ICYMI: The Playboy Murders Recap for All That Glitters

The Playboy Murders latest episode focuses on the murder of Stacy Arthur’s husband Jim.

• This past episode of The Playboy Murders, titled All That Glitters, covers the murder of Jim Arthur, husband of Playboy Playmate Stacy Arthur, which took place on October 29th, 1991 in Bellefontaine, Ohio.

 

• On that fateful day, now retired police officer Jim Telirick recalls getting the news about a gun fight happening in the streets. He and another officer went to investigate, only to discover two dead bodies, one of them being Jim Arthur.

 

• Back then, Playboy was considered a career stepping stone.

 

• Stacy was considered to be a quiet, wholesome girl who worked at a craft store before her career began. She and her husband Jim met when she was 19 and she was 34. They had both been married before and had children from said marriages. Stacy adopted Jim’s daughter, loving and raising her as her own.

 

• Soon after she married Jim, Stacy decided to go into modeling. Jim became her manager and before long, she was a regular on the pageant circuit. This soon led to her getting more modeling gigs, including posing for Playboy

 

• The Playboy shoot led to big things for Stacy. Her roommate Corrinna remembers them hanging out in the grotto together to hang out and just spending time together.

 

• Around this time, Stacy was also in the Mrs. America pageant. This led to her being on the magazine cover, which was a rare feat for a new Playmate.

 

• Her cover led to a lot of controversy in the pageant world…..and danger for Stacy. She had the support of her family and friends, especially Jim, but things would soon take a turn for the worse.

 

• At the time, there was a 1-900 number for fans to call to talk to the Playmates, which soon proved to be dangerous. Despite the operator being involved and hanging up if things got out of hand, the Playmates sometimes gave out information without even realizing it.

 

• A man named James Lindberg would often all this line and often made the women feel uncomfortable. He spent over $15,000 on calls to the women, which became a red flag.

 

• Stacy’s career blew up due to her Playboy gig, so it led to more travel and opportunities. She also became a regular on the phone line, spending a lot of time talking to James.

 

• During one call, James got mad and hung up, only to call back and apologize a week later. The two of them developed a friendship and soon knew details about each other’s lives. He soon gave her his personal number, as well as gifts, which led to him thinking they had more of a relationship. It didn’t help that she called him when he didn’t call in so she could see if he was okay.

 

• The two of them made plans to meet in person, but it didn’t work out due to scheduling conflicts. This sent him on a vicious cycle of obsession, here he would call in and declare his love for her. She tried to end things, but it only put her in danger.

 

• He tracked her down in Ohio, where he got a hotel room, bought her gifts and went to look for her in the town where he was staying. However, he ran into Jim instead and asked him to give her the gifts. Jim was uncomfortable with this and told the people in his store to call the police if James returned.

 

• James then found Jim and shot him before turning the gun on himself.

 

• After James died, his hotel room was searched. It was a shrine to Stacy and included recordings of their calls, pictures and other paraphernalia.

 

• Stacy was left to raise her three children with Jim at 23. She went into a downward spiral and turned her back on Playboy, not only for what happened, but also for allegedly being assaulted by two bodyguards. They also cut ties with her when she came forward with the allegations.

 

• Stacy died in 2019 after a brief illness.