Morbid - The Mysterious Murder of Christa Helm

Episode Date: February 22, 2022

Ash hadn’t done an old Hollywood case in a while, so upon finding this one dove right in! Christa Helm was born in Milwaukee but knew that she was destined for a life much bigger. She would tell anyone who would listen that she wanted to be a star and no one doubted her ability to get there. Christa moved out to Hollywood to make it big, and while she had some success along the way, the biggest story surrounding Christa would be her murder. Unfortunately Christa’s murder still remains unsolved but it is a wild ride trying to make sense of it all! https://www.whokilledchristahelm.com/christasstory As always, thank you to our sponsors: HelloFresh: Get sixteen free meals, plus three gifts, with code morbid16 at HELLOFRESH.com/morbid16 Rothy’s: Hit the new year in stride with a fresh pair of Rothy’s. New customers get $20 off your first purchase at rothys.com/MORBID Purple: Go to Purple.com/morbid10 and use code morbid10. For a limited time you can get 10% off any order of $200 or more. Daily Harvest: Go to DAILYHARVEST.com/morbid to get up to forty dollars off your first box! BetterHelp: This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp and Morbid listeners get 10% off their first month at BetterHelp.com/morbid Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash KelleyListener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra LallyListener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey, weirdos, I'm Ash and I'm Elena. And this is morbid. It's morbid. It's just morbid. It's always going to be morbid. Yeah, it's an Ash-centric morbid, so that's always fun. That's always a fun time. That's always a fun time, true crime, you know.

It also feels, yikes. Bikes. Guy, you are a guy, quite a guy. It's literally my favorite. Have you seen Never Been Kissed? everybody. Drew has for the first time ever. That's a great flick. Yeah, we watched it last weekend because we always, I, Drew Barrymore is like one of my favorite actresses. And I watch her movies, not to love about her. No, I watch her movies all the time. My two favorites are never been kissed

and ever after. Oh, yeah. Every single time I try to show them to Drew, he falls asleep. And I'm like, that's wild. How do you, I'm like, okay, maybe ever after because he doesn't like time period things. I was going to say, ever after I can kind of understand. Okay, like, get out of my face. It's really, it's like not my favorite, but like, never been kissed is just fun. Never been kissed is so much fun. I still remember the first time I saw ever after. I don't remember the first time I saw ever after. I saw it with like, um, and like in my friend's playroom one day randomly. And I can like see the room still. That's adorable. Yeah, it's a good ass movie. That's a good ass movie.

And this also feels like a good time like now that we're talking about like actresses and like it being ash-centric to talk about the fact that Brittany Spears is writing a fucking tell-all book. Hell yeah, she is. I am going to pre-order that book the second the pre-order thing goes out, like within seconds. Can you imagine what that book is going to? I'm scared. I was just going to say that book is going to be a very sad book. Yeah, no, it's going to be heartbreaking.

It's going to be a very heavy, very sad book. It's like years and years and years of just your freedom being stripped away from you. Yeah, everything. It's, I just read the book down that. The Rabbit Hole by Holly Madison. I need to borrow that. It's a fascinating book. And I hesitate even to say, like, I do it through crime books to be like, it's a great

book because it's just such a horrific topic. But like wonderfully written. It's fascinating, but holy hell. It is a heavy book. Oh, yeah. I can't imagine because I've been watching, actually it comes up in what we're going to talk about today briefly. Oh, funny.

But I've been watching Secrets of Playboy. Oh, yeah. If you guys aren't watching that, it's on Annie. it's so good. It's a little slow to get into. And like if you've read Holly's book, I think the episode that she's on is pretty similar to her book. Yeah, it is. But overall, like the deeper and deeper they get into it. I was watching the most recent episode last night and I was mortified. I was eating dinner and like got sick. Yeah, it's like a really, it's a really yucky. It's tragic. Situation there. But Holly's book, I highly recommend it down the rabbit hole because, wow,

she really like laid herself bare for that book and I respect it. But wow. And I think I, because I got the book because I got into this like weird thing where like to wind down at night. Yep. I was because like there was a point where John was working at night like down like in his office. So I would just like watch something stupid. And I was watching the girls next door like old episodes. My God.

I did that last summer. Me and Drew, Drew had never watched it. It's a real time travel mode. And then there's a lot of stuff on there that you're like, oh, okay. Like we're just saying that on TV. Yeah. But there was also, I was like, now knowing what I know about this, I'm like, it is so different to watch it now because you're just like, oh.

There's a scene where Holly gives Heth like a birthday card and he starts to read it and she starts sobbing. Yeah. And I remember watching it and like thinking that was a cute moment. Yeah. And then she actually talks about it. I don't know if she talks about it in the book. Does she in the book?

She talked about it on Secrets of Playboy too. and she was like, I was just embarrassed. Like, I was mortified that he was reading this card out loud about, like, our love when he was dating how many other people. And I wanted to be the one person he was dating. And it's, you watch it now and you're like, wow, this is so sad. Yeah, and she's, like, sobbing. You're like, why did I think that was a cute moment? For real.

But I still love Bridget. And they, oh, my God, Bridget. And they signed those contracts, like, under duress. Yeah. So, like, there's your little background on girls next door, guys. Yeah, I don't know how we got it to them. But if we're going to end on anything. like before we start the case.

John made me watch Station 11. Oh, yeah. Did you guys finish that? I did it under like, under duress. I'll tell you two things. I did it kind of under duress because he would watch it and I was like, I'm not watching this. It's really depressing. It's about a pandemic and like a world ending.

In a pandemic. I was like too real. I need escapist television. Let me tell you one of the most beautiful television shows I've ever watched. It will really, it's heavy. Yeah. It's intense. So worth it in the end.

That's what I've heard, though, that it's like beautifully cinematic. And it's just so beautiful to watch. Like the directors and everybody like cinematographer, everybody who worked on this, I'm like, holy hell. Like you made one of the most beautifully like put together television shows and they just seamlessly put timelines together and stuff. It was just like really well done. So I highly recommend it.

But just so you know, it's like it's about a bit of them. So it's like pretty real. But the other one that I've just watched with John that I just got to say. Because people have told us to watch this is only murders in the building. So good. I need to watch that. I am eager for season two. So many people have been like tweeting at us.

Like are you guys going to watch this? Steve Martin and Martin Short are two of my favorite people on earth. Oh yeah. And I mean, Steve Martin, I grew up watching like Father of the Bride with my mom. That's my favorite. And we used to watch it together all the time. So I've like very just like fond memories. Like he brings up like a happy feeling in me whenever I see him.

