01x02 - All That Glitters

[bunniefuu]

[techno music playing]

[Holly] Playboy in the '90s
was a huge part
of popular culture.

It was a mainstream,
acceptable presentation

of nudity
and female sexuality.

Just everything they do is

wow.

You have all kinds of things
at your fingertips.

You know,
the sky is the limit.

[sinister music playing]

[Holly] But Playboy handles
tragedies by burying them

and not acknowledging them.

[Lucia] It's just this
downward spiral.

And that's when
his behavior

really starts to get
out of control.

I remember telling her,
"You really should not
do this.

I don't think
it's a good idea."

Several witness
who were later identified

as hearing what they thought
was a loud argument.

All the dreams

aren't necessarily
what's really important.

All that glitters isn't gold.

[Corinna] It was very scary.

If someone is capable
of m*rder,

they could m*rder you.

[g*nsh*t]

October 29th of 1991,

I was in a g*n shop.

And, uh,
an individual came down

and yelled that there was
a g*n fight going on outside
in the street

next to our building.

Myself and another
off-duty officer ran out.

We found two bodies
lying in the street

with pools of blood
around them

and spent casings
from the .22 revolver.

This was in the middle
of the day in public

so it was
a bewildering moment

because it involves
a celebrity, uh,
Playboy model.

Stacy Arthur.

[indistinct chatter]

[techno music playing]

Stacy Arthur
was Playmate of the Month

in January, 1991.

When you thought of Playboy,

you thought
of beautiful women,

you thought of
nude photography.

[cheering]

A lot of women
in the '90s and 2000s,
myself included,

saw Playboy
as a stepping stone
to a career.

[Corinna] Oh, my gosh,

I remember the first time
driving through those gates.

And I remember
the first time

I ever laid eyes
on the mansion.

I thought, "Oh,
this place is spectacular."

Just everything they do
is wow.

It's just wow.

It's kind of like that
like the stars in their eyes.

And you have celebrities
wanting you,

you have all kinds of things
at your fingertips.

You know,
the sky is the limit.

And I think
Stacy kind of had that

and she... she thought,
"Wait a minute here.

This is everything."

[Holly] The beginning
of Stacy's story was
so incredibly wholesome.

But there were things

that allowed this to take
a much darker turn.

Stacy graduated
from high school in 1986.

She was rather quiet.

Uh, beautiful girl.

Very talented in crafts and...
and ceramic work.

And then by the spring
of '88,

she was the manager
of a crafts store
in Bellefontaine.

My brother Jim
opened a tanning salon
on the second floor.

And that's where he met Stacy.

He and Stacy hit it off

and were soon inseparable.

She was 19 at the time
and he was 34.

This would've been
when Stacy and Dad
first got together.

She has sort of this
woven romance

uh, with Jim Arthur.

She had been
previously married,

had a child
from her previous marriage.

Jim, he had been married
before as well.

She meets Jim

and is very smitten
with him.

[Danielle] I think they...

they both were really
happy together

and that they found
each other.

[Jana] On June 4th, 1988,

they got married.

And that started it all.

[Stacy] Wait till everybody
gets in here. Get your hair...
Get your head back.

[Danielle] She was
the only mom I ever knew
for a long time.

My mom and dad separated
when I was young

and Stacy adopted me
in 1989.

Like when she came
into my life,

I was still very little.

Like, it was no feat for me
to call her "Mom."

Because she was there.

I don't ever remember
not calling her "Mom."

I think the biggest change
for me was

not that there was a new woman
in the... in the house,

as much as Stacy
brought her daughter with her.

And that was a change

'cause I had just always had
an older brother.

- [boy speaking indistinctly]
- [woman] Okay.

[Danielle] Her hair
was always pretty,

and she had high heels like,
the really high heels.

And you know,
as a little girl,

those are so much fun
to go in the closet

and try on and attempt
to walk in them

and fail terribly.
[chuckles]

[Jana] She was
very photogenic.

She took some great pictures.

And then
when they got married,

she decided she'd like to go
into modelling.

So Jim became her manager
and her support staff.

She started out
in a pageant.

She did win
32 different pageants.

She had all kinds
of trophies

and things to show
what she had accomplished.

[Lucia] He had put her up
for more and more pageants.

