Inside the downfall of the Playboy Bunny with lives plagued by drugs and death as Kelsey Turner found guilty of murder
FORMER Playboy model Ashley Turner’s recent sentencing in connection with the murder of California psychiatrist Thomas Burchard is just one of many scandals that haunts the lives of past Bunnies.
Turner has followed in the footsteps of many who have graced the pages of the famous magazine and lived with founder Hugh Hefner in his mansion.
And she too, has found herself on the opposite end of the fairytale lifestyle: behind bars.
Seemingly, much of the Bunnies’ lives were spent attending wild parties with A-list celebrities where guests would cavort semi-naked, and drink until the day’s gone.
But behind the scenes, many of the Bunnies have suffered terrible tragedies or taken part in it.
An A&E 10-part documentary – released last year – explored these in Secrets of Playboy.
It alleged that Hefner recorded secret sex tapes and wouldn’t ask his partners for permission.
His ex Sondra Theodore claimed: “I saw clearly that we were nothing to him.
“He was like a vampire. He sucked the life out of all these young girls for decades.”
For other Playmates, their lives were blighted by drug addictions, suicide, and even murder.
Here The Sun looks at the tragedies which have plagued the lives of the Bunnies.
GRISLY CRIME
Former Playboy model Ashley Turner was sentenced on January 11 to 10 to 25 years in prison for her involvement in the murder of 71-year-old Thomas Burchard, a California psychiatrist.
After he stopped paying the model $3,200 in rent, Burchard was killed and his body was found stuffed into the trunk of Turner’s Mercedes that was abandoned in the middle of the Nevada desert near Lake Mead in 2019.
Turner chose an Afford plea deal, meaning she did not admit guilt but accepted that the prosecution likely had enough evidence to put her behind bars.
Burchard’s girlfriend, Judy Earp, spoke to the court before Turner’s sentence was pronounced.
“My whole world was viciously ripped from me,” Earp said.
Earp told the court that Turner allegedly made threats to her life in the past. “I do not want to spend the rest of my life constantly worrying and always looking over my shoulder, if or when she is granted parole,” added the grieving girlfriend.
Turner’s boyfriend, Jon Kennison, pleaded guilty to murder and conspiracy and was sentenced to 18 to 45 years, and their roommate, Diana Pena, pleaded guilty to conspiracy.
‘KAREN’ MOMENT
Last year, one former Playboy model was arrested on a Delta flight after allegedly hitting an 80-year-old passenger during a row over face masks.
Footage appears to show Patricia Cornwall – who also starred in Baywatch – arguing with an elderly man on the jet.
The 80-year-old branded Cornwall a “Karen” again while she was being restrained by the masked stewardess, according to the clip.
She had been arrested on misdemeanor DUI charges in Walton County the month prior, according to Florida arrest records.
Holly Madison has described the Playmate lifestyle as “cult-like.”
She also revealed how Hefner was “literally pushed on top” of her on their first date.
The Girls Next Door star dated the Playboy founder, who died in 2017 aged 91, between 2001 and 2008.
‘TRAUMATIC’ SEX
She said the experience was “traumatic”, adding: “And after it happened, I was just mortified and embarrassed and it had way more of an emotional impact on me than I thought it would.”
Holly’s frank admission was part of a series of tell-all interviews where the Bunnies described 9pm curfews and not being able to invite friends over the mansion.
Some, like Playmate Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett, also said she dreaded romps with Hef.
Writing in her book Being Kendra: Cribs, Cocktails, and Getting My Sexy Back, she said: “I had to be very drunk or smoke lots of weed to survive those nights — there was no way around it.”
She added: “At about the minute mark, I pulled away and it was done. It was like a job. Clock in, clock out. It’s not like I enjoyed having sex with him.”
And Playboy model Carla Howe previously told how the girls had a strict 9pm curfew, saying that none of them were even allowed to invite friends to the mansion to see them.
DRUG OVERDOSE
Anna Nicole Smith, who rose to fame as a Playboy model, died of an accidental drug overdose at a Florida hotel in 2007. She was just 39.
Her death was believed to be a result of “combined drug intoxication.”
“She was my best friend, my lover, the mother of my daughter. She was everything to me, literally everything. My whole world,” longtime companion Daniel K. Stern told People.
He also said in court, according to Fox News: “She talked about death really from the time I met her.
“Anna always thought in a way that she was going to die young.
“She thought she was going to be like Marilyn Monroe, she thought she would die at the age of 36 or 37.”
Before her death, Anna had two children: Daniel Wayne Smith and Dannielynn Birkhead.
Daniel died of an accidental overdose at age 20 on September 10, 2006.
Stern said that Anna never recovered from the death of her son.
“Anna saw herself as both mother and father to Daniel,” he told People after her death. “From the time I met her, everything was for Daniel.
“I would say that physically, she died last week, but in a lot of ways, emotionally she died when Daniel died.”
CHOKED IN A BED
Former Playboy model Christina Carlin-Kraft was only 36 when she was found dead at her home in Pennsylvania.
A court later heard she had been choked to death on her own bed by 31-year-old killer Jonathan Harris, who had tied her hands to prevent her from fighting back.
Jurors were told her last moments on Earth were “horrendous and horrifying”.
Christina – named Playboy Cyber Girl of the Week on May 4, 2009 – was of Russian, German and Swedish heritage, and had also starred in shoots for Victoria’s Secret and Maxim.
Her body was found by police during a welfare check in August 2018.
Although Harris tried to claim in court that he was “high out of his mind” on ketamine and didn’t mean to kill Christina, he was convicted of first-degree murder and other charges.
He’s now serving life behind bars without the possibility of parole.
BATHTUB DEATH
Former Playmate and mum-of-two Cassandra Lynn Hensley was found dead in a bathtub in January 2014 aged just 34.
The married model – who was crowned Playmate Miss February 2006 – had reportedly been binging on cocaine and booze in the hours before her death in California.
A representative for her family told E! News at the time: “It is with a heavy heart that we share the news of Cassandra Hensley’s passing from a tragic and accidental overdose.
“We are all very grateful for the outpouring of support from friends, family, and fans.”
As well as her two children, Cassandra left behind husband Gary – who was further devastated to learn his wife had spent the night before her death with another man.
HOTEL PLUNGE
In one of the most horrific incidents to hit Playboy, former Playmate Stephanie Adams plunged to her death from a New York hotel with her seven-year-old son in May 2018.
The 47-year-old – who was embroiled in a nasty custody battle with her ex – pushed little Vincent out of a 25th-floor window first, before jumping after him, police said.
Their bodies were later found on a second-floor landing in the hotel’s rear courtyard.
The double tragedy – which left fellow former Playmates “devastated” – was ruled a homicide-suicide by the New York City medical examiner, according to reports at the time.
Model-turned-author Stephanie – who starred as Playboy magazine’s Miss November 1992 – also wrote self-help books and ran an organic beauty products company during her life.
“Style and looks don’t mean lack of brains, sweetheart!” she once told the New York Post.
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