"Playboy" Model Murdered, Burned, Left in Dumpster
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, murder in Miami. A gorgeous "Playboy" model killed, torched, and thrown in a Dumpster. Her body so badly burned, cops needed dental records to identify her charred remains. Police say she fought with her boyfriend the very night she vanished. We`ll dissect every angle in this latest battle in the war on women. And addict nation, out of control. A wannabe model on an apparent pill-popping bender is accused of blacking out behind the wheel and mowing down a pedestrian. Now that man is fighting for his life. How many people have to be maimed or even killed before we realize America is in the throes of a prescription drug crisis? Also, Bob Barker battles on the high seas. The game show legend has joined the whale wars. Tonight, we`re going to talk to Bob Barker live about his fight to save these beautiful creatures. It`s now taken an ugly turn. Tonight, Bob describes for us the violent attack in dangerous ocean waters. Plus, another bizarre chapter in the tragic death of Hollywood heiress Casey Johnson. Tila Tequila bids farewell to her lover in a heated video message on Twitter. The attention-seeking reality star has some harsh words for Casey`s friends and family. Now they`re firing back and Tila says, it`s war! ISSUES starts now!</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, was a beautiful, young model sleeping with the enemy? The body of 26-year-old Paula Sladewski was found inside a Miami Dumpster on New Year`s Day. Police say she was burned beyond recognition. The focus is now on her boyfriend, 34-year-old Kevin Klym. He reported Paula missing Friday, and police now call him a person of interest. CBS News posted these pictures of the couple. There is allegedly a frightening history of violence between them. Klym was recently arrested for allegedly assaulting Paula. Her stepdad even says Paula feared for her life. Those chilling details in just a moment. Police say the couple spent New Year`s Eve at a Miami nightclub. They reportedly got into a huge argument, and Klym was kicked out of the club. He says he never saw Paula after that, and he insists he had absolutely nothing to do with her death. Paula`s family is understandably reeling from this devastating news.</s>KELLY FARRIS, VICTIM`S SISTER: She did not deserve to die in this way. We can`t even give her an open casket. We can`t even see her again. I can`t see myself going back to work. I can`t -- I can`t see myself living a normal life until I know whoever did this is -- pays for it.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: And we are going to talk to that devastated sister tomorrow in the hopes that something we say will help police crack this case. And I want to take your calls on this. Is this a prime example of the war on women? Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. That`s 1-877-586-7297. Now straight out to my fantastic expert panel: criminal defense attorney, Bradford Cohen, who is very plugged into the Miami nightclub scene, because he is a club investor. We`re also going to talk to psychiatrist and addiction specialist Dr. Reef Kareem about the scene in Miami. And we`re delighted to have Judge David Young of the "Judge David Young Show." And we begin with Lieutenant Neal Cuevas, a spokesman for the North Miami Police Department. Officer Cuevas, thanks for joining us, I know you must be very busy, because you are trying to solve this horrific case. How was the body of this beautiful model discovered, and what exactly condition when he she in?</s>LIEUTENANT NEAL CUEVAS, SPOKESMAN, NORTH MIAMI POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, we were first alerted to the body by someone who happened to notice that the Dumpster was on fire. That person contacted the fire department. When they extinguished the flames, they discovered the body within the Dumpster. It was in horrific condition. It was unrecognizable. We cannot tell if it was male, female, or whether -- or what race the body was.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, do you think she -- I understand you think she was killed before she was set on fire?</s>CUEVAS: We believe that, yes, she was murdered prior to her body being set ablaze.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: So, in other words, being set on fire was an attempt to make it more difficult to identify her. And you ultimately identified her through her dental records. Now, somebody had to have seen something, between the club and the spot were Paula was discovered. This is a densely-populated area. The couple partied at Club Space in downtown Miami, but Paula`s body was found in North Miami, which is about ten miles away from the club. That`s about a 15-minute drive. Police say Paula, as you just heard, appeared to be dead before her body was set on fire. So my question to you, Lieutenant, have you been able to pinpoint a murder scene? Did the fire destroy key forensic evidence that could tell you how she died, how she was murdered?</s>CUEVAS: Well, naturally, the fire will destroy a lot of forensic evidence, and that`s probably what the murderer was trying to accomplish. From there, what we`re trying to do is locate anybody that might have seen Paula between the hours of 7 a.m. Sunday and the hour that she was discovered in the Dumpster, which would have been 9 p.m. in the evening that same day. We`re hoping someone might have seen her and come forward.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: This makes -- you know, look at it. There`s the Dumpster. Is that a metaphor for our war on women, that this gorgeous, gorgeous girl, only 26 years old, with her entire life ahead of her -- look at that beautiful young woman. Twenty-six years old, found in a Dumpster, burned beyond recognition. They can`t have an open casket. And when are we going to stop treating this as business as usual? Judge David Young, you`re a former Miami-Dade County judge. This happens all the time. When are we, as a culture, going to stand up and say enough?