The Disappearance of “Scarface” Actress Tammy Lynn Leppert in 1983

Tammy Lynn Leppert, an aspiring actress, model, and beauty queen, disappeared under mysterious circumstances on July 6, 1983, at the age of 18 from Cocoa Beach, Florida. Her case remains unsolved.

Leppert was born in Rockledge, Florida, on February 5, 1965. She began participating in beauty contests when she was four years old, competing in nearly 300 beauty pageants and taking home about 280 crowns. Leppert was employed primarily as a model throughout her adolescent and teenage years, appearing on the cover of CoverGirl magazine in October 1978.

Just before her disappearance, Leppert appeared in the film Scarface (1983) as the girl who distracts the lookout car during the bloody chainsaw scene. Before that, among other minor roles, she played a party girl in Little Darlings (1980) and a participant in a boxing match in Spring Break (1983). Reportedly, Leppert’s legs, hips and torso were used in the main poster for the latter movie. It is also claimed she had plans to go to Hollywood in 1983. Leppert had a lead role playing herself in a film called Cover Girl Behind the Scenes.

After the Spring Break shoot was finished, Leppert went unaccompanied to a party one weekend. According to her close friend, Wing Flannagan, she came home from the party “a different person.” After performing her role in Scarface, Leppert suddenly returned home after the fourth day of filming. Her mother assumed that Leppert had been afraid of being murdered by someone, and that she had become overtaken by this delusion. Her mother felt obliged to have her examined by a doctor, but after 72 hours in a medical center, Leppert was released and there seemed to be no signs of drug or alcohol use according to doctor statements.

Leppert was last seen in Cocoa Beach, Florida, on July 6, 1983. She was reported to have worn a blue denim shirt decorated with flowers, along with a matching skirt, a gray purse and sandals. Some agencies have stated that Leppert left without shoes or money.

Tammy Lynn Leppert was last seen in Cocoa Beach, FL.

A male friend told authorities that he had an argument with her while driving her from her home in Rockledge and had later “left her [...] in a parking lot.” Although he is the last person believed to have seen her, he is not considered a suspect. However, Leppert’s mother has claimed that her daughter was “afraid” of him.

After Leppert’s disappearance, Cocoa Beach Detective Harold Lewis received two telephone calls from a woman claiming that she was still alive. In the first call, the woman said that Leppert would make contact when the time was right. During the second call, she said that Leppert was doing what she always wanted: going to school to become a nurse.

Two prominent serial killers active in Florida at the time were considered persons of interest: Christopher Wilder and John Crutchley. Wilder was known for luring women with promises of modeling opportunities, and Leppert's family even sued him, though the suit was later halted due to doubts about his involvement. Crutchley was a convicted kidnapper and rapist. Neither has been definitively linked to Leppert’s disappearance.

Tammy’s mother theorized that her daughter’s paranoia might have been linked to her knowledge of local drug trafficking, suggesting she might have been murdered due to something she knew.

Another theory is that her erratic behavior was indeed due to a mental health episode, and she may have wandered off, met with an accident, or fallen victim to a random act of violence while disoriented.

Tammy Lynn Leppert’s case remains a cold case, generating considerable speculation and interest due to her background in the entertainment industry and the unsettling circumstances surrounding her disappearance. Her DNA profile has been processed, but her dental records and fingerprints are not readily accessible to local police.