Police in Miami are looking for the "monster" who murdered a former Playboy model, by dumping her in a trash bin and setting her on fire.
The body of 26-year-old Paula Sladewski was identified through dental records Wednesday, three days after she was found. Firefighters were called to a fire in a dumpster Sunday night. After putting out the flames, they found the body.
"It was just total, total, disfigurement," North Miami police spokesman Lt. Neal Cuevas told CNN. "You couldn't even tell that it was a woman or a man or even what race."
Sladewski, who appeared in a 2003 Playboy video, and her boyfriend Kevin Klym arrived in Miami from Michigan last Thursday to ring in the New Year. But Klym told police that early Sunday morning, the couple got into an argument at a club. Klym got kicked out, and Sladewski decided to stay. Klym said that's the last time he saw her. He said when Sladewski didn't come back to the hotel by Monday, he called police.
Police are referring to Klym as a "person of interest, which is a?tag always put on the last person to see a victim. Klym's attorney said Klym is "devastated and traumatized" by his girlfriend's murder.
"He desperately wants this crime solved and anybody involved brought to justice," attorney Marc Beginin said. "The Miami police are pursuing all leads and doing their jobs. However, ultimately, he doesn't need to be a person of interest," Beginin said his client met with investigators for 12 hours.
Sladewski's sister said Paula and Klym had been dating for two years. It was Klym who called the sister on Monday to say Paula was missing. "She loved life, she was full of life," Kelly Farris said. "She went on a lot of vacations. She was a great person. She did not deserve to die in this way."
In the meantime, police have no suspects, but they are anxious to find one.
"It's so horrific. They'd have to be a monster. It's a dastardly act," Lt. Cuevas said. "It's the most heinous thing that a person can do to another person. This was a brutal, horrible, disgusting murder, and this monster or these monsters need to be brought to justice."
