend at the time, Kevin Klym, were staying over at a trendy South Beach hotel to party at a few of the best nightclubs Miami had to offer, which also included Club Space. The pair reportedly arrived at the club at around 5 am after two days of heavy drinking and partying. However, things soon went downhill for them.
Not long after arriving at the club, Paula and Kevin started having arguments following which the latter claimed that he was kicked out. Her boyfriend said that he got annoyed because of the chaos inside the place caused by Paula, who refused to leave. He then took a cab and headed back to the hotel to sleep. The victim was also escorted out of the club shortly after.
12 miles from Club Space, near NW 14 Avenue and 130 Street, close to what was once a propane company, North Miami police were contacted after a neighbor reported witnessing a fire. This was 14 hours after Sladewski left Club Space, which was likely the last time she was seen alive. A severely charred body was found there, identified as Paula Sladewski, using dental records.
By then, her boyfriend had started a search of his own after realizing that she never returned after their night out. He filed a missing person report with the police and hired an investigator to track down Paula. They spoke with several individuals in the area where she went missing, but there were no leads until her body was discovered in a dumpster.
Victim's boyfriend and nightclub bouncers were prime suspects in Paula Sladewski's murder
Given that Kevin Klym was the last person to see Paula alive, investigators initially thought he may be the murderer. He also had a history of domestic abuse with Sladewski, which led the police to briefly determine him as a person of interest, but they eventually eliminated him as a suspect. All the bouncers in question were also ruled out as suspects after a background check proved them innocent.
Authorities have struggled to make progress with the case ever since as there were no sightings of the 26-year-old Paula Sladewski after she left the club that night. Moreover, the only evidence recovered from her burned body was piercings and earrings.
North Miami Police Cmdr. Michael Gaudio, who was the lead detective in the investigation, reportedly stated:
"It's frustrating. It's the one case that stands out in my career. It's the one I didn't solve. To be unable to give the family closure does bother me. I still think about it to this day."
Authorities had their own theories, Gaudio claimed, saying:
"Well, the theory is that she was killed some place else and was brought there and someone had known where the dumpster was. That's not something that someone had common knowledge of."
Officials still hope to find her killer soon.
Dateline: Unforgettable airs this Tuesday with Paula Sladewski's cold case.
