The Playboy Murders on ID: What happened to Bruce Rathgeb?

The Playboy Murders is all set to return with a new episode on Investigation Discovery on January 29, 2024, bringing forth the case involving Bruce Rathgeb and his wife, Victoria Vetri, a former playmate. The latter, who was the Playmate of the Year in 1968, attempted to murder her husband in 2010. Bruce Rathgeb was shot by his wife after she accused him of being unfaithful, as per CBS News.

Vetri was a friend of Sharon Tate, who was reportedly killed by Charles Mason's followers, as per IMDb. The upcoming episode of The Playboy Murders, titled The Bunny and Charles Manson, will premiere at 10 pm EST on ID. It will deal with the consequences of Tate's murder and Vetri becoming a convicted criminal. The synopsis for the upcoming episode of the show reads:

"Stunning actress Victoria Vetri becomes Playmate of the Year in 1968; just a year later, followers of Charles Manson brutally murder her close friend Sharon Tate; the crime sets in motion a series of events that ends in Victoria's tragic downfall."

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What did Victoria Vetri do to her husband Bruce Rathgeb?

Bruce Rathgeb and Victoria Vetri were married for 25 years when the former playmate and her husband engaged in a heated domestic dispute on October 16, 2010. As per The Sun, the argument soon turned physical and Vetri shot Rathgeb as she suspected he was having an affair. Victoria got a gun from her house and fired at her husband near the building's elevator door.

As per CBS News, Bruce Rhatgeb later testified and said, "Quickly she just aimed and fired at me." He claimed that as soon as she fired the gun, he felt a burning sensation and smelled gunpowder. He said that his wife then put a small plastic bag in his mouth, which he spit out before she walked back to their apartment.

As per CBS News, he further testified that he lost consciousness and came back to his senses in the hospital, as he said:

"They tried to take the bullet out. I guess it was close to the heart so they left it in."

Bruce Rathgeb also maintained that he never cheated on his wife and mentioned:

"Twenty-five years, I have never cheated on my wife,...I wasn't going to listen to that all night ... I have been true to her for 25 years and that's the truth."

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What happened to Victoria Vetri?

Victoria Vetri was prosecuted for the charges against her when Bruce Rathgeb was still recovering from his injury at the hospital. She was tried for attempted murder and was found guilty of the same.

In 2011, Victoria was sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading no contest to involuntary manslaughter, as per The Sun. She was also ordered to pay California’s victim restitution fund $70,000. She was held at the Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) in Chowchilla and was released in 2018 on parole.

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The upcoming episode of The Playboy Murders will cover this case in detail when it airs on January 29, 2024.