And Martin Short because he was also at it. And they're like TV dads. Like you know, like I said that about like Bob Sagin. Like Danny Tanner. Yeah. Yeah. And they're just in the, I'm telling you guys if you've been on the fence about watching it. It's really funny.

It's really easy to watch. They are exactly what you want them to be in it. I love that. It's just really good. And I can't wait to watch it. And Selena Gomez is great. I love Selena Gomez. She's great in it.

So I highly recommend it. And we haven't done like a. Like, we've been doing, like, a lot of, like, starting the episodes with, like, kind of heavy. A lot of the times, like, child's news lately, I feel like. A lot of, like, horrible, horrible depraved news about people hurting children. So we just kind of figured today we were just going to talk about what we've been watching some happy stuff. And before we go into the depths. I was going to say, because then we'll get into the deep, dark, depravity of it all.

So that's what, you know, that's what we've been watching. That's what we've been reading. Yeah. That's what we're excited about. Really quick. I'm going to start euphoria tonight. Oh, I'm not. Yeah, everybody is obsessed with euphoria. Yeah, I've literally not one. I'm never going to watch that. I tried to watch it once and I was like, this is something I can't watch alone. Like I need to be like with somebody when I watch this. Me and Drew texted me yesterday and he was like, do you want to start euphoria? I feel like you'll like it. I feel like I will love it because I'm a zal. Unfortunately. I was going to say you're right on that cuss. Sometimes I understand Gen Z and it stresses me out. See, John caught like a little bit of the first step. episode or like one of the episodes. Because I think he was up with our youngest at one point and she

had fallen asleep on him and he was just trying to like watch something to stay awake. And he said it was, he was like as a father to daughters. It just horrified me in every way. He's like, I can't watch it. It'll stress me out so much. I can understand by like a parent to young children would not want to watch that show and think about like their kids doing the things that these kids are doing. I think it's just like out of my wheelhouse. It's just not something I'm interested in watching. I could see that. Like, I don't, I want to watch it for the fashion of it all, for the Zendaya of it all. I mean, I love Zendaya.

Yeah. Like, come on. Usually, I'll just take anything she wants to give me, but this is just not something I want. I don't know where my phone is. I was going to look up the other actress's name. She was in White Lotus, too. Oh. I think it's Sydney something.

I think it's Sydney. I forget, but I think she's so dope. So, I'm excited to watch that. She is so dope. So yeah. So that's our, you know, our spiel. Our spiel. What we're watching, what we're reading, what we want to read, what we're excited about.

And that's all on like our off time in between watching like horrific documentaries about things like this. Because for this case, I watched a couple different documentaries and like read a bunch of different articles about this. And I was in like deep diving into this like crazy blog that's written about it. I'm going to give them credit because it's like an investigative blog. and they have so much information. They were actually on one of the shows that I watched for this. Good for them. I love when people go ham into that stuff.

Like a lot of times these blogs, you're like, hell yeah. They like really do the work. And they have like a little kind of like PSA thing on there for podcasters. And they were like, please credit us if you use our sources. Yeah, of course. Hello, of course. That's what you got it, man. I mentioned their name later in here.

And I'm definitely going to link their blog in the show notes. For sure. So today we're going to be doing. an old Hollywood case because it feels like it's been a while since I did an old Hollywood case. It does. Right? I think the last one I did was Gene Harlow. Yeah, you're right. That was a while ago. Wow, that was. Now, this case in particular is unfortunately still considered a cold case, just so you know, getting into it, because I always hate when we get to the end and I'm like, damn it, like, you're like, sorry. But it's filled with all kinds of craziness along the way. So this is the story of Krista Helm.

Now, I wanted to start this one near like the middle slash end of the case to hook line and sink you. So this is, we're going to start like right in the middle and end. And that's when Krista's best friend, Darlene Thorson, got a postcard from Krista. The postcard came right around Christmas time in 1976. But it was not like a happy holidays. This is what my family learned to do this year kind of card. No like joy spread around the world. No.

Instead, the postcard was written by Krista and it said, quote, I'm in way over my head here. I'm into something that I can't get out of. And then she went on to say that she might need to get out of Dodge for a little while and for Darlene not to be concerned if she didn't hear from her in a while. But if that Darlene heard something did happen to her, please take care of my daughter, Nicole. That's what Krista said to her.

Now, immediately, Darlene thought back to Krista's personal diary and wondered if it was part of the reason why she was in some kind of trouble. but I'm going to leave you there for a minute. We're going to talk about when they grew up. Okay. So the two of them had grown up together in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and they had always kept diaries that they shared with each other. These diaries were about like different boys that they liked and experience that they had,

you know, from dates, like kissing boys, stuff like that. And then as they got older, they got a little more risque. Of course. But they would always share their diaries with each other. And they had a rating system of these boys that they would go out with, like a one to ten kind of thing. Amazing. which I'm like that's pretty genius.

Get it. But your personal diary, you do what you want. Yeah, go off. But that was way back when Krista was still Sandra Lynn. She was born to parents Harry and Dolores Woolfiel on November 11th, 1949. Okay. Now, getting to know Krista while researching this case taught me that she is a true Scorpio all the way through.

Scorpios tend to be like extremely passionate and ambitious and usually they're pretty in tune with their sexuality. And on the other side of all those really- Stop generalizing people, ash. I know. I'm just saying like overall. Yeah. But they're like on those are like the good qualities.

And then on the other side of that like those great qualities, they're also known to have a bit of a vindictive side and they're very ruthless when they're pushed too far. Not all Scorpios. Not all Scorpios. Duh. Now all of those adjectives were at one point or another used to describe Christa Helm. Driven, ambitious, vindictive, ruthless.

So I was like, wow, you're a Scorpio. Yeah, there you go. So from a young age, she was incredibly passionate and ambitious with her eyes set on becoming an actress. She told anybody who would listen, like, I'm going to be a star one day. I'm going to be in movies. Get it, girl. You're going to see my face on the big screen. Anybody who would listen.

And pretty much, like everybody she told was like, yeah, you will be. Like, that makes sense for you. Now, Darlene, her best friend, said that Krista was an actress from the day she was born. But as with most tales about rising into stardom and fame, there were roadblocks and hurdles and tough times along the way. Of course. One of the major traumas that Krista faced within her life came from her mother, Dolores. So Dolores and Harry had three children together, all girls. There was Sandra, who I'm referring to as Krista, because eventually she changes her name.

