Florida Authorities Reopen Unsolved Cold Case Killing Of Playboy Playmate Star Stowe

“Nobody deserves to be murdered, and especially someone that is trying to get back on the right track,” her friend says.

February 27, 2023
Star Stowe, pictured here, was found strangled to death on March 16, 1997. Her case remains unsolved.

A former Playboy Playmate who once dated a performer from Kiss was murdered in Florida decades after she found fame on the West Coast.

Photo by: Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (Screenshot from ID's "The Playboy Murders")

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (Screenshot from ID's "The Playboy Murders")

By: Aaron Rasmussen

A former Playboy Playmate who once dated a performer from Kiss was murdered in Florida decades after she found fame on the West Coast.

On the afternoon of March 16, 1997, Dennis Pickering, now a former detective with the Coral Springs Police Department, responded to the report of a dead woman lying face-down behind a drugstore.

“I noticed she had a star tattooed on her body,” Pickering recalled of the strangled victim. “And I kind of kiddingly said to [another] detective, ‘You know, back in the ‘70s there was a girl who was dating Gene Simmons who had a tattoo in the very same spot.’ She was a centerfold for Playboy.”

Despite the odds, Pickering learned the victim was, in fact, the same Playboy Bunny he was referring to: Star Stowe, Playmate of the Month in February 1977.

Originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, Stowe had a “small-town-girl vibe” who aspired to be a dancer and rock musician, recalled Stella Tetenbaum, a Playboy Mansion hostess from 1978 to 1980.

Stowe was plunged into the world of rock when she met Kiss bass-guitarist Simmons at the Hotel Sahara in Las Vegas, where he was performing at the time. The two took a shine to each other, and she thought he was an “adorable” and “down-to-earth” guy, unlike his onstage persona, Stowe’s friend Jeff Olson said.

Stowe and Simmons were a couple for three years and the two appeared to be crazy about each other. At one point during their time together, Simmons reportedly encouraged Stowe to send her photos to Playboy. At age 20, she got her big break thanks to the magazine.

“Star didn’t understand much about what would happen after she was used up and there wasn’t somebody there to catch her,” Tetenbaum said, explaining she knew firsthand how life in Hollywood — and behind the closed doors of the Playboy Mansion — could be “scary” and “dangerous.”

According to Stowe’s friend, Olson, the Playmate was allegedly advised to take drugs and alcohol while hanging out with Hugh Hefner. Over time, her addictions began to get the best of her and she grew depressed.

Tetenbaum said Stowe was always in a haze and “needed to be put in rehab” but never got any help.

Simmons and Stowe eventually split and the Playboy Playmate’s life spiraled out of her control. By 1980, Stowe, fed up with the lifestyle at the Mansion, cut ties with Hugh Hefner and Playboy, depriving the now-22-year-old of the money she made with personal appearances, promotions and other opportunities.

In 1981, Stowe moved to Las Vegas, married an aspiring rock musician, and the two had a son. She began stripping to support her family, and she and her husband eventually split.

Once the dancing jobs in Las Vegas dried up, Stowe moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she continued to perform. In over her head and still in the throes of drug and alcohol addiction, she eventually turned to sex work to make ends meet.

On March 15, 1997 — almost 20 years to the day her centerfold in Playboy hit newsstands — Stowe was seen getting into a vehicle in Fort Lauderdale. She was found dead the following afternoon.

“I was heartbroken. Nobody deserves to be murdered, and especially someone that is trying to get back on the right track,” Olson said of his longtime friend.

Pickering said he and other detectives worked hundreds of hours on the case, but Stowe’s murder remains unsolved over 25 years after she was strangled to death.

The case was recently reopened and detectives reportedly are attempting to use DNA evidence collected during the investigation to identify the former Playboy Playmate’s killer.

Olson now wonders what could have become of Stowe had she not scored the gig with Playboy when she was a young woman. “I think she could have made it,” he said.

For more on this case, stream The Playboy Murders on discovery+.

Next Up

Authorities Raced To Identify A Mystery Woman Caught On Video Near A Strange Murder Scene

When 59-year-old Pamela Hutchinson was found murdered in a Florida condo, investigators zeroed in on a suspicious woman seen lurking around the neighborhood.

Rhonda Sue Coleman’s Small-Town Murder Is Still A Whodunit After 30 Years

Nobody was ever charged for the murder of a high school senior last seen leaving a house party just weeks before she was set to graduate.

Texas Fugitive Sought For Manslaughter Of 66-Year-Old Man

According to authorities, Henry Houston has a receding hairline and could be going bald. He may use the names Robert Alexander or David Wright. If you have any information, please contact our hotline directly by texting or calling: 833-378-7783 (3-PURSUE).

Questions Remain In 2009 Case Of High School Senior Found Dead On Minnesota Tribal Land

Stacy Hill, a Red Lake Nation girl, is remembered as a creative and popular student who loved “long walks with family and friends.”

Believe It Or Not, Scott Peterson, Convicted Wife-Killer, Has Groupies

Since Peterson first got arrested in 2003, admirers have continually loaded his prison bank account with donations.

A Florida Man Was Free For A Year Before He Killed — Again

Eric Pierson had already done two stints in prison — one for attempted murder and one for second degree murder — when Erika Verdecia went missing.

Popular Hollywood Sex Therapist Strangled, Thrown From LA Balcony

Friends of Amie Harwick said she was afraid of her alleged killer, Gareth Pursehouse.

Walmart Surveillance Captured The Moments A Man Stepped Into Danger’s Path

25-year-old Christopher Gray had plans to spend the night with his friends, so it took his family more than a day to realize he was missing.

Texas Television Reporter Found Murdered After Date With Weatherman Colleague

Jennifer Servo was just months into her broadcast journalism job when she was found dead in her apartment.

A Series Of Lucky Tips Helped Authorities Find A Murderer

Police rushed to find the killer after they found a man shot to death on a Milwaukee, Wisconsin street in May 2019.