And as she kept winning,
she gained more confidence,

uh, over time.

And she won Mrs. Ohio
in, uh, June 1990.

She was the youngest
competitor,

uh, and she swept
the competition.

Um, so that was obviously
a huge highlight
for her career.

[Jana] Usually,
people did not win
that pageant

on their first time.

She was...

shocked.

Absolutely shocked
at when they announced
that she had won.

This would be
her Mrs. Ohio crown.
[laughs]

Every little girl's dream
is to have a tiara this big

that's not made of plastic.
[laughs]

[Jana] Jim saw beyond
what was happening
right in front of her

and he wanted to help her
reach for the stars.

He wanted to help
her achieve

and be the best
that she could be.

Which led her to Playboy.

[Holly] A husband
wanting his wife
to be a Playmate

might seem weird at first.

Like, why does he want
his wife to be naked
for everybody else to see?

But based on my experience,

I've seen husbands
be really excited to have
their wives pose

and, you know, to them,
it's like a trophy.

There can definitely be
another side, too.

It would take
a really secure partner

to be able to deal with that

and be confident
and supportive.

[Jana] So after she won
Mrs. Ohio,

she continued to model.

That led her to a gig
in Chicago.

And while they
were out there,

they stopped in
at the Playboy headquarters.

Jim said, "Let's do it
while we're here."

And she said,
"Sure, let's go."

I think to outsiders
looking in,

Playboy looked like
a really glamourous,
upscale world.

Playboy was such a huge
magazine in the '90s.

And it was very,
very mainstream.

I mean, you would see Playboy
have a presence in like,
family movies.

It was something
that was, yeah,
it's a little bit racy,

but it was so mainstream
at the same time.

ForPlayboy
to have a pageant queen
as a centerfold

was a really big deal.

That was another thing
that kind of legitimized
the magazine more.

It's like, oh,
this Miss America type person
could be a centerfold, too.

[Jana] Jim made arrangements
to get a photoshoot

and some videotaping done.

They saw something in her
that they really liked.

[Holly] Just a month later,

Stacy was flown out to LA
for her Playmate sh**t

and that's unheard of.

She was definitely
fast tracked.

[Corinna] It's your
first taste of celebrity.

A lot of girls do go on
to become household names.

I think Stacy wanted that
really badly.

All of a sudden,
you're the hometown hero.

And everybody, you know,
wants to meet the Playmate.

And, "Oh, my gosh,
she did Playboy."

[Holly] This must've been
a whirlwind for Stacy

to go from
being from a small town
in Ohio

and just a month later
you're being flown out to LA,

you're staying
at the Playboy mansion,

you're doing this sh**t
for a huge magazine.

They used to put
the Playmates in the bungalows

if we were doing photoshoots,

sometimes making appearances
there in LA.

And have just let
the Playmates stay there.

It was '91.

They had me rooming
with Stacy Arthur.

Probably because
we both came out of Chicago.

And Stacy asked me
if I wanted to go into
the grotto.

And I said, "Yeah."

You know, I may as well.

It's like a hot tub and cave.

It was really spectacular.
[laughs]

[Holly] It's right next
to the pool

and the pool kind of flows
into it.

So there's all these hot tubs

and then there's like,
a little you know,
stream you can swim through

and like,
tunnels you can swim under.

It's really cool

and, of course,
it's also, you know,

the famous place

where supposedly
everybody goes to have sex.

And certainly,
many people did. [laughs]

[Lucia] It's December of 1990.

Stacy goes to the USSR

to compete
in the Mrs. America pageant.

And that's when
the story breaks

that she's gonna be
a Playboycover model.

As they finished up
the Mrs. America pageant,

which she was
in the top ten,

Stacy was on the cover
ofPlayboy and the centerfold

for the January 1991.

She was one of the few
that were ever selected

to be on the cover
and the centerfold.

Marilyn Monroe was one other.

In the '90s,
the cover of Playboy

was usually reserved
for a celebrity pictorial.

Pamela Anderson
is the only other example
I can think of

who was a Playmate
of the month

who was on the cover
immediately.

And that was
a big celebration.

She was really excited
to be this January 1991.

It is unusual
to have beauty pageant winners

pose for Playboy.

Stacy was the trendsetter.