Then Marisa and Candace. So Harry owned and operated an asphalt company, and Dolores stayed home and raised the children. But Dolores and Harry weren't necessarily cut from the same cloth, and their marriage was not a happy one at all. They actually ended up divorcing right before Krista turned three, which was really sad, like three young kids. Yeah. So Harry got remarried to a woman named Nancy, and he had more children with her, but he always stayed a prominent role in his children's life, no matter what. Dolores, on the other hand, started drinking very heavily. Uh-oh.

And before long, her drinking to cope with her divorce ended up turning into full. blown alcoholism. She was going out meeting all kinds of crazy characters, bringing home shady men, and these men would assault her and her daughters. Oh, come on. So she's bringing home these like, fuck, shit bags and she's putting your kids in danger. Traumatizing her children. Exactly. So the girls real cool, Dolores. Yeah, not cool Dolores. So the girls obviously are telling their dad what's going on because they're terrified. Yeah. Their life has just flipped upside down with the divorce, let alone getting abused by all these random men. By random strangers, your mom is bringing home. That's fucked. So they tell Harry, and Harry's fucking pissed. He steps right in, and he gained custody of all three of the

kids. He was like, no way. Yeah. So moving in with her dad definitely helped Krista escape the abuse that she was suffering at the hands of her mom's boyfriends. And it did seem to mean that she got a little more freedom than she would have at her mother's, which makes sense. I think like sometimes, you know, like your mom is like a little more intense than your dad is. Well, especially it's like, I'm sure with what they had gone through. Yeah. He might have been trying to be like the cool dad. You know, like he's trying to be like the good parent a little bit.

I think that happens a lot in divorce. It's probably hard for them to figure out what the role is supposed to be, I imagine. And then you have teenage girls and like a dad. Like he's like, oh, fuck. Like I don't, what am I doing here, you know? It's a tough situation. Definitely. So Krista could pretty much do as she pleased as long as her dad knew where she was and knew

that she was safe. Now when she was about six, 16 years old, she got a job, not a job. A job. And she started working at a karate studio in the area, and she was also taking classes. The studio was owned by 26-year-old Gary Clements, who Krista had a pretty big crush on. But he's 26 and she's 16. Eek. Somehow, the two of them began dating, even despite that 10-year age gap and illegality of it all. I was just going to say in the felony of it all. And the feloniousness of it all. And before long, Krista became pregnant.

Oh. Yeah. And obviously, she had no choice but to tell her dad. Oh, no. So he told Gary and Krista that the right thing to do was to get married and raise this kid together. It's like a very riding in cars with boys scenario. Yeah, very much. Yeah.

Oh, my God. You know I wrote that in my notes and then I didn't even think about the fact that I was just talking about Drew Barrymore. Look at that. We're connecting everything here. Full circle, honey. Full circle moment. So Gary agreed. to get married to Krista, and they were married right around the time that Krista turned 17.

So she's 17, pregnant, and getting married. Like, again, her whole life has just flipped. I was just going to say, I just think of me at 17, and I'm like, wow, I would have had no business getting married or having a child. I cannot even imagine. You certainly would not. I, like, that's a, that's a deep, dark time in my life. And no.

Yeah, no. Period. Period. Period. Period. No, period. So they get married. The very next day, Krista wakes up in the honeymoon suite, and Gary's gone.

No. He's gone. It was like he had vanished into thin air. And there were a lot of rumors surrounding Gary's disappearance. Some people claimed that he had mob ties and that maybe he ended up in like some kind of trouble. So he had to skip town. Or some people said, you know, maybe the mob trouble that he was in caught up with him

and he got offed. And then other people. said that he died in a motorcycle accident but I was like but where is he where's the body yeah or is he just made of motorcycle where is it all I have no idea still to this day nobody knows what nobody knows nobody knows no wow that's no wow I know she just poof poof wow which sucks because this 17 year old girl is pregnant and like thought she just got married but now she's not question mark And now she's left to deal with this all on her own. That's horrific.

So the story that Krista went with most of the time when people asked what happened to Gary was that he was in a motorcycle accident. I also think it probably took some kind of like, I'm not saying she should have been embarrassed that he left. Like, of course not. Oh, no, but she, I would be. But I'm sure she felt that way. Yeah. You don't know what. I mean, in your 17.

Yeah. And now you have a completely abandoned here. Exactly. So you don't want to say like, you know, he stepped out the back jack. Yeah, that's hard to admit. Exactly. So she would tell anybody, like, who asked that that was what happened. And then when Nicole got a little bit older, that's what Nicole learned. Okay. And that's her daughter. Yeah, her daughter. So now Krista's 17 years old and a single mother to a newborn. And she still had those big dreams of getting discovered and somehow becoming a star. But for the time being, she had to focus on making ends meet for her daughter, putting food in their mouths. So it was around that time that she started working at an Italian restaurant. And because, you she was like a really cool social girl. She could really strike up a conversation with anybody. And she became close with a lot of people who worked there, including another girl around her age who also had a young child. And her name was Diane. So Krista and Diane eventually ended up

getting an apartment together. And Diane remembered that Krista would invite like literally anybody over to this apartment to have a drink or hang out or, you know, maybe a little more than that from time to time. Now she has a newborn. Correct. Yeah. So it's a little bit confusing because I don't know if their children lived with them at this point in time because eventually they don't live with them. Okay. And it's not a situation where like they got taken away or anything. It's a situation of like Krista was trying to get established and set up kind of like more of a home life. And does the baby end up with the grandparents or something?

I'll get to that. Okay. But I'm unsure if she was still living with Krista at this point in time. It's like not super clear. So I'm hoping the answer is no because she was having all these people over. Yeah. And it seems like it's repeating history here. Definitely.

But you don't know. So yeah, she would have a lot of people over. And Diane was a little more hesitant with her approach to dating than Krista was. So she'd be like, you need to be careful. Like you don't know these people. They could hurt us. You know, they could hurt you. Yeah.

You don't want people in and out of your life. But she was like, yeah, I also know that Krista loves male attention and she's beautiful. So it's not hard to come by. And Krista's sister, Marisa, said of Krista, I feel like this just like fits perfectly. she was like very, I don't want to say boy crazy, but like she loved male attention. Okay. And her sister said that she would walk into a room and that if every head didn't turn around and look at her walk in the room, she would get back up, walk out of the room and do it again

the right way. So everybody looked at her. So like I feel like that just gives you who she is. Yeah. Well, and it shows unfortunately a lot of insecurity. Of course, absolutely. Yeah, that's a huge amount of insecurity. And I think that much validation from everyone around you.

