Tammy Lynn Leppert

Career

Leppert was employed primarily as a model. As a child she competed in nearly 300 beauty pageants and won the vast majority of them. Just prior to her vanishing, she appeared in the 1983 film Scarface as the girl who was a distraction at the lookout car, during the bloody chainsaw shower scene. Prior to that, among other minor roles, she had been in the teen movie Spring Break of the same year, where she had a role as a participant in a boxing match. Reportedly, her legs, hips and torso were used in the main poster for the movie. It is claimed she had plans to go to Hollywood in 1983.

Disappearance

Leppert was last seen in Cocoa Beach, Florida on July 6, 1983. She was reported to have worn a blue shirt decorated with flowers, along with a skirt of the same color, made from denim, a gray purse and sandals. Some agencies have stated she had left without shoes or money. A friend of hers told authorities he had an argument with Leppert while transporting her by vehicle from her home in Rockledge, Florida and later "left her [...] in a parking lot." Although he was the last person believed to have seen her, he is not considered a suspect, although her mother has said that Leppert expressed to her that she was "afraid" of him.

Physical information

Leppert was known to have been between five feet four and five feet five inches tall and weighed between 105 and 115 pounds at the time she vanished. She had curly blond hair and hazel colored eyes. It is also speculated that she may have been three months pregnant.

Investigation

Some presume that Leppert may have been a murder victim of serial killer Christopher Wilder, who killed many young women until his death in 1984. Leppert's family sued Wilder before he was killed by police, although they eventually decided to halt the process, as some had their doubts if he was involved in her disappearance. Leppert's agent also stated that she did not believe Wilder killed Tammy.

Another person of interest in the case was John Crutchley, a convicted kidnapper and rapist. He is suspected of killing as many as 30 women. He committed suicide in prison in 2002.

Leppert's mother theorized that her daughter could have been murdered due to her knowledge of drug trafficking that was occurring locally. She reported that Leppert exhibited signs of paranoia, as she was cautious when consuming food and would not drink from open containers. She had also allegedly filed a report to police.

Several age progressions have been created to show what she may have later looked like, if she was still alive, by forensic artists Danny Sollitti, Diana Trepkov and those from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the latter created in 2013. Profiles detailing the case have been created by The Doe Network, National Missing and Unidentified Persons System and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in hopes to generate leads from potential tips. Her DNA profile has since been processed, once this form of forensic technology became possible, although her dental records and fingerprints have not been accessed by local police. It is believed that her dental information had been acquired at some point, yet poor record keeping resulted in the data being lost.

Exclusions

According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, the following unidentified decedents have been ruled out as being the remains of Tammy Leppert.

Filmography