She was the first one
of that stature to do it.

[Jana] It wasn't
against the rules

'cause nothing was stated
at the time.

But some of the pageant people
were shocked.

[Lucia] She really relishes
the attention

she says, you know,
there's nothing wrong
with it.

The beauty queen
should be sensual,

beauty queen
should be out there.

And, um,
that's something
that really resonates.

[Holly] It's interesting
how people react sometimes

to a woman posing nude.

All of a sudden
it becomes everyone
else's problem.

Some of them think

it grants them
some kind of ownership
of you.

And there's also
a dark underbelly.

Then you're not
really prepared for that,

and you don't really see
that dark side

until you're already in it.

I definitely think
that Jim had big aspirations
for her.

Well, it wasn't just that
Jim was her husband.

He was also her manager.

He was the one
who was booking
all her appearances.

He was the one, um,

who was kind of making her
into this star.

[Danielle] I think in a way
she was a trophy for him.

If you look at this,

they look
like different people
in a way.

I mean, really like,
I'm living life
in the fast lane.

[Holly] It's a lot
to deal with you know,

when you have someone
coming from a small town

and one of them
is all of a sudden
making it big.

And not only
are they making it big,

but they're posing nude
in a magazine
for everyone to see.

So if you get
the wrong type of person

or somebody who has
the wrong idea about
what's appropriate,

it can be really dangerous.

[Corinna] And maybe
when you're younger,
you don't know that.

You just don't.

You think you're being kind,

you think
everybody's being nice.

You don't wanna believe
there's monsters out there

or people that snap.

From my understanding,

my dad always wanted her
to be a Playboy Bunny.

And that's how we ended up
where we are.

I think she did it
out of respect for him.

Really.

Wow, a sling for your room!

She, um, was
very modest I... I believe.

And we would tell her
how beautiful she was

and... and she
would think no.

You know, she wasn't good...
good enough.

She was trying
to get a music career started

in country music.

And she was trying
to get established
in Nashville at the time.

And Playboy had backed her
on that.

So they were trying
to help her

with the connections
in Nashville.

It was about 18 months
timeframe

that they went from
Stacy's first pageant

to Mrs. Ohio,

to Playboy.

It was all very...
very, very quickly.

But to me,
she was my mom.

Looky here!

This is Whisky.

Can you say hi to Whisky?

Yes, this is
your new puppy.

She never came off like,

she was, "Oh, I'm all that
and a bag of chips."

Like it just never...
never came off that way to me.

[in high-pitched voice]
...and I want to give you
a kiss.

[Danielle] I saw her
as what she was.

You know, a human being
who had to get ready
like everybody else,

and put one shoe on
in front of the other

just like everybody else.

[Corinna] When I met Stacy,

I felt like
she was very well spoken.

I felt like she was
much more accomplished
than I was.

Especially that you know,
I was just out of high school.

So I thought, "Wow."

And she was Mrs. Ohio
and I looked up to that.

Stacy was on
a really clear trajectory.

And I know
she was probably
thinking about

Playmate of the Year next.

And then on into
the entertainment industry.

[Jana] Jim was pretty excited.

He was proud of her.

And proud of the work
that she'd done

and was ready to continue.

[Danielle] My dad
would do her hair

and her nails
and her makeup.

And he just made sure
that everything was perfect.

Picture perfect.

[Corinna] It was always
about taking care of her.

He would call,
"Oh, I understand you're...

you and Stacy
are rooming together."

He was so nice

and just very concerned
about Stacy.

[Holly] It seemed like
he was incredibly supportive,

very secure.

Wanted Stacy to go on
to be Playmate of the Year,

and have a country
music career,

and all those things.

In the '90s,

when Playmates were competing
for Playmate of the Year,

the magazine
always wanted to know
who the readers wanted.

So they would have
this 1-900 number

people could call
to cast a vote.

Like, they would press
a number for whatever month.

But also
there was this component
of it where

callers could elect
to have a conversation
with the actual Playmates.

And actually speaking
to the Playmate over
the 1-900 number

would make the Playmate
seem so much more accessible.

[Holly] "This is news.

This year as in the past,

callers can go on record
by nominating their choices
for Playmate of the Year,

but they can also hear
messages from their favorite

and leave messages
for the ladies.