And I think that's being abandoned by your mother. I was just going to say. I think that's being abandoned by your husband the day after you get married. A lot of trauma. And I think that's being a 17-year-old girl. Yeah. You know? Absolutely.

So it was probably that social butterfly and a girl attitude that made Krista's manager at the restaurant invite her and Diane to come out with him to the Lake Geneva Playboy Club Hotel, which fun fact was the first Playboy Club Hotel. Hey, look at that. Now, Diane and Kristen went along thinking not only that it would be a fun outing, but it could also present itself as an opportunity to make connections to the upper echelon type people, because literally like celebrities would be at these clubs. Like it was a big deal. So while they were there, someone presented them with a job offer to come back and work as bunnies at the club. Now, at this

point in time, it was a big deal to be offered a bunny job without applying because girls, like, if you're watching the secrets of Playboy with me right now, girls would literally like throw their applications. Like they wanted to be bunnies really badly because, back then you made way more money as a bunny than you did as like a secretary or a teacher or something like that. You could get tons of tips. Exactly. Yeah. Which is sad because I think that's how they learned a lot of these young girls in. Oh, for sure. So they get invited to be bunnies, which is crazy. And they set out and they're like, we would rather go to the Chicago club to do this because you're going to make more money. And that's the big one. That's the huge one. That's the first like real big one.

Exactly. So they end up going out to the Chicago. club instead of the one at Lake Geneva. And also, they just really wanted to get out of Wisconsin because they'd been there their whole lives. Yeah. And at this point in time, Diane's mom was going to be watching her daughter while they were out in Chicago working. And I think she agreed to take care of Krista's daughter as well.

Oh, okay. So long as they came back and helped during their off time. Yeah. So 19-year-old Krista went out to make some money and work her way to the top of that social ladder with her friend in tow. It was all so, so exciting for them. but super short-lived. So they saw where they were going to be living.

They went through all their training. They got fitted for their costumes. But then during a trip back home to Wisconsin, Diane's mom told her that she was not going to be able to watch the kids anymore. She was like, this is way too much. I can't do it. I thought I was going to be able to, but like you need to figure this out on your own.

Yeah. Which it sucks for them. Like I can't imagine like you get this opportunity that you feel is like a huge opportunity. Yeah, for sure. But it's also like, you're a mom first and foremost. Yeah, it's like you got to figure it out, man. And it's not your mom's responsibility to take care of your kid. No, technically no. So Diane was like, okay, no, listen, you need to go out to Chicago and you need to do this. And like, I don't know if she offered to help with Nicole or whatever. But Krista was like, I don't want to go alone. So the whole opportunity just kind of fizzled out right then and there. Never happened. Eek. But the travel bug hadn't gotten out of Krista's system that easily. And before,

long, she found herself with another opportunity to move out to New York City. She wanted to pursue her dream of acting and maybe do some modeling along the way, but obviously she was worried about bringing Nicole along with her. Now, this is where I say, I'm not exactly sure who Nicole was left with because anything that I've read for this case refers to the woman as a nanny who lived in Vermont. Okay. So I'm not sure if it was like a family friend or something like that. Yeah, just somebody was taking care of her. Some sources say she was left with her grandmother, but I'm assuming that probably not because they didn't live with their mother. Yeah.

So it's a bit confusing, but I'm just going to assume it's a family friend. Yeah. So Krista drops Nicole off with the nanny because she wanted to wait until she was established enough and had a stable environment for Nicole to live in. And the plan always was that when Nicole turned 10, she would go and live with her mom wherever that may be. So Nicole clung tightly onto that plan. And her nanny seemed to be like a really tough woman, who she said was not always nice

to her. As an adult, she remembered that any time she would cry, the nanny would literally say, I'll give you something to cry about. Oh, that's really sad. And just the fact that, like, she didn't get to be with her mom. No, it's like, she's abandoned in a way, you know? And like, 10 years old is, like, really old to suddenly be thrown into a different environment. It's like, that's tough. Yeah, it was a tough situation. It was going to be tough for sure. I feel bad for Nicole. I do too. And she was, like, the cutest little girl. And she just seems like the sweetest woman. She's in a bunch of the documentaries that I watched. And she loves her mom, like beyond. Oh, that hurts. Because of that, she would always fantasize about the day that she turned 10 and how she would be so far removed from this

woman she was living in now and this lifestyle she had to deal with. And she would visit Krista quite frequently and frequently enough to know that she hadn't just been abandoned as some kind of afterthought. Okay. And she said of her mom, when I was with her, she made me feel so important. The moments that I had with her really strengthened the belief that, you know, she didn't just throw me away. She really was just waiting until I was 10 until she felt safe. Oh. So I can see both sides of that. Yeah.

You know, because I can understand why Krista doesn't want to bring her daughter to New York City when she doesn't necessarily have a place to live or an established job. Or like a safe environment. Or a safe environment. But I can also see like, you know, like. Like that sucks. You got to figure that out first and then you better, you know. Like the whole situation is just a tough situation. And I really do just feel bad for Nicole.

I feel like, yeah. I want to like hug her. I do too. But I'm glad that when she was with Krista, that she felt like she was the most important thing. Yeah, definitely. Because I think the fact that she's saying she didn't feel like she was abandoned or thrown away is good. And that speaks a lot of. And I hope for Krista, I think.

Yeah. And I hope that really is how she feels that she wasn't just thrown away. Right. Because I would hate for to think of a little kid thinking they were just a throw away. Yeah, exactly. I think the fact that she got to visit her mom so much and like, like you just said that Krista made her feel so important when she was there, I think that helped a lot. Yeah. And like Nicole, the way that she talks about her mom, like they just have this

kind of bond that I think nobody would even understand other than the two of them. Yeah, it's a tricky situation. It is. For sure. So while Nicole counted down the days until her 10th birthday and coped with her situation, Krista was out making connections in the Big Apple that really would lead to some sense of stardom. Now, one of the first people she met out there was a costume designer, Lini Barron. He was a very famous costume designer, really. He worked with Judy Garland. Oh, no big deal. Casual. He would also eventually design some of the costumes for Wonder Woman. Oh, wow. Yeah, like a big deal. And he just looks like a freaking hot ticket. I'll post a picture. He was like a really well-connected guy. He ran in some of the more elite social circles. So he really was a good connection for

