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The heinous murder of Kristi Johnson at the hands of a Hollywood con man Victor Paleologus led to a large-scale manhunt, and at least 13 women came forward to help the case. Kristi Johnson's body was found in a ravine off Hollywood Hills by a group of hikers on March 3, 2003.
Kristi Johnson's last call to her mother was on February 15, 2003, when she informed Terry Hall of her plan to visit the mall that day. Kristi was approached by an alleged producer who offered her an audition for the next Bond girl. The Real Murders of Los Angeles season 1 episode 9 takes a look at the case where Kristi's Hollywood dreams were shattered brutally. The synopsis reads,
"A young woman with film industry dreams disappears after leaving her home for a movie audition, leaving detectives to navigate Hollywood's murky underbelly in search of a treacherous serial predator."
The episode, titled Killer Casting, re-airs on December 11, 2023, at 8 p.m. EST on Oxygen.
Who was Kristi Johnson?
Kristine Louise “Kristi” Johnson was born to Terry Hall and Kirk Johnson on February 22, 1981, in Los Gatos, Santa Clara County, California. Kristi moved to Saugatuck with her family in 1987, where she graduated from the Saugatuck High School class of 1999.
Kristi then moved on to study at Western Michigan University. In 2000, she moved again to Santa Maria to attend Santa Maria Jr. College. She was simultaneously working on her education and trying to find a break in Hollywood. Kristi landed the role of a production assistant on a set in Los Angeles but struggled to find work after that.
Kristi's father, Kirk Johnson, had contacted U-Haul for her to move, but she insisted on staying on further in the hopes of pursuing her dreams. She settled for a job at a cell phone company when she was approached with an opportunity she decided to take a shot at. According to NBC News, Terry Hall spoke about her daughter, saying,
“She thought, 'I would really like to be involved in this industry but on the production side of it, on the other side of the camera.'”
Kristi and her mother, Terry, were very close and spoke to each other on the phone every day. The last time the two spoke was on February 15, 2003, when Kristi informed her mother that she would be visiting a mall that day.
What happened to Kristi Johnson?
Terry Hall was unable to reach Kristi Johnson for two days before she dialed her workplace to find out she had not turned up that day. Hall contacted the Santa Monica Police Department and reported Johnson missing.
Kristi Johnson was at the Westfield Century City Mall in Los Angeles when she was approached by an alleged film producer who offered her an opportunity to audition for a part in an upcoming James Bond sequel—a role that promised a potential six-figure paycheck.
Ronald E. Bowers, a retired prosecutor with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, told The Real Murders of Los Angeles,
“She was told if she had a white blouse, black miniskirt, nylons and stiletto heels, that would really impress."
Once the officers found out that there were no new James Bond movies in the making, they checked with the security tapes at the Century City Mall, where Johnson was spotted buying the clothes on the list unaccompanied. Kristi Johnson's cell phone records showed the last call made at 5:34 p.m. on February 15, 2003, with a ping corresponding to the Studio City cellphone tower, close to Hollywood Hills.
As the first lead from a witness named Susan Murphy poured in and a composite sketch of the suspect was created, Kristi's car was found at the valet lot of a hotel on February 24, while a parole officer from the Santa Monica Police Department identified the suspect's sketch as one of her parolees, Victor Paleologus.
Kristi Johnson's body was found on March 3, 2003, in a ravine in the Hollywood Hills by a group of hikers. The body was identified as Kristi's by the hibiscus tattoo on her lower back. Her body had been out in the open for 16 days and had been heavily decomposed to determine if she had been s**ually assaulted. The Los Angeles Times reported the cause of her death to be strangulation. Additionally, there was no DNA evidence to tie the crime to Victor Paleologus, making the case a complex one for the prosecution.
Regardless, Victor Paleologus pleaded guilty in 2006, and about 40 witnesses testified against him during his trial. He was sentenced to 25 years to life with the possibility of parole.