Playmates will answer
some calls personally."

Stacy was very,
very serious about getting
Playmate of the Year,

and very serious
about Playboy

and it being a catapult
in her career.

So she took that phoneline
very, very seriously

and thought that
that was gonna get her

better standing with Playboy.

[phone beeping]

Fans would call in
and the operator
would punch you in.

And they would pick
who they wanna speak to

and, um,
and put you through.

Mostly young men
that had seen the magazine

and wanted to talk to the girl
in the magazine.

And they would really ask,

"Is this really you?
Why did you pose for Playboy?"

Simple questions.

So these women
were talking to all these
anonymous callers

that they don't know

and they're not trained
to handle these conversations.

So they could've been asking
these women

for any kinds of subtle hints
as to where they lived

or where they might be
during a certain period
of time.

We were all told,
"You don't engage.

You've got to be very careful
with the...

the things that you say
and how you say it."

And they'd get disconnected
if they started trying
to talk dirty

or... or, you know,

anything inappropriate.

The operator would listen in

and disconnect
if anything went wrong.

We made $150
for three hours of...

of being on the phone lines.

And fans paid
$3 a minute

to... to speak
to the girls.

It was interesting
[chuckles softly]

and it was kind of fun.

You could really make
a nice extra chunk of change.

So their finances
are always very variable,

the Arthurs.

They have big expenses,
a lot of travel.

So they start
having money troubles
around this time

where it's not as steady
as they would like.

This was a way, uh,
to keep money coming in

and to keep all the lights on

and all the businesses
running.

[Holly] The centerfold
was always trying
to accomplish

not only beauty
and sexuality,

but a sense of intimacy
with the subject.

So the reader could feel
like they really know
this woman.

And on the back
of the centerfold,

they would have
this data sheet.

So this is in her handwriting

and it would tell you
all kinds of things about her,

from her favorite foods
to what her perfect date
would be

and there are pictures of her
from when she was a teenager.

So the goal
was really for this to be
a fantasy woman.

And they could feel like,
"Oh, this is the girl
next door.

This is somebody
I have a chance with
but she's stunning."

I think it was a bad idea
to have the Playmates
be that accessible.

I'm sure so
many men called

and then felt like
they really knew these people

and it's kind of shocking
to me

that the Playmates
were asked to do that.

I feel like that's kind of
crossing a line.

In March of 1991,

a fan had began
to call Stacy.

His name was
James Lindberg...

[phone ringing]

...and he loved to talk
to the Playmates.

He would call regularly

and stay on the phone
for long periods of time.

James Lindberg
is a 32-year-old man
who lives in California.

He's really a loner.

He doesn't seem to go out
that often.

He you know,
starts calling this line.

[Corinna] I remember
talking to James.

He talked about his grandma.

He's... he's you know,

You know missed his grandma
and loved his grandma.

He wasn't inappropriate.

You know, he didn't say
anything sexual.

It was just the way
he was so emotionally

like serious.

He would you know
didn't have a sense of humor.

I noticed that right away

and I thought,
"That's not right."

He was the only one that made
me feel kind of sad and bad.

In my Playmate issue,

they write up things for the
girls in the magazine.

And the writer mentioned
we used water balloon tourists

in Las Vegas.

And it would make us laugh.

He would say,
"Why would you do that?

I don't understand.

Why would you have done
that to people?"

And I said, "I'm so sorry.

[chuckles] I'm sorry.

Yeah, I feel bad about it.

I feel really bad."

He would get very upset...

and mad,
like turn on a dime.

[telephone ringing]

That's when he started talking
to Stacy more.

They had become friends
in his mind for certain.

[Lucia] James Lindberg
actually set the record

for the most amount
of phone calls.

He had spent
over $15,000.

Just on this phone line

and keep in mind,
this guy was not making
a lot of money.

He worked as a trucker
and he was out of work
for a while.

So this was a huge amount
of cash to him.

And that should have been
a red flag right there.

It's almost like if somebody
was drinking too much at a bar
they might get cut off.

I think with Playboy,
profit was coming first

in that situation for sure.

[Corinna]
Stacy said, "It's okay.

I'm fine. He's fine.
He's harmless."

[Jana] None of us knew
the road that she was going

would lead to the dead end
that it did.