Krista to make. Now, the two of them hit it off pretty much right away. And Linny became Krista's in to different parties and events. And he was a good. also served as her personal stylist most of the time. Nice. Krista began modeling for his agency too, which was called Audities. And she was making pretty good money at the time. She charged $60 an hour for the different modeling jobs that she did. All right. Now, pretty much immediately when she stepped foot in New York, Krista like somehow just adopted this life of glam. Like it was like she stepped on the scene and everything kind of just fell into place. She was always wearing beautiful furs and different jewels. and before long, she would be living in a beautiful brownstone townhouse,

which is a big deal to live in like a townhouse in New York. Oh, yeah. Now, many people attribute this to a potential sugar daddy of sorts, Stuart Duncan. Now, Stuart Duncan was a big Broadway producer when Linney introduced him to Christina, and he was also the heir to a pretty big family fortune. His family owned Lee and Perens, who was behind the distribution of Worcestershire sauce. Worcestershire sauce. Which is funny because you and I were just like randomly talking about

Worcestershire sauce this morning. I was talking about making hamburgers and I was like, Worcestershire sauce. It's the best. And I was like, that's going to come back later. I was wondering how that was going to come into this. Again,

full circle. Weird. Crazy. So yeah, Stuart. It's connected to Krista sauce. He's got all this money from Worcestershire sauce or he would. But he didn't really care too much about Karyong,

the Worcestershire sauce. Walsalsalsall. He didn't care too much about like continuing with. that. He really wanted to make things like and create and you know yeah go to Broadway shows. Um, so yeah, when he met Krista, he was super struck by how beautiful she was because she was gorgeous. She was super tall. She was she had like dirty blonde kind like almost like brawn hair. Yeah. Like brown blonde if you're a stylist. Brand. Just gorgeous. And her bone structure. I'm like, I want to look like. Yeah. Her skull was to die for. Her skull was great. And Stuart thought so

too. And he was like, I feel like you would be perfect for this movie that I'm working on. And this is the first time that his work would make it to the big screen. He was working on his first film called Let's Go for Broke. Now, it was a movie surrounding an investigative journalist named Jackie Broke, which I just love. She gets kidnapped while investigating the villain of the movie, but she's kind of like a James Bond character and she fights all the bad guys along the way. And of course, she saves the day. That's amazing. Spoiler alert. When Stewart met Christ, he knew that he had his Jackie, and she was immediately hired for the film. Now, the budget for the film started off at $700,000, but throughout production, it went to

well over a million dollars. Oh, damn. And a lot of people felt like that was like Krista's doing. Also, some of the movie was filmed in Haiti, so, like, they had to fly down there, they had to stay. That's expensive. And Krista was said to have been, like, a little bit of a pre-Madonna on set. She had her own hair and makeup team. She brought her own, like, wardrobe.

It was a big deal. It was a big deal, you know? But she was excited, you know? And I think the cutest thing of this all is that her dad actually played an extra in the film. Oh my God, that's adorable. Oh, my God, dad makes an appearance again. I love that. I love it.

Now, so it seems like a cute movie. It almost had like an eye dream of genie feel when I was looking at the, just like the little stills. Oh, that's cool. But it didn't really do incredibly well. It only lasted in theaters for about two weeks before it got pulled. I was going to say, I don't, I don't, it's not. one that you think of when you think of like great old movies. No, definitely not. I've never seen it. Me either.

I don't even know how you can to be honest. I was going to say, can we? Maybe on YouTube question mark. Yeah. But it wasn't going to be the first or last project that she, well, it was the first project. So it wasn't going to be the last project that Krista worked on or would at least be connected to. She also did a horror film, Legacy of Satan. Yes. In which she dies ironically similar to how she died in real life. Oh, that's horrible. And most of it was actually filmed in her apartment in New York, which I thought is interesting. You can see some stills from that. Now, Stewart offered her stock also in his Broadway play, Godspell, which did incredibly well.

And by the time Godspell wrapped, Krista was a pretty well-established New York socialite. So that kind of explained where the furs were coming from, where the jewels were coming from, yada, yada, yada. And there were also rumors that she would call like gossip columns on herself to tell them where she was going to be, with certain people. So she was ahead of the time of doing that? She was. She was like, hello, Daily Mail. She was Kardashianing.

That was hard to say. I go, yes, a verb. Yes. But she was with these, like, super well-connected people. Mick Jagger, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, the Shah of Iran was rumored to have been with her. So she, like, she's calling these gossip columns, but she is provoked. providing the tea. So she just wanted to stay in the spotlight and make sure her name was being spoken around town in relation to these people. Whatever she was doing, it was working. She was

named Cosmo's Bachelorette of the month in around 1973. She decided it's time to get out to Hollywood, especially now that I have these connections that I do. Yeah. So moving out to Hollywood was a pivotal move in Christa's career. I'm not going to say it was like the best thing for her career at all. No. She got a couple more roles. None of them were starring, but they were on pretty big shows like Wonder Woman and Starxie and Hutz. Starsky and Hutch. Thank you. Starsky and Hutch. She is in the beauty on parade episode of Wonder Woman and the silence episode of Startsky and Hutch. Wow. Yeah, just so you know if you want to watch those. Check it out. Now, she met even more fabulous celebrities. George Hamilton was one of them, and she had a fair amount of sexual encounters.

with a lot of these men. That's where her diary comes back into play. Because I mentioned in the beginning that sometime around Christmas, 1976, Christa's friend Darline got that postcard. Christa's in and over her head. She knows too much about something, it seems. And Darlene's first thought is the diary. Now, that's because any man or woman that Christa slept with was named in that diary,

supposedly with a rating next to their name based on how good or bad their interaction had been. and a very detailed account of said interaction. Wow. Now we're talking like sexual interactions. Yeah. So Krista also didn't keep this diary a secret from really anyone in her life. Like all of her friends knew about its existence. And people over the years have come up with various explanations for the reason why Krista kept the diary.

Some people said that she was talking about doing kind of a tell-all book. I wondered that. I was going to ask if like someday she saw herself being able to just unleash this into a, a book? Which come the fuck on, would I read that? Who wouldn't? The tea inside of that book. You don't, you don't want it. Nobody wants to admit that they want, I want that book. I want that book. I want that book. And I'll be the first term of a minute. I would like it literally be soaking wet with tea. I feel like she, like, I feel like that makes sense. People, especially because she saw herself becoming a star. Yes, of course. And that's like one of those things

that people go nuts for that. Oh, yeah. Like she got like older. I'm sure she's, saw herself as like an older woman all of a sudden releasing all this so it wouldn't really like doesn't really affect her too much it won't hurt anybody as much exactly and so some people said like she did talk about writing a book but then other people thought maybe this diary was going to be used to blackmail certain people okay that were featured in it which is why it's pretty much always accredited with having something to do with Krista's death I mean no matter what the the reason for it was And no matter what, that was going to be blackmail. Oh, 100%.

