Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder and assault. Reader discretion is advised.
Michael Tradio and Christopher Monson were found dead in a luxury SUV on September 2, 2002. The Mercedez sport utility vehicle was found to be burning on a Studio City side street. Tardio reportedly drove to San Fernando Valley the night before to sell some jewelry for his girlfriend, Sandy Bentley. Manson accompanied him. Cell phone calls made from the SUV into the Valley were Tradio and Monson’s last communication records.
Michael Tradio was 35 years old and a doorman at The Garden of Eden, one of Hollywood’s most popular nightclubs at the time. He reportedly moved to Los Angeles in 1998 and was a former model. Christopher Monson was a 31-year-old and an aspiring actor. He also ran a self-storage business in Culver City. Monson was a friend of Tradio and 31 years old at the time of death. Soon after the investigation began, authorities started to believe that the murders had nothing to do with either drugs or gangs, the Los Angeles Times reported.
At that time, Michael Tradio was dating Sandy Bentley, a model who was featured in Playboy Magazine, along with her twin sister, Mandy Bentley, in May 2000. The twins shot to fame almost instantaneously after they were featured in the magazine. They were also known to be dating the founder of the magazine. The Bentley twins previously dated and lived with Hugh Hefner, the popular founder of Playboy magazine. Sandy, Mandy, and Hefner lived at the Holmby Hills before they parted ways in 2002.
Was Michael Tradio and Christopher Monson’s murder case solved?
In 2011, nearly a decade after Michael Tradio and Christopher Monson were murdered, officials announced a $75,000 reward for anyone who could provide leads to solving the mysterious double homicide. However, the murders remain unsolved even today, more than two decades after Tradio and Monson’s deaths.
According to CBS News, Sandy Bentley owned an expensive collection of jewelry that included a $250,000 replica of the diamond and ruby necklace that Edward gives Vivian, played by Julia Roberts, in Pretty Woman. Mark Yagalla, Sandy’s former boyfriend, reportedly gave the piece to her. Yagalla was a Wall Street investment adviser. He was convicted of stealing $50 million from his clients as part of a Ponzi scheme.
Mark Yagalla reportedly showered Sandy Bentley with a collection of expensive gifts that were worth nearly $6 million. When Yagalla’s frauds were revealed, and federal officials demanded the jewelry and gifts he gave her, Bentley allegedly kept jewelry worth almost a million dollars with herself. CBS News reported that these items included jewelry that she was legally required to forfeit.
Detectives, through the course of solving the crime, suspected that Michael Tradio and Christopher Monson were allegedly trying to secretly sell off Sandy Bentley’s jewelry when they were murdered. Tardio allegedly decided to sell the jewelry discretely to an anonymous buyer. However, these suspicions remain unproven as the infamous Playboy murders continue to be unsolved. Tradio’s relationships with those at The Garden of Eden were also briefly suspected to have played a role in the murders.
The second season of The Playboy Murders premieres on ID at 10 p.m. on January 22, 2024. The first episode, Double Trouble, features the double homicide of Michael Tradio and Christopher Monson. It further explores the murder’s connection to the Playboy Playmate Sandy Bentley.