</s>DAVID YOUNG, HOST, "JUDGE DAVID YOUNG SHOW": Well, we have to do it and do it quickly, because what happened to this girl, Jane, was an absolute atrocity. And the person who did it knew what they were doing. It was calculated. It was planned, and whoever did this crime should be brought to justice and should get the death penalty here in the state of Florida.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Twenty-six-year-old Paula and her boyfriend got into a nasty argument about a month ago. The boyfriend, Kevin Klym, was allegedly arrested after breaking her nose. Paula`s mom says she can`t understand why her daughter didn`t leave this guy.</s>PAT WATKINS, SLADEWSKI`S MOTHER: I don`t know what he had on her. I don`t know what it was that she wouldn`t leave. You know? "I love him." I mean, the day that he broke her nose, he went to jail, and she bonded him out. So it was -- I don`t know. I can`t explain it.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: In an interview with FOXnews.com, Paula`s stepdad said Paula texted her ex-boyfriend, quote, "He`s trying to kill me," apparently referring to Klym. Now, the question I have, is the couple`s violent history, is that not enough, Lieutenant Cuevas, to make him a suspect at this point? He is considered a person of interest?</s>CUEVAS: That`s correct. Up until this point, he has been cooperating with investigators. He has been answering their questions. At this point, he`s just classified as a person of interest. And quite naturally, that would be his classification. He is the last person that knew her, to have seen her alive.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, once again, he has said, through his attorney, that he is devastated, that he had nothing to do with this, that he left her, took a taxi back to the hotel, and he says -- last question to Lieutenant Cuevas, for the moment -- he says that he`s willing to take a polygraph to prove his innocence. Are you going to give him that polygraph?</s>CUEVAS: Well, that`s part of the investigation, and that`s going to be something that the investigators will have to determine.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Bradford Cohen -- yes, I`m sorry to interrupt you, Lieutenant, but Bradford Cohen, should he take a polygraph and set that issue to rest? Because if it turns out he`s not responsible, boy, there`s a whole cast of characters -- I mean, all of South Beach, that you could start looking at.</s>BRADFORD COHEN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It`s a very tricky situation when you`re a criminal defense attorney, whether or not you let your client take a polygraph. That`s always the question, because they`re generally not willing.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: They`re willing to do it. They`re saying that they`re willing to do it.</s>COHEN: Listen, if he`s willing to do it, then I don`t see why not give him the polygraph, see what happens. You know, the polygraphs are extremely accurate, even though they`re not admitted into evidence. They`re not as scientific into evidence. That`s the problem with the polygraph. But if he`s willing to take it, absolutely, to at least eliminate him in certain instances and follow up on his story that he took a taxi back to the hotel, certainly, I would, if I was the police officer in this case, obviously, I would want to get as much as information as possible.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Brad, you know -- you know the Miami...</s>YOUNG: Jane, I`m sorry. I`m sorry. A former defense attorney without prior polygraphing his client is going to have his client take a polygraph test? What, are you stoned? That`s absolutely outrageous.</s>COHEN: No, I didn`t say -- you`re misinterpreting what I said. I didn`t say I would want him to take a polygraph. I said, in this case, if I was the police officer, I would want him to take a polygraph. So no, certainly, I`m not stoned, but maybe you are, because you`re not listening to what I said.</s>YOUNG: Hey, Jane...</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Hold on. Speaking of stoned, let`s go to the addiction specialist.</s>DR. REEF KAREEM, ADDICTION SPECIALIST: Yes, thanks.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: You`re not stoned, Dr. Reef Kareem, weigh in here.</s>KAREEM: It sounds like I need to do some couples and relationship therapy with your two other guests at this point. But no. You know, the biggest predictor of violence is a history of violence.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.</s>KAREEM: So there`s a reason he`s a person of interest at this point in time. Also, on the South Beach scene, you`ve got a lot of alcohol; you`ve got a lot of coke. It`s going to disinhibit people. The frontal lobe, the areas of our brain that tell us, don`t do that, don`t do this, are gone during that period of time when you`re using. Also, if you`ve got this codependent pathological relationship already preset, I`m just as surprised as you she wasn`t able to leave him. So there`s something there. And that`s why he`s a person of interest in this case.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Absolutely. And there`s a long history of women who have been, for a variety of reasons, unable to leave abusive relationships. It`s a part -- it`s a component of the war on women. Everyone, stay right where you are. The war on women hits Miami. Who killed this stunning model? We are taking your calls on this. I want to hear your theories, your thoughts, how do we stop it? 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297. Let`s try to be part of the solution here. Plus, a woman accused of popping pills, then blacking out behind the wheel. Wake with up, America! Prescription drug abuse is officially out of control. Is anything being done by our government to stop it? But first, a family desperately searching for answers. A gorgeous young woman, innocent, full of life, murdered. Her body dumped, set on fire. Who killed this gorgeous 26-year-old "Playboy" model?</s>FARRIS: My sister was 26 years old. She was full of life. She was beautiful, she cared about everybody. I spent Christmas with her, and it will be the last Christmas I ever get to see her again.