Even if that wasn't her intent. It was, I mean, that's a very big thing to have in your possession. With all these big names. And I'm a little surprised that she was so open about it. I feel like that's something like you keep on the hush, hush, don't tell anybody. And then when you get super old, you just go, and maybe like don't release all the names and stuff. I feel like it's like, change names, you know. Yeah.

I feel like letting everybody know about it was like a really, er. A mistake. scary. And her friends. Like, I'm scared for her and I know what happened. So you're not alone because her friends felt that way too. Darlene literally said to her, you're playing with fire and you should light that book on fire. Yeah. Like you should not have that. Because like I said, even if that's not your intention to blackmail anyone maliciously. Right. That's blackmail. It is. No matter what. It's like, even if they just don't know if you're ever going to use it, even if you have no intent to. Exactly. It's still there. Exactly. Yeah. And she would literally like pull it out right after she wrapped up

with whoever she was with and start writing. Like there were a men who dated her and literally said like she pulled out a book and started writing. And I was like, what are you writing? Oof. And she was honest about it. Yeah. She's honest. She's very honest. On the night of February 11th, 1977, Krista went to a party with her roommate named Stephanie

Warshaw. And this party was out in Laurel Canyon. It's unclear who threw the party and what exactly happened there. But a few things are for sure. While she was there, Krista called her agent, Sandy. Smith a few times, trying to see if he would come to the party and join them. But he told her that he wasn't feeling up to it. He was super tired. And he said he was going to be heading to bed soon. Let's be real. I think we can all probably up our fruit and veggie game. Did you know, I think

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That's dailyharvest.com slash morbid for up to $40 off your first box. Dailyharvest.com slash morbid. Now, Stephanie, looking back, thinks that something might have happened at that party that freaked Krista out. Because she told the writers of that blog that I was talking about in the beginning, the super investigative blog, it's who killed Krista Helm.com. Okay, cool. And I'm going to plug that in the show notes too.

Perfect. But so she told the writers of this blog that at some point during the party, quote, Krista approached me with a funny, cloudy look on her face. I asked her what was wrong and she told me it was nothing. But I could tell that something had shaken her. I'll never forget that look. Ooh. So something happened at that party.

Yeah, obviously. Now, looking back, that must be such a haunting memory for Stephanie. But at the time, she had plans to go away with her boyfriend for the weekend. So she left the party with her boyfriend before Krista. But she was letting Krista use her car for the weekend. So she left Krista with the keys and told her she'd see her back at home at the end of the weekend. But unfortunately, she would never see Krista alive again. E!

Because Krista headed out to West Hollywood to Sandy Smith's house at 9020-O-Loyd Place, but never made it inside. Her body was discovered at about 1.30 in the morning by a man named Thurman Brooms. She was lying face down in a pool of her own blood, and she had been stabbed to death. and she was tucked like a little bit under a car. Thurman said that when he walked up, he saw Krista lying there and that he was there when she took her last breath. Yes, he tried to get help at Sandy's house where he was actually heading before finding Krista in the way that she was. But when he knocked on the door at Sandy's, there was no answer.

So he sped over to the nearest police station and reported what had happened. Now the investigators step on the scene and they immediately start taking notes. Krista had been stabbed 23 times. My God. That's anger. And was beaten with the blunt end of an object, which they believed to probably be the handle of the knife. Oh, my God. Most of the wounds were to her chest, face, and head.

And then some of them were to the back as well. One of the stabs went directly into the side of her head. Oh, my God. Yes. And to do it to her face, I feel like that's a immediately. That's what I thought. Specific thing to do. So personal.

It's so personal. And very on purpose. She also suffered countless defensive wounds because remember, she trained in karate. Yeah. She was fighting back here. She was absolutely fighting back. So to the investigators, this looked like a crime of passion because of the overkill involved.

Like there was serious overkill here. And the fact that Krista was so close to a house she knew, they instantly felt like she must have known her attacker based on those two things. The main problem, though, was that there weren't really many eyewitnesses this because people heard noises but they hadn't seen like the actual attack take place yeah and people always say that they hear noises and it's like did you hear these noises or did you hear just regular city noise exactly yeah well somebody actually heard like some real some real shit because john greese whose father tom greese actually directed helter skelter oh no big deal yeah just casual yeah uh he heard

what was going on oh and he was like what he said it said or he said it sounded like there was a cat being skinned alive outside. Like that's how he kind of like compared this. Oh, that's horrific. Absolutely horrific. Like you're just laying inside like probably about to go to sleep and you hear what you think is a cat being skin alive. Oh, okay. Also, have you heard that? I was just going to say, even if it is a cat being skinned alive, holy hell. Yeah, like what? What? Why? You couldn't be thinking it's a person. No, not at all. So he was like, I don't know what the fuck is going on out there, but he grabbed his dad's gun and he walked outside. But then when he made it out there, he didn't hear anything. Like, he didn't hear any more screaming or anything. He didn't look around and he didn't

see anything. The detectives ended up telling him that if he walked out onto the street just a little bit further, he would have seen Krista and may have even seen the person who attacked her and murdered her fleeing the scene. Like, wow even tell him. I was literally just going to say, like, I wouldn't need to know that. Because I feel like you already would have. like some kind of guilt that you would put on yourself of course because you were close to it so you're like why didn't i take it seriously you've been sooner why didn't i why wasn't i outside like you're going to think of every kind of like why did i do this why didn't i do this and they're like yeah why didn't yeah bro if you would come out a little bit before this you would have cracked this case wide open but you

didn't oh oh it's like why why would you do that yeah so that sucked that's awesome and then in talking to more people in the neighborhood detectives wondered if there might have been more than one person responsible for this because multiple people reported that it actually sounded like two women were outside and a man was there too so it sounded like two women's voices and a man's voice talking loudly before any screaming began so obviously we can assume that one of those women was Krista who's the other woman who's the man with them who are they because she rolled up alone so that doesn't make a lot of sense so Larry Gansy was the lead detective originally assigned to the case in 1977.

