Did actress Victoria Vetri serve a prison sentence? Details explored ahead of The Playboy Murders on ID

The upcoming episode of ID's new show, The Playboy Murders, is all set to take a look at the case involving Victoria Vetri and her husband Bruce Rathgeb. The downfall of Victoria Vetri's glorious career, which reached its peak when she worked on Rosemary's Baby and became the Playmate of the Year in 1968, will be the focus of the next episode titled The Bunny and Charles Manson.

The new installment of The Playboy Murders will air at 10 pm EST on ID on January 29, 2024. The synopsis for the episode 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."

Victoria Vetri reportedly shot her husband in 2010 and was ultimately charged and sentenced to nine years in jail for attempted murder. This came after she pleaded no contest to attempted voluntary manslaughter.

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Why did Victoria Vetri shoot her husband?

At the time of the incident, Victoria and her husband Bruce Rathgeb were married for 25 years. On October 16, 2010, the couple had an argument in their West Hollywood apartment that reportedly escalated quickly.

Victoria allegedly accused Bruce of cheating on her and got extremely angry. As Bruce walked out of their apartment, Victoria allegedly got a gun and fired a shot straight at him when he was around eight feet away.

As per CBS News, Bruce mentioned that he felt a burning sensation and smelled gunpowder. Following this, the former actress reportedly stuffed his mouth with a plastic bag and went back to the apartment. Bruce then lost consciousness and later woke up in the hospital. The bullet struck Rathgeb near his heart, making it hard to remove. However, he reportedly made a full recovery.

The Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood Division arrested Victoria Vetri on the same day and she was kept in custody as the investigation progressed. Vetri was eventually charged with attempted murder.

Bruce maintained that he never cheated on his wife and as per CBS News, he said:

"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."

Apart from Bruce's testimony, Michael Place, the couple's neighbor, also testified against Victoria, claiming that he had seen the victim on the floor. As per the publication, he also said that he noticed the plastic bag and a bullet casing outside the elevator of the building.

"He said, 'My wife just shot me.' He asked me to call 911," he said to the judge.

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Where is Victoria Vetri now?

In 2011, Victoria Vetri admitted to using a firearm and causing bodily harm to her husband, as per CBS News. She was ultimately convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to prison for nine years by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Barbara Johnson. Apart from this sentence, she was also ordered to pay $70,000 to California’s victim restitution fund.

Victoria reportedly maintained a low profile since her imprisonment and her whereabouts as of 2024 and currently unknown.

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Further details about this case will be revealed in the upcoming episode of The Playboy Murders on ID, which will air on January 29, 2024.