[camera shutter clicking]

[Jana] Stacy's life really
became quite busy

because she was going places
to sign autographs,

she was still modeling,

she was doing some PR work
for Playboy,

where Playmates would
go to car shows or whatever.

So things got a little crazy
there for a while.

I can relate to Stacy's
experience a little bit,

but I didn't have it happen
as fast as she did.

I mean,
she was literally going

from a small town
in middle America

to overnight in LA,

sh**ting her Playmate layout.

Probably only
a few months later,

you know the magazine
was on news stands

and it's one of the hugest
magazines in the world,
like...

Even I can't imagine
how head spinning
that would be.

[Jana] She flew
to the mansion

or she then would fly
to Nashville

and then back home.

And trying to be a mom
at the same time.

But she would still sit
for hours

talking on the 900 number

where people would call in.

[telephone ringing]

In March, James Lindberg
starts calling more
and more often

and for longer and longer.

They ended up putting in
a time limit

because he spent so long
on the phone to her.

When you wanna be
Playmate of the Year,

you wanna show
you're the hardest worker

and you have the most
positive attitude.

She wanted people
to keep calling

and asking for her

and this person
on the other end of the line

might be getting
the wrong idea.

As long as things didn't get
too inappropriate,

the Playmates were instructed
to just go along with whatever
went on on the phone.

But one time,
James Lindberg got mad.

Don't know
how the conversation started

but he didn't like where
it was going and he got mad

and he hung up.

[telephone ringing]

But then he called back
like a week or so later

and he apologized to Stacy
for his behavior

and then he started
calling her again.

He finds out her favorite
color is pink

and he sends her
70 pink balloons.

He would kind of latch
on to these little details

and then show his love
with sort of an over
abundance.

He knew about her children,

she told him
about her marriage.

They have
this pseudo-friendship

and he thinks that
this is giving him access

that this is his way
of showing his love.

[Holly] It can definitely
get dangerous

to make people feel
like they know a Playmate.

These are her real interests

and it's her real name
usually and...

she's telling people
where she's from,

so it's not like the public
is even connecting

with like a character
in a movie.

Like this is a real person.

I just think it's a really
weird line that gets blurred
with some people.

In late September 1991,

he didn't call.

And she actually finds
his number and calls him

and says, "Are you okay?

Did something
happen to you?"

So you're getting these mixed
messages back and forth.

She considers
it a fan-star relationship,

but to him,
it's something more.

To him, it's,
"She really cares about me."

She gave him
her personal number,

she accepted gifts from him.

She wasn't supposed
to do that

as a Playboy centerfold.

She meant it as a way
to just kind of check in
on him.

But she unwittingly makes
this huge error

where she gives him
her personal number

and now you know he has sort
of direct access.

[Stacy speaking]

Lindberg knew that Stacy
and Jim were headed out to the
Playboy mansion in September

and he requested that Stacy
meet up with him

while she was there.

I remember telling her,
"You really should not
do this.

You should not go meet
with this guy.

I don't think
it's a good idea."

But she may have really
made a connection with him.

[Holly] I definitely think
it's dangerous

to put yourself in a position

where you're never gonna know
who you're gonna meet

or what the boundaries
are gonna be.

She agreed to it

but once
she got to California,

her schedule was too busy.

So it just didn't work out.

[Lucia] They ended up
not meeting

and that was devastating
to him

and he couldn't handle that.

And it starts this,
you know, vicious spiral.

[dramatic music playing]

[James speaking]

It's really this grey line
between

healthy
and unhealthy behavior.

Some people just naturally

can't stop these thoughts
from coming.

[James speaking]

[sighs]

I think Stacy started
to realize that James Lindberg
may have had some...

unhealthy tendencies.

I think every woman
who is in a professional role,

who has
a public facing persona

has had this problem.

And she decides,
"You know what?

I'm gonna put a stop to this."

[Stacy speaking]

I think Stacy was always kind
to people.

She always
saw the good in people.

And believed that people
were good deep down.

The way Stacy worded
that message

makes me think of how
women are always taught
to be people pleasers

and not offend men

and let people down gently.

And I think that's
what she was trying to do.

[Stacy speaking]

[Jana] Jim was always
very protective of Stacy.