And he had a gut feeling that Krista's murder was linked to another murder that had taken place on the exact same street and on the exact same day just one year earlier. Whoa. Yes. Salminio was a famous actor in the 70s. I think he was most famous for his role in Rebel Without a Cause. With James Dean. I was just going to say alongside James Dean. But he had been stabbed to death just outside of his.

home in the same neighborhood where Krista was killed. Huh. On the same day, just one year earlier. That's a weird coincidence. Now, it actually took the police two years to find the person who killed Sal. So when Krista was murdered, the person who murdered Sal wasn't in jail yet. Oh. Or in prison yet, excuse me.

So it took them two years to catch them. And when they did try and convict him, they believed that this person was actually in prison the night that Krista was killed. now the man who killed Sal was Lionel Williams and the motive for Sal's murder seemed to be robbery. So Lionel Williams pled guilty to about 10 other robberies when pleading guilty to Sal's murder. And while Krista's purse was missing from the scene, the detectives didn't necessarily think that was the motive for killing her, like robbery. At least not a main thing. Not a main thing. And then they especially felt that way once they heard about her diary and the fact that she kept it on her at all times.

Oh. So they were like, taking that purse was probably to get that diary. For sure. Exactly. So they were like, the fact that her purse is missing and her diary was inside makes us feel like whoever did kill Krista did so to shut her up. Yeah. And funny enough, that diary never saw the light of day again.

Oh. We don't know. Nobody knows where that diary is. Come on. Yeah. So when the connection to Sal's murder turned out to be no connection at all, Larry and his team of investigators basically hit a dead end. They talked to and interviewed multiple people over the years, but nothing led anywhere.

And Krista's case just ended up going cold. Man. It was like there was nothing. Nobody had seen anything. The only thing that people had really heard was like screaming. Some people thought they heard two women's voices. Some people said, no, it was like just this voice. It was there was nothing.

Which is wild because it's like outside. Right. in a populated area where people could hear this stuff. It's like a very brazen attack as far as I'm concerned. And a very intense attack that probably lasted more than a few minutes. Stabbed 23 times and Bean with a blunt object. A lot of screaming, a lot of like it's messy, it's chaotic. Right.

And nothing comes out. They didn't leave anything behind. That's crazy. And you're like you're not going to hear like tires peeling out. Nobody's going to get like a vehicle to. No one saw anybody leave that area. It's just like wild when that happened. It's so strange. So Krista's daughter Nicole was the one who actually brought the case back to life and it took until 2006. Wow. She said like she, because she obviously grew up and had her own children. Yeah. And she said looking at

her own children, she just needed to know what happened to her mother. Of course. So when Krista had been killed back in 1977, Nicole was nine years old. Oh, and she was one year away. Exactly. She was living with that nanny that her mom left her in the care of. And Nicole's nanny told her that her mother had been killed in a car accident. And she really didn't give her any more information other than that, but sent her to school the next day. After finding out that her mother was killed, was like, yep, off to school you go. Wow. Yeah.

And something else. At school, some of the other kids had like probably heard their parents talking about what happened to Krista. and so it got back to Nicole that her mother did not die in a car accident, but that she was murdered. At nine years old. At nine years old. To hear that from classmates, too. And all she wanted, she literally said that like she just like crumbled at that point because she's, I think she said she was six months away from turning 10.

Oh my God. And she thought, you know, I'm going to go live with my mom. I'm going to have this beautiful life. She also said that her mom had recently told her she was going to be leaving Hollywood. which is interesting. Like why would she want to leave Hollywood? Like with somebody, was there threats? And there must have been because you think about that postcard, you think about the party,

you think about the fact that she's telling Nicole she's leaving Hollywood. Yeah, something was going on. Something was in the works, I think, and she just didn't get out in time. Yeah, I completely agree. Maybe she was making plans to get out too. And maybe some people found that out and we're like, we got to take care of this now. Exactly. Oh, that's awesome.

So over the years, Nicole's grieving the loss of her mother, and she just wants answers. Yeah. So she keeps calling the LAPD, keeps calling them. Are there any updates? Is there any new information? Are there any detectives? I don't know why I just said detectives. Any detectives?

Are there any detectives willing to re-investigate this case? Like, she was bugging them, bugging them, bugging them. And in 2006, two detectives were ready to give it a go. Hell yeah, they were. They were ready. They were ready. Detective Brandenberg and Detective Harris with the cold case unit. And they got to work right away reviewing old reports and trying to track down really just like anybody related to this case so that they could refresh their memories and hopefully end up with some new information.

Yeah. Hopefully. Something. So looking over the reports and the crime scene photos, one thing struck them in particular. Krista had been driving her roommate Stephanie's car that night. They actually found the keys like tucked underneath her body. Oh. So she was driving Stephanie's car that night.

And the way that she parked the car seemed maybe like it was done in somewhat of a hurry because the front right passenger side tire was parked over the curb. So they took note of that and they wondered maybe was somebody following Krista that night. I was just going to say that. And because she was aware of it, she was afraid. Maybe she parked in a hurry and just like to run into the car or run to the house. Excuse me. Now they also believed that she was attacked from behind because for one thing, she had karate training.

like she was very well trained and would have been more likely to fight off her attacker had she been confronted straight on and you said there was stabs to her back too exactly so that makes sense exactly so in the original reports they saw that sandy smith was named quite a bit now he was the one who she was calling that night she he was the one who she was murdered basically right in front of his house and her body was somewhat tucked underneath his girlfriend's car okay so sandy had been interviewed by the police in the original investigation since it seemed like Krista was making her rain to his house. But when he got asked if he heard anything weird that night, he told the detectives that he was sound asleep and didn't hear a thing. So she's like super duper close to your

house. And then there's another guy who's pretty close and says that he thought he heard a cat getting skinned alive and runs outside. You are a very deep sleeper. I'll leave that there. Yeah. Because I mean, I'm a pretty deep sleeper. But a little weird. Like that. A little weird. A little like I wake up when the power goes off. Yeah.

And that's, it's like in just the fact that somebody who wasn't right there heard a cat being skinned alive, which you can, in your head are probably like making. It like makes me want to cry. Oh, no, I'm not. That's a very harrowing, intense sound. Like scream, like screech. To describe something like that means it is loud. It is long. And it's scary.

Absolutely. And this guy's like, it was right in front of my house and I didn't hear eight thing. Yeah. The other weird thing about it was that he was well known to have parties most evenings well into the night. And on that particular night, there had been a few people coming and going from Sandy's house. Thurman Brooms, who was the one to discover Krista's body, was going to Sandy's house. And it's like, you were asleep, bro?

