The Real Murders of Los Angeles: Who were the victims of Victor Paleologus? Details explored

The body of Kristi Johnson, a 21-year-old aspiring to work in Hollywood, was found in a ravine off Hollywood Hills by a group of hikers on March 3, 2003, bound and strangulated by Victor Paleologus. Johnson went missing on February 15, 2003, after she was approached by an alleged film producer offering her a chance to audition for a part in a James Bond sequel.

Johnson was advised to wear a white blouse, black miniskirt, pantyhose, and stiletto heels, which she purchased from the Westfield Century Mall, Los Angeles, that day. Her phone had last pinged off a cellphone tower close to the Hollywood Hills around 5:30 pm.

The search for Kristine "Kristi" Johnson eventually took a horrific turn with crucial pieces of information from tipsters that led to the main suspect in the case - a s*xual offender, Victor Paleologus. The Real Murders of Los Angeles episode, titled 'Killer Casting,' details Kristi Johnson's murder as 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."

Victims of Victor Paleologus: Details of the women who came forward for Kristi Johnson explored

Susan Murphy

The detectives at the Santa Monica Police Department received their first lead as Susan Murphy came forward with her account of being approached by a man named Victor Thomas. He allegedly approached her at Century City Mall and offered her the role of a Bond Girl for $100,000. The two were scheduled to meet at his office at La Cienega Boulevard.

Susan Murphy did not arrive in the said uniform, which enraged the producer. Thomas grabbed Susan when her boyfriend, who stayed behind in a car, intervened and asked for his identification, causing him to flee. Murphy shared with NBC News,

"He said it’s very important that I wear stilettos. Black stilettos as high as possible. And then he said a black mini-skirt preferably but any mini-skirt would be great. Panty hose, pantyhose not nylons, a white man’s shirt, hair slicked back really tight in a ponytail. And a man’s tie. And he said he would provide the tie."

However, Victor Thomas was a dead end, and the Santa Monica police had a composite sketch made with Susan's help. On February 25, 2003, a parole officer called the Santa Monica Police Department and identified the sketch as one of her parolees - Victor Lawrence Paleologus.

Susan Murphy was approached by Victor Paleologus three weeks before Kristi Johnson's disappearance.

Alice Walker

Victor Paleologus next posed as a novelist from New York. He offered the role of a dominatrix in a Bond movie for $200,000 to Alice Walker at Century City Mall on January 25, 2003. Walker was scheduled to meet him at his office on the south block of the corner of Santa Monica and La Cienega.

Paleologus had her pose on her hands and knees. The encounter had turned violent as he tightened the tie around her neck.

Laura Hayden

The Los Angeles Times reported Laura Hayden to have come forward with Susan Murphy and Alice Walker. Victor Paleologus also approached her at the Century City Mall. Upon meeting, Paloelogus pointed out her shoes to be the wrong kind.

Cathy Debuono

The American actress and practicing psychotherapist Cathy DeBuono was approached by Victor Paleologus in 1999, posing as a Disney executive named Brian for an alleged upcoming Bond movie. DeBuono had a small part in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine at the time. She noted down the details from his tattered business card, which he was reluctant to part with. The details were later verified to be false by Disney upon a call made by DeBuono's agent.

DeBuono had decided to follow up on the issue and made her way to Laurel Canyon with a stuntman-friend from the sets of Deep Space Nine. Brian allegedly never showed up, and DeBuono believes it was because her friend was in clear view of the perpetrator.

Heather Maher and Kimberly Resnick

Victor Paleologus approached Heather Maher and Kimberly Resnick at Skybar on August 28, 1998, posing as a Disney producer. He complimented Maher's legs and invited her for an audition for the next Bond Girl at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Marina del Rey. He asked her not to bring Resnick as it would be a closed set. Maher was offered between $80,000 and $100,000 for the role.

Paleologus shifted her to the San Vicente Boulevard location of his office, Café Milano, where she was bound and s*xually assaulted. She managed to break free, and Victor Paleologus served three and a half years of jail time for the attempted r*pe. He was paroled out on January 20, 2003.

Elizabeth Buzzini

Per CourtTV.com, Victor Paleologus approached Buzzini at the airport in 1991, where producers for the next Bond movie were supposed to join them. She noticed a white powdery substance on her drink when she cautioned the manager and confronted Paleologus about the matter. However, Victor Paleologus fled before the police arrived at the scene.

Christine Kludjian and other women

The Los Angeles Times reported that Kludjian was invited to a music industry party at the Bonaventure Hotel by Victor Paleologus, who falsely claimed to be working at Columbia Records. Their encounter turned violent, and he was arrested for false imprisonment by violence and put on three years' probation.

In 1995, Paleologus was put on five years' probation as he broke into the home of a woman he had dated and held her against her will.

The Real Murders of Los Angeles episode re-airs on December 11, 2023, at 8 pm EST on Oxygen.

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