An upcoming true crime series will explore the mysterious death of a former Penthouse “Pet of the Year,” whose body was found washed up in a restricted area of a Marine Corps base with a broken neck.
Anneka Vasta, born Marjorie Lee Thoreson, lived a life of relative glamor in the 1970s and 1980s.
She rose to fame after being named Penthouse Pet of the Year in 1975, under the name Anneka Di Lorenzo, and later appeared in Bob Guccione’s infamous soft porn film Caligula.
But in January 2011, two joggers found the 58-year-old’s naked body in a closed off area on a Marine training beach at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, California.
Here, FEMAIL has exposed the sordid details as an episode of Lethally Blonde sets to unravel the case.
An upcoming true crime series will delve into the mysterious case of former Penthouse ‘Pet of the Year’ Anneka Vasta
In January 2011, two joggers found the 58-year-old’s naked body in a closed off area on a Marine training beach (pictured) at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County.
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Anneka was on a rocky road from the beginning.
She dropped out of high school and moved to Los Angeles – after her parents divorced in 1965 – where she worked as a receptionist, cocktail waitress and topless dancer.
She met photographer and publisher Bob Guccione, who founded the adult magazine Penthouse in 1973.
The businessman quickly agreed to make her Pet of the Month for that month of September. He flew her to New York and then to London for photo shoots that would put her in the spotlight.
The magazine publisher also gave her the role of Roman empress Messalina in Caligula.
And Anneka, who then went by the surname Di Lorenzo, said at the time: ‘How famous do I want to become?
“Let’s just say I’m going to be the sexiest woman in the world.”
But that turned out not to be so obvious.
The star (left) was named Penthouse Pet of the Year in 1975, under the name Anneka Di Lorenzo, and appeared in Bob Guccione’s infamous soft porn film Caligula (right)
Anneka (pictured alongside Swiss artist HR Giger), born Marjorie Lee Thoreson, lived a life of relative glamor in the 1970s and 1980s
Her career suffered from the response to the 1979 feature, the first major film to feature eminent actors, including Helen Mirren, in explicit sex scenes.
Anneka’s on-screen career soon fizzled out and her last role was a small role as a nurse in Brian De Palma’s Dressed to Kill.
Things only got worse when she sued Guccione for sexual harassment in 1988 and he was found guilty of forcing her to have sex with two business partners.
Despite being awarded a groundbreaking $4 million in damages, Anneka won just a paltry $4.06 after an appeal ruling that the money could not be recovered and the award revoked.
Guccione, who died in 2010 at the age of 79, hit back at her by reprinting photos of Anneka’s lesbian love scene from Caligula with Lori Wagner in the February 1991 issue of Penthouse.
Anneka sued Bob Guccione in 1988 on charges of sexual harassment and he was found guilty of forcing her to have sex with two business partners
Anneka, who was divorced and unemployed at the time of her death, lived near her sister, Susan Thoreson, in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles.
Susan said the actress, who had a daughter, began showing signs of mental problems about six or eight years ago — according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. She suffered from bouts of paranoia and anxiety.
The former Penthouse model is said to have left Los Angeles in the early hours of January 2, 2011, driving south in a maroon Mazda with many of her belongings in the trunk, the newspaper said.
Just before 6 a.m., she rented a room at the Motel 6, but never wanted to check out.
She drove around until 8:30 a.m. calling family and friends, the latter of whom came from the area where she parked her car – which was found at a popular scenic overlook along Interstate 5.
Anneka’s death remains shrouded in mystery, despite there being no explicit evidence of foul play
But what happened next is a mystery as authorities struggle to determine how Anneka got from the lookout point 60 feet above sea level to the rocky sands below, more than a mile to the south.
Her body was found by two joggers after it washed up on the military training beach.
It was determined that Anneka, who suffered from a broken neck and back, had drowned.
When investigators discovered the Mazda, her phone and purse were still inside, as well as a bloodstained leopard-print blouse and a sports bra, packed in a Motel 6 plastic bag.
A steak knife with Anneka’s blood on it was found near the passenger’s footwell.
Lithium and an empty bottle of Xanax were found in the car, but an autopsy showed no drugs were present in the dead woman’s body.
The medical examiner reported superficial cuts on Anneka’s wrists, consistent with a half-hearted suicide attempt.
She also had two stab wounds on her chest, the The San Diego Union-Tribune reported this at the time.
But Anneka’s three sisters insisted she would not have committed suicide, and were concerned that her neck and back had been broken while she was alive.
Her family believes the star’s open nature could have gotten her into trouble.
‘She’s like a little girl on the street. A stranger can walk by and she will strike up a conversation with them,” Susan told the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Anneka’s death remains shrouded in mystery, despite there being no explicit evidence of foul play.
The Lethally Blonde series premieres March 25 on Investigation Discovery