Who Is Stephanie Adams? Playboy Model Dies After Jumping Off Hotel With Son

Ex-Playboy centerfold Stephanie Adams and her son died after falling out of a Manhattan hotel on Friday, according to reports.

Adams, 47, and her son, identified as Vincent, 7, plunged from the 25th floor of The Gotham Hotel on East 46th street in Midtown in New York City, law enforcement officials said in a news conference.

They were found on a second-floor balcony in the building's rear courtyard just after 8:30 a.m. The two were pronounced dead at the scene. The former model and her child reportedly checked into the hotel on Thursday at approximately 6 p.m., WABC reported.

"Early this morning investigators located an individual whose attention was drawn to that same second-floor area when he heard two loud noises," NYPD Chief of Manhattan Detectives William Aubrey told reporters. "His attention was drawn to that and he discovered these two deceased individuals."

Mom who jumped from Gotham Hotel w/ 7yo son is identified as former Playboy playmate Stephanie Adams. Sources say police are trying to determine if she jumped while holding her son, if she pushed him first or if they were holding hands. Both died. @CBSNewYork
(credit: twitter) pic.twitter.com/sslDSqxbzl
— Andrea Grymes (@AndreaGrymesTV) May 18, 2018

Adams, who was Playboy’s Miss November in 1992, had been in the middle of a custody battle over her son with her estranged husband, a Manhattan chiropractor named Charles Nicolai, the New York Post reported. Nicolai’s lawyer recently requested that Adam relinquish the child’s passport, sources told the paper.

Raoul Felder, a divorce lawyer who once represented Adams, said that "she was never depressed while I knew her. She had certain problems, but depression wasn't one of them," according to the Chicago Tribune.

In 2003, Adams came out as Playboy magazine’s first lesbian model. She became engaged to Nicolai in 2009. Police had been called to the couple’s home several times in the past few months, authorities said.

Adams, a former Wilhelmina and Elite model, was profiled by the Post in 2013. She became an author and by then had penned 25 New Age self-help books. Her jobs at the time included overseeing an online organic beauty products company and managing finances at Nicolai’s chiropractic office, according to the profile.

Adams’ death is currently being investigated by police.