'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Michigan-born model Paula Sladewski, who once posed for Playboy's Ultimate Playmate Search in 2003, was brutally murdered after a night of partying in Miami, Florida, in January 2010, three days after New Year's. She was last seen leaving a popular nightclub during the early morning hours of January 3.
Sladewski's brutally burned remains were found later that day in a dumpster. She was spotted leaving the club in grainy surveillance footage and was reportedly being followed by a strange individual. Her boyfriend, Kevin Klym, claimed that he returned to their hotel room after he was kicked out of the same club following some drama.
The crime that occurred so many years ago remains one of the most mysterious cold cases as it still lingers in the minds of the detectives involved. With limited leads and evidence, Dateline: Unforgettable will re-examine the case in an attempt to find possible clues that may lead to the killer.
This article will further discuss Paula Sladewski's last moments before her brutal murder.
Conflicting versions of Paula Sladewski's last moments came to light after her burned body was found
Paula Sladewski was a young and attractive model whose charred body was discovered in a dumpster in NE 130th near Archer Road about 14 hours after she was last seen leaving the Club Space nightclub in Miami, which is about 12 miles from where her remains were found.
Paula Sladewski's boyfriend and the manager at the Miami club where she was last seen alive have given conflicting versions of the model's last moments. The boyfriend, Kevin Klym, alleged that one of the bouncers from Club Space, where the two partied until the early hours of January 3, was responsible for her killing.
Klym, who was kicked out of the club that night, asserts that the club's staff members may have orchestrated a plan to pursue Sladewski and thus decided to separate the couple and then follow her alone. Sladewski, who was kicked out of the club shortly after, was last seen leaving the nightclub and trailed by two bouncers in grainy, black-and-white surveillance footage.
Klym's allegations were disputed by the club's security manager, Mike Samuels, who called his assertions "insane" and "ludicrous," stating that the bouncers were really keeping an eye on Sladewski to make sure there weren't any further issues after they were escorted out of the place and weren't pursuing her. Moreover, the manager reportedly claimed that she left with another man,
"That's insane, that's completely ludicrous especially since the fact that we saw her leave with another gentleman."
While describing the mysterious "gentleman," Samuels said that he was a "light-skinned African-American male with a groomed full beard."
He further added:
"They literally walked off holding hands as if they were a couple."
An unidentified witness alleged the involvement of a mysterious man which supported the manager's claims
When news of Paula Sladewski's murder broke, a witness came forward, reporting that they saw a man leaving a parking lot close to Club Space with Sladewski. After receiving this crucial tip, the police produced a sketch of a man who was described as a "heavyset black male or Hispanic male with a goatee."
The club manager said that the man in the sketch never worked for them. Upon investigation, authorities also came to the conclusion that none of the staff members at Club Space matched the description, but Klym asserted otherwise.
Sladewski's boyfriend was also named a person-of-interest in the decade-old case after investigators learned of his abusive behavior toward his girlfriend. He was eventually ruled out as a suspect, leaving the identity of the killer a mystery for all.
Learn more about Paula Sladewski's murder case on Dateline: Unforgettable this Tuesday, November 15, 2022. The episode, titled Death of a Golden Girl, airs on Oxygen at 8:00 pm ET.
