Holly Madison wanted to get involved with the new docuseries The Playboy Murders because she can “relate” to the victims.
A former girlfriend of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, Madison is an executive producer of the six-part Discovery+ series. She is also featured in each of the episodes. New installments drop every Monday on the channel ID and can be streamed on Discovery+.
Monday’s Episode 3 will focus on the killing of former Playboy cybergirl Christina Carlin-Kraft. During an interview, Madison talked about the episode, titled “Moth to a Flame,” during an interview. “She was a beautiful Playboy cybergirl, and she was murdered by a man she had met who came back to her apartment,” Madison told Newsweek.
The episode examines the case involving Carlin-Kraft, 36, who was found beaten and strangled in her condo outside of Philadelphia on August 22, 2018. Jonathan Wesley Harris was accused of killing her, and during his trial he alleged that they were taking drugs before things turned violent. In 2019, he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
“It was a really frightening case, and I’m glad to tell Christina’s story and to clear her name as much as I can. It’s a really compelling case,” Madison said.
Although Madison and Carlin-Kraft are of similar ages, their paths never crossed during their time at Playboy. “I did not meet Christina. She came along right after I left the Playboy world. So it was a very, very close, ships passing in the night kind of thing.”
Madison left Playboy in 2008 when she and Hefner broke up. She didn’t talk publicly about Playboy for a number of years but has since opened up about her experiences there on the podcast Girls Next Level and in the docuseries The Secrets of Playboy. She told Newsweek she’s been selective about what she attaches her name to but couldn’t turn down The Playboy Murders.
“When I was approached about producing the show, I was presented with the cases, and I was so shocked because I thought I knew everything about Playboy history and what happened to all the playmates, but I hadn’t heard of so many of these cases.”
She continued, “Of course, I can kind of relate to the women. Coming from a similar background, they were really compelling to me. It’s my goal to tell the story and hopefully let the audiences get to know the victims better and a little bit more about who they were, because what strikes me about these cases is they can really happen to anyone.”
Madison was in her 20s when she lived in the Playboy Mansion. She’s staying objective about her time there, even though she’s aware of some of the deaths connected to the brand.
“It doesn’t really change the way I look at my personal experience, but it definitely broadens my view of that world and what other women were doing and what they were going through and how they dealt with things after they left the mansion,” she said.
Episode 3 of The Playboy Murders airs Monday at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. Central on ID and will be available to stream on Discovery+.
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