Nearly 40 years after the killing of a former Playboy Club star stunned a Florida community, investigators say new DNA technology could finally bring long-awaited answers. Detectives in St. Petersburg are reopening the 1984 murder of Carolyn Merricks, a former Suncoast Playboy Bunny of the Year whose stabbing death inside her apartment has remained unsolved for decades.
According to Fox13, Merricks was 28 years old when relatives went to check on her after being unable to reach her. What they found inside her South St. Petersburg apartment was a violent crime scene.
According to St. Petersburg Police Detective Wally Pavelski, Merricks’ body was discovered just inside a doorway. “It looked like a struggle had occurred in the apartment,” Pavelski said.
Investigators determined she had been stabbed multiple times.
At the time of her death, Merricks was working as a cocktail waitress at the Tierra Verde Yacht Club, but she was also known locally for her connection to the Playboy brand.
She had previously worked at the Suncoast Playboy Club under the name “Bunny Chandra,” and in 1983, she was crowned Suncoast Playboy Bunny of the Year. The recognition included a trip to Los Angeles and placed her among the club’s most recognizable employees.
The Suncoast Playboy Club itself was a short-lived experiment in Florida nightlife. Opening in 1981 inside the Bayfront Concourse Hotel, the members-only venue recruited servers through a highly publicized casting process that drew more than 1,500 applicants.
Selected women were trained to represent the Playboy image—complete with signature costumes, bunny ears, and strict rules about how they interacted with guests. Merricks was one of the standout personalities from that early group.
Because of her visibility at the club, investigators initially examined whether her job or public profile could have played a role in the killing. Detectives reviewed people who knew her personally, including coworkers and individuals connected to the apartment complex, but no physical evidence tied any suspect to the crime.
Police also determined the apartment did not appear to have been robbed, leading investigators to believe Merricks likely knew the person who entered her home.
Today, the case is being reexamined with tools investigators did not have in 1984. Pavelski says laboratories are conducting advanced hair analysis while detectives explore genetic genealogy, a method that can identify potential suspects through relatives listed in DNA databases.
Anyone with information about the death of Merricks is asked to contact the St. Petersburg Police Department.