Miki Garcia has insisted it was "impossible" Playboy bosses had no idea how "dangerous" the late Dorothy Stratten's husband was.
Hugh Hefner founded Playboy
The former Playmate of the Year was imprisoned, raped and murdered by her estranged husband, Paul Snider, in August 1980 at the age of just 20 and the brand's then-director of promotions admitted the brutal killing was the "final straw" for her for working with the adult entertainment organisation.
She said: "Dorothy Stratten's death was the final straw. That did it. It was so shocking to me."
Miki had sent a memo to late owner Hugh Hefner in August 1979 warning him that Snider - who took his own life after murdering his wife - was "very dangerous" and had been "arrested in Vancouver for dope peddling and pimping" but she felt he "didn't care".
Speaking on the latest episode of 'Secrets of Playboy', Miki - who had been Playmate of the Month in January 1973 and worked her way into Playboy's corporate team - said: "I wanted to warn Hef that Dorothy Stratten was with a very dangerous man.
"No one ever answered me and security came back [saying] they knew nothing. Really? That's impossible, is impossible.
"Hef didn't care, he just didn't care."
Instead, she claimed Hefner ignored the concerns because of Dorothy's popularity and his mutually beneficial relationship with Snider.
She said: "[He saw her as] someone who could sell an incredible amount of magazines. She was his meal ticket."
Miki cried when she recalled how "poorly" the aftermath of Dorothy's death was handled and admitted she was forced to "silence" the other Playmates.
She said: "When I got the call around 6:30 in the morning, I was told, 'Call all the Playmates and make sure that they understand that they are not to speak to any newspaper people.' You could not do any interviews. Again, my job was to go in there and silence them. And I did."
Elsewhere on the show, Miki claimed she was promised the Playmate of the Year crown - but on the unspoken condition she slept with Hefner.
Recalling how she took a call from executive Marilyn Grabowski, she said: "She said that Hefner wanted to meet me. I was worried. I had been asked to go to the Mansion. I avoided it, but I really had no more excuses left. I just simply knew that if I didn't go to bed with him, I wasn't going to get Playmate of the Year."
But she ultimately rejected the media mogul - who died in 2017 aged 91 - and the title went to Cindy Wood.
Miki noted: "That was my first business lesson, so to speak, from Hugh Hefner."
Instead, she set her sights on working her way up the corporate ladder.
She said: "I wasn't going to be a bed partner to him, but he was going to damn well respect me."
And her resolve was strengthened after she was allegedly raped by "a very popular actor on a very well-known series", who insisted she wouldn't be believed if she called police.
She said: "[I was determined] to get in a position of power so that no woman would ever have to put up with that kind of behavior from any man just because she had a rabbit head logo on her."
In a statement before the series launched, Playboy's current team denounced the alleged "abhorrent actions" of Hefner and stressed their commitment to "positive change".
They added in a statement: "First and foremost, we want to say: we trust and validate women and their stories, and we strongly support the individuals who have come forward to share their experiences.
"As a brand with sex positivity at its core, we believe safety, security and accountability are paramount, and anything less is inexcusable."
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