He thought he could keep her
safe from anything.

And he definitely wasn't gonna
let this person
actually see Stacy.

And that's when
James Lindberg's behavior

really starts
to get out of control.

[Stacy speaking]

Dealing with men could be very
tricky as a Playmate.

Because you're taught
to not hurt anybody's feelings

and let people
down easily

or say, "Why don't we take
a break rather than
cut it off completely?"

[Jim] I believe that message
probably made James Lindberg

feel even more desperate

that may have
sparked his impulse

to travel from his home

over to where
Stacy Arthur might be.

[Lucia] You have to keep
in mind in 1991,

we didn't even have stalking
as a crime nationally.

So, you know, you would not be
on high alert for this.

[Holly] I've had people
come to my home

or somehow they get
into the gated community

and they're
like knocking at...
banging on the door,

like screaming my name
and stuff

and it can feel really,
really scary.

[Jim] On October 20th,

James Lindberg set off

from Sacramento,
California on a train

and then he traveled
to Cincinnati

where he rented a car.

And drove
to Bellefontaine, Ohio.

And he had checked
into a local motel.

It appeared he went looking
for Stacy.

[eerie music playing]

James Lindberg has been
in this motel
for a few days now.

He's come this far,
he's been frustrated.

This is a guy
who had traveled 2,000 miles
to be there.

[Jim] On October 29th,

he went to a local gift shop

and he bought Stacy gifts

and he went downtown
looking for Stacy.

But ran into Jim,
her husband.

And decided to give him
that gift and ask him
to give it to Stacy.

Lindberg also
wanted to photograph

Stacy and get it autographed.

Lindberg is very set
on accessing Stacy Arthur

and James Arthur
is essentially trying
to swat a fly.

He's like,
"Get lost, buddy."

And, you know,
things escalate from there.

[Jim] Several witness
were later identified

as hearing what they thought
was a loud argument.

[Jana] So Lindberg left

and my brother went back
in his tanning salon.

And he said,

"If this gentlemen comes
looking for me again

or comes in here,

call the police,
because he seems agitated."

So then Jim left the salon.

Went out to get in his car

which was parked
right out front
of the building.

He has some lights
for his tanning bed,

he's putting 'em
in the trunk of his car.

[dramatic music playing]

James Lindberg
is very intent.

His life has culminated
up to this point

and this guy is sort of giving
him the run around.

[Jim] One witness said

Mr. Lindberg
was kind of shifty.

Almost like someone who had
been caught with their hand
in a cookie jar.

[Jana] And he came
running down
from the parking lot yelling

and people were starting
to come out

and look
and see what was going on.

[Jim] Several witnesses
witnessed

Mr. Lindberg produce
a handgun

and fire multiple times
at Mr. Arthur
at very close range.

[g*nshots]

This sh**ting happened
in broad daylight on a street

in front of tons of witnesses,
there's like
two dozen witnesses.

Lindberg shot him
once in the face,

twice in the chest

and when Mr. Arthur turned
away from him,

he shot him three times
in the back.

Jim was dead
almost immediately.

So James Lindberg runs.

He has had all these shots
in the middle of the street,

he runs back to his car.

Mr. Lindberg after sh**ting
Mr. Arthur

ran into a parking lot.

Witness saw him
raise the g*n,

then he pulled the trigger
and shot himself in the head.

I was five.

I had just gotten home
from half-day kindergarten.

Had lunch.

I remember there was a car
that pulled up.

And two guys got out.

And they said, "Hey, I need
to talk to your mom."

Next thing you know,

Stacy goes running
out of the house.

[voice shaking]
Your daddy's dead.
Your daddy's dead.

[sniffles]

[telephone ringing]

[Jana] I remember
when I got to the phone

and they said, "Your brother's
been fatally shot."

And I remember thinking,
"So, is he dead?"

Because the fatal,
it didn't register
for a minute.

[sniffling]

[sobbing] Nothing can ever
prepare you for that.

I remember thinking like...

"How is that possible?"

That my dad's
not coming home.

You can't understand
the finality of it at five.

When somebody's
gunned down
in cold blood,

someone that you love...

That's beyond being
able to describe

the amount of pain
that you go through.

[Jana] I don't believe Stacy
ever thought Lindberg
was dangerous.

