The Playboy Murders: Were there any leads in Michael Tardio and Chris Monson's murder?

The 2002 double murder of Michael Tardio and Chris Monson has puzzled the Los Angeles Police Department for over two decades owing to the lack of evidence and leads in the investigation. Tardio, a doorman at the Garden of Eden nightclub, and his best friend, Monson, were on their way to sell jewelry worth a million for Tardio's Playmate girlfriend, Sandy Bentley, on September 1, 2002.

However, the encounter turned sideways when they were found shot at point-blank range inside their Mercedes SUV at Studio City on September 2, 2002. Their car was found riddled with bullets and set on fire.

Apart from a phone number left behind by Tardio on his last call to Sandy Bentley, the investigators were unable to find identifiable fingerprints or physical evidence that could connect the double homicide to a suspect.

The Playboy Murders episode Double Trouble aired on Investigation Discovery on January 22, 2024, at 10 p.m. EST and showcased the unsolved murders of Michael Tardio and Chris Monson.

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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How did Michael Tardio and Chris Monson die?

Michael Tardio and Chris Monson were on their way to a restaurant on Sunset Boulevard with jewelry worth a million dollars.

They had an appointment set up with a potential buyer Tardio had been hooked up with at the nightclub he worked at, Garden of Eden.

However, their meeting with Mr. Big ended with their dead bodies being left behind in their SUV, which was partially burned and riddled with bullets.

Michael Tardio had been dating the Playmate and one of the Bentley twins, Sandy Bentley, who had been ordered to return all the gifts and assets she had received from her previous boyfriend, the Wall Street hedge fund manager and convict, Mark Yagalla.

To liquefy some of the rare jewelry she had, Tardio and Bentley worked together to make a million out of the jewels. She sent him off on the last transaction with his best friend, which ended in the two being shot at point-blank range and the precious jewels missing to date.

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What evidence did the police gather from Michael Tardio and Chris Monson's crime scene?

The events that unfolded on September 2, 2002, ended up being one of the most confounding cases the Los Angeles Police Department had dealt with.

Aside from the fact that Tardio and Monson had been shot at close range, the killer had also tried to burn the vehicle. The Mercedes SUV was parked at Studio City, and the car was riddled with bullets.

The retired Los Angeles homicide detective, Bill Cox, spoke to CBS News, sharing:

"There was no identifiable fingerprints found on there - there was no really useable evidence. None of the people that lived in the neighborhood had heard any shots at all."

The investigators discovered that Tardio had made a call to his girlfriend around 11:30 p.m. and provided her with a phone number in case of mishaps. As Sandy Bentley was interrogated later, the police recovered the number, which was the only lead in this case.

The contact number led to a convicted felon, Michael Jacobs, who had set Tardio up with the potential buyer for the million-dollar jewelry deal and possible killer in this case, Mr. Big.

Detective Bill Cox further shared:

"This person has been interviewed a number of times. He's been surveilled a number of times. There's been a lot of pressure put on this person of interest."

Further investigations revealed that Jacobs' phone showed activity in the same areas where Michael Tardio and Chris Monson were supposed to meet Mr. Big and where their car was found.

Several calls were exchanged between Tardio and Jacobs before their meeting. Michael Jacobs also confirmed to the police that Sandy Bentley had called him on the night of September 1, 2002, looking for her boyfriend, Tardio.

While Michael Jacobs was extensively interrogated, the police could not pursue him due to a lack of evidence. The detectives believe that the 2002 unsolved double murder case of Chris Monson and Michael Tardio is still solvable and that Jacobs is a key to that.