It was August 1980. The air in West Los Angeles was thick with that peculiar California heat. Inside a modest house on Cloudhurst Drive, the kind of place that looked entirely ordinary from the curb, a nightmare had just ended. Dorothy Stratten, the 20-year-old "girl next door" who had been crowned Playboy’s Playmate of the Year, was dead.
People still search for dorothy stratten crime scene photos today, mostly out of a grim curiosity or a desire to understand how someone so full of light could end up in such a dark place. But those photos aren't just snapshots of a tragedy. They are the final, cold documentation of a life stolen by a man who couldn't handle losing control.
What the investigators actually found
When the police walked into Paul Snider’s bedroom at 12:30 a.m. on August 15, they didn't see a Hollywood star. They saw a crime scene that veteran detectives later described as looking like a "staged horror movie."
Dorothy had gone to the house to settle a divorce. She wanted to be fair. She even brought $1,100 in cash to give to Paul as a peace offering, a way to help him get on his feet. Her purse was found open in the living room, suggesting she had been there for a while, perhaps trying to reason with him.
The bedroom was where the violence culminated. Both Stratten and Snider were found nude. The forensic evidence was devastating: Dorothy had been shot in the face with a 12-gauge shotgun. The blast was so close it was unmistakable. Snider had then used a "bench" or a "bonding" device—something he had allegedly purchased or built for his own twisted fantasies—to assault her body before turning the gun on himself.
✨ Don't miss: Melania Trump Wedding Photos: What Most People Get Wrong
The dorothy stratten crime scene photos taken by the LAPD captured a level of depravity that shocked even Hugh Hefner’s inner circle. Paul Snider was found slumped over the same shotgun, his own life ended by a single blast to the head.
Why Paul Snider did it
To understand why these photos exist, you have to understand the man behind the trigger. Paul Snider was a pimp and a small-time promoter from Vancouver. He saw Dorothy at a Dairy Queen and didn't see a girl; he saw a ticket.
- He groomed her.
- He pushed her into Playboy.
- He married her to ensure he had a legal "claim" to her earnings.
But Dorothy grew up. She moved to L.A. and realized the world was bigger than Paul's flashy suits and floppy hats. When she fell in love with director Peter Bogdanovich while filming They All Laughed, Snider’s "ownership" began to crumble.
He was a man who owned nothing else. He had no green card, no real job, and his only source of status was being "Mr. Dorothy Stratten." When she told him it was over, he chose to destroy the thing he couldn't own.
🔗 Read more: Erika Kirk Married Before: What Really Happened With the Rumors
The cultural obsession with the photos
It’s weird, honestly. We live in an era where true crime is basically a hobby, but the fascination with dorothy stratten crime scene photos feels different. It feels invasive.
Maybe it’s because she was so young. Maybe it’s because her death marked the end of the "innocent" era of the Playboy Mansion. Bogdanovich famously blamed the culture of the mansion for "corrupting" the situation, while Hefner blamed Snider’s inherent instability.
The photos themselves have mostly remained under lock and key, though descriptions of them have leaked through court documents and investigative reports over the decades. They depict a scene that was less about a "crime of passion" and more about a calculated, final act of dominance. Snider even told friends the day before that he was "going to take up hunting."
Common misconceptions about the case
You've probably heard a dozen versions of this story. Some people think it was a drug deal gone wrong. Others think Hefner had something to do with it. Let’s clear that up.
💡 You might also like: Bobbie Gentry Today Photo: Why You Won't Find One (And Why That Matters)
- It wasn't a "suicide pact." Dorothy wanted to live. She had a movie coming out. She was in love. She went there to buy her freedom, not to end her life.
- The photos weren't "leaked" to magazines. While many tabloid-style photos of the house and the exterior exist, the actual graphic evidence of the bodies remained part of the official police file.
- Snider wasn't a "misunderstood" husband. He was a predator. He hired a private investigator to follow her. He bought the shotgun specifically for that day.
Actionable insights for true crime researchers
If you are researching this case or looking for the reality behind the dorothy stratten crime scene photos, it is better to look at the primary sources rather than the sensationalized ones.
First, read The Killing of the Unicorn by Peter Bogdanovich. It's biased, definitely, but it provides a heart-wrenching look at Dorothy's final weeks. Second, look into the 1980 Village Voice article by Teresa Carpenter titled "Death of a Playmate." It won a Pulitzer Prize for a reason. It strips away the glamour and looks at the gritty, ugly reality of Paul Snider’s world.
Finally, remember the human cost. Dorothy Stratten was a daughter, a sister, and a woman who was just starting to find her voice. The photos of her death shouldn't define her life.
If you're looking for more context on the investigation, you can look up the LAPD's summary of the case files from August 1980. Most of the factual details regarding the shotgun purchase and the timeline of the roommates finding the bodies are documented in the public records of the coroner’s report.