And I do believe that Jim
and Stacy both

thought they could handle
whatever came their way.

[indistinct chatter]

[Holly] It wasn't until after
James Lindberg's death

that people realized just how
obsessed with Stacy he was.

He decorated his motel room
with photographs
of Stacy Arthur.

There was a calendar
where he had circled
all her photos

and had a lot of that
hanging around the room.

We had found in the motel
also that he had recorded

many conversations
and had many cassettes

of these conversations
in his possession.

[Lucia] He had 31 tapes
of all of these conversations

that he had with Stacy Arthur.

And they started to get
a better picture

of you know, sort of
the insane [chuckles]

intense jealousy

that he has against
James Arthur.

One of those tapes
was transcripted

and it reads,
"This message
is for Stacy Arthur.

I want her to know
that I'm in love with her.

And that's not a good thing

because she happened
to be married this time.

Kind of goofs me up totally.

And it hurts
that I'm in love with you.

Just know there you are
and here I am

and there your husband."

Lindberg quit his job
in October of '91.

Almost immediately after Stacy
had left him the message

about taking a break.

His neighbors
basically reported

that he was acting
a little bit unhinged

and getting
a little bit less predictable.

It seems to me that he would
in his own logic

would think he'd have to k*ll
James Arthur

before he could get to Stacy.

[Corinna] Like that catapult
into madness.

A crazy fan goes and kills
your friend's husband.

Your sister Playmate
or like sisters.

That's like a sisterhood.

It was very scary.

If someone's capable
of m*rder,

they could m*rder you.

The family and friends
of James Alan Arthur.

Deep inside of us,

there is a feeling of loss
and bewilderment.

Death has come unexpected
and under tragic
circumstances.

[Danielle] Everything
was taken from me that day.

[sniffles]

My dad physically was
taken from me, but...

My brother
was never the same.

My sister
was never the same.

Stacy was never the same.

[Jana]
Stacy was just devastated.

As we all were.

Stacy lost the love
of her life.

She lost her confidant,
her lover, her supporter.

Her everything.

She was 23
when my dad died.

I can't imagine having
three children at 23

and dealing with the trauma
that she was dealing with

with all this.

Like I can't even begin
to wrap my mind around it.

You think certain things
are such a big deal

and in the scheme of things,

especially you know,
your husband

or your family.

That is what counts.

That you know,
the other things don't count.

And she learned that
the hard way.

So, you know,
after Jim's death,

it's just
this downward spiral.

She says that
she was sexually assaulted

by three bodyguards
at the mansion.

Those bodyguards say that
it was consensual.

She sees Playboy
as negligent

and as using women
for mooning their business,

but not taking care
of their safety.

And obviously the safety
of her family around her.

[Corinna] But she was asking
for a substantial
amount of money

and I remember that there was
nothing to stand on.

There was no real clear,
you know, evidence.

But she eventually stops
going forward with that case

and it's dismissed
without prejudice,

but she never refiles.

This is really the beginning
of the end

between Stacy and Playboy.

Playboy handles tragedies
by burying them

and not acknowledging them.

Playboy cut Stacy Arthur off

and it was
as if she had never existed.

When I look at Stacy
and how she was positioned,

to me as somebody
who worked for Playboy,

I see that as she was
a definite frontrunner
for Playmate of the Year

and it's shocking
that she didn't get it

and that's the only reason
I can think of

is they were trying
to distance themselves

and not bring any
more attention
to the tragedy.

[Lucia] She received
all this attention

because of this
horrible tragedy.

She had essentially given
everything to Playboy

and then they spurned her.

All the dreams

aren't necessarily
what's really important.

All that glitters isn't gold.

[Jana] You're never okay.

It's just that time...

heals things a little bit.

But the hole's still there.

You can't fill that hole.

In 2019, Stacy passed away
after a brief illness.

[Danielle] She told me,
"Your dad was the love
of my life."

And she spent the rest
of her life looking
for my dad.

She just searched
for that forever.

"Sure. I'm a dreamer,"
says Stacy.

"I've been dreaming
all my life and I love
storybook endings."

I just think it's so sad
to read about somebody

who had all these dreams

and it all got taken from her.

Stacy wanted
that storybook ending

and she never got it.