The Playboy Murders: Who is Sandy Bentley and where is she now?

Hugh Hefner's girlfriend, Sandy Bentley, had shot to fame with her May 2000 Playboy magazine feature with her identical twin, Mandy Bentley. Together called the Bentley twins, the sisters moved into the Playboy Mansion following Hefner's split with his wife, Kimberley Conrad.

During her time with Hefner, Sandy had started seeing hedge fund manager Mark Yagalla who gifted her precious jewellery and assets that were ordered to be returned on his arrest in 2000. To secure some of the money for herself, she laid a plan to sell some of the jewellery with her next boyfriend, Michael Tardio, who ended up dead in September 2002 at the hands of a potential buyer.

The Playboy Murders episode Double Trouble aired on Investigation Discovery on January 22, 2024, at 10 p.m. EST and showcased the unsolved murder of Sandy Bentley's boyfriend Michael Tardio. The synopsis reads:

"In the late '90s, Playboy twins Sandy and Mandy Bentley's fame soars until an affair with a Vegas High Roller leads to a fall from fame, stolen jewels, a shadowy buyer and a brutal double murder in the Hollywood hills."

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Who is Sandy Bentley? Details explored

Sandy Bentley was born on May 18, 1978, in Joliet, Illinois, along with her identical twin sister Amanda (Mandy) Bentley. Together, the two were known as the Bentley twins, and they went on to be featured on the May 2000 cover of the Playboy magazine.

Besides their stint as Playboy Playmates, the two sisters shot to fame as they started living with the world's most famous bachelor - Hugh Hefner. Hefner had just separated from his wife Kimberley Conrad when he started dating the Bentley twins. Sandy and Mandy Bentley lived in the Playboy Mansion in 1999 and 2000, per PEOPLE Magazine.

Apart from their relationship with Hefner, the Bentley twins also had their time on-screen with Charlie Sheen and John Cryer in Two and a Half Men. They were also featured in Sex and the City and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

The former Playmate Holly Madison shared in an exclusive clip with PEOPLE magazine:

“When I moved into the mansion, things were not as luxurious and I think that’s because he felt so burned by that first relationship after his marriage that he was a lot more careful with his girlfriends moving forward.”

During her relationship with Hefner, Sandy was allegedly seeing Mark Yagalla, the ex-Wall Street wunderkind and former hedge fund manager, who showered her with rare jewellery and valuable gifts. However, when he got caught for running a Ponzi scheme, Sandy moved on with Michael Tardio, who was a model in Hollywood and doorman at the Garden of Eden.

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How did Sandy Bentley's boyfriend Michael Tardio die?

Following Mark Yagalla's arrest, Sandy Bentley was ordered to return all the gifts she had received from him. A USA federal receiver was appointed for the recovery of the assets. Bentley had to allegedly return almost $1 million in assets, which made her collaborate with Michael Tardio to sell some of the jewellery she was gifted.

Michael Tardio and his friend, Chris Monson, had set out in a Mercedes SUV to sell the jewellery to a potential buyer named Mr. Big on the evening of September 2, 2002. However, Tardio and Monson were found shot to death at point-blank range later on the same night with their car riddled with bullets, lit on fire, and parked at Studio City, California.

The jewellery was missing and has never been recovered since. Meanwhile, the murders of Michael Tardio and Chris Monson remain unsolved to date.