He was going to his house and then he knocked on the door and he didn't get an answer. So we can't assume that he was asleep, but it's like, why were multiple people heading to your house if you were asleep? That's weird. That doesn't make a lot of sense. And it's like just to like kind of further question this, it's like if he went to the house knocked on the door and nobody was there and we're like, all right, maybe he was asleep. Or maybe he knew what happened and didn't want to answer the door because I don't know who that is. Well, you know what sucks. I'm not saying.

The new detectives were never able to track him down. Oh, really? Couldn't track him down. Where are all these people fucking going? There's so many people just vanishing into thin air in this case. I'm like, what is happening? Old girl, we're only at the beginning of vanishings. Wow.

Crazy. So the next person to track down was Tony Serico. If that name sounds familiar, you have probably seen the Sopranos and maybe you are a fan of Polly Walnuts. There you go. I haven't seen the Sopranos, so that's not me. My parents loved the Sopranos. Yeah, I don't know how they felt about Polly. Used to be my dad's ringtone was the theme song.

Oh, and got myself a gun. I don't even know if that's like the right tune. I think it is. I think so. You know, yeah. I think we did. So before that role on the Sopranos, Tony wasn't necessarily the greatest guy. No.

Because between the 50s and 60s, he was arrested close to 30 times. That's a lot. For things like weapons charges, assault, robbery, etc. So these aren't like I ran a red light too many times. So a little different. So he was also known to run in the same circles as Krista. Now, the original detectives had heard Tony's name mentioned a few times from different people during the course of their investigation.

And they learned that Tony had been sent to check in on Krista's roommate Stephanie after the murder when Stephanie got home or however it happened. So Stephanie had gotten some freaky phone calls like right after the murder with people just breathing on the other end of the line. Or one guy called and asked her if she walked. wanted to party and told her that he was right down the street. Ew. Now, Stephanie said, yeah, Tony came to check on me, like a group of friends or somebody sent him

to check on me. And when he did check on me, he spent some time in Krista's room. And he left with some of Krista's tapes and other items of clothing, including some really nice furs that she loved. So now we know that Krista kept a diary of her sexual encounters. But it was at this point in the investigation that the. original detectives working this case, learned that Krista also had audio tapes of a lot of these encounters.

Oh. Yes. Oh. Now, they were able to obtain some of these tapes and realized that she had definitely been with very prominent people at the time. And they were now even more convinced that the records of her experiences were definitely a motivation for someone to silence her. Oh, damn.

And just the fact that this person left with tape. Right. Left with tapes and left with first. Like left with her shit. It's like, why are you in a dead woman's room? I don't love that. Neither did Brandon Bergen Harris. I don't even like it. I don't even, I feel some type of way about it. So Brandon Bergen Harris learned that Tony Serico had this connection to the case. They said, hey, we'd love to sit down and talk to you. So he, they said, you're not a suspect, but just someone whose name has come up in the investigation and we have some questions we'd love for you to answer. And he, he's. And he, he's. And he's, told them he actually didn't really know Krista that well. But you know her well enough to have those audio tapes and take some of her furs out of her room? Yeah, definitely. And they were like, okay, let's see if we can jog your memory. She was stabbed 23 times in the middle of the street and you were sent to look after her roommate. So that jogged his memory a little bit.

And he was like, oh, yes, okay, her gotcha. Oh, that one. Okay. Yeah. But he told them he'd never been to her apartment or ever even met her room. roommate and he definitely knew who she was, but that was it. Um, I don't know about that. I know who she is. I know, I know the girl. Never been to her apartment, never taken any of her things. That's it. Huh. Don't even know her roommate. Okay. Good.

It's like, why would her roommate just make up that Tony Serrico came into that? Like, what? That would be the weirdest shit to make up. And she's like, dude, I was away for the weekend. Like, I have nothing to do. with this. Like what the fuck difference does it make to me if you came or you didn't? That's the thing. It's like that would be just a weird thing to lie about. It would. But it makes sense that you would lie about being there. Exactly. It makes more sense about somebody lying about being there than lying about you being there. Right. Exactly. Hopefully that makes sense. Yeah. So when the question started getting more into where he was that day and if he remembered what he was doing the night that Krista was murdered, his attorneys abruptly stopped the meeting and said that

he's not answering any more of your questions. Huh. So the detectives have still maintained that he's not a suspect, but they just wish that they could have gotten a little more information from him. That's the thing. It's like he might not be a suspect. He might have absolutely nothing to do with this. But he might know something.

Right. That's all. And they were like, as soon as it got into like, what were you doing and where were you? They were like, nope, we're done. It looks shady. It does. I'm not saying he did this. By no means.

But it looked shady. It definitely does. doesn't look great when you do that. And I understand, like, lawyers will shut these things down sometimes to, like, just make sure that nothing gets shady and crazy. Of course. And I understand that he's a public figure and, like, a prominent person. So this could get messy. And maybe that's why he didn't want to get involved. But, like, just give what you know. And also, somebody died. Yeah. Just be a little more forthcoming if you have nothing to do with it. Yeah. So that was that for Tony. Well, now, the next name that came up in the investigation was Rudy Mazzela.

Rudy Mazzela was known to throw a lot of parties that Krista was always in attendance at. He was a pretty big-time drug dealer with a bad reputation for being like a very violent man. Cool. Literally any woman who was with him, including his ex-wife, was absolutely terrified of him. Oh, hate this. So that in the original investigation, Rudy was spoken to numerous times because word on the street was, he was going around and telling people he was the one who murdered Krista. Oh. Yeah. Good, right? Oh, okay. So he's very, very violent. And he's saying he killed her. And he's literally walking around saying he did it. Yeah. Okay. So the main rumor was that she was helping himself a good amount of cocaine and that he found out she had dipped into the stash and he was pissed about it. So the police and the original investigation, I guess they just didn't have enough evidence to keep him. And when they went to speak with his roommate, Blair Aronson, Blair confirmed Rudy's.

alibi that he had been home the entire night Krista was killed and hadn't gone anywhere. Hmm. So when the new detectives tried to track Rudy down to talk to him, they found out he was dead. Whoa. He died. He died. He died. He just up and died.

So they don't have enough evidence to say that he killed Krista, but Detective Harris said that he would have been, quote, very capable of killing Krista home in the way she was killed. Yeah. I mean, that doesn't look like a bad suspect there. Does it look like a bad suspect at all? He was literally running around telling people he did it. It just sucks that it's like, we don't know because he died.

Exactly. This case gets so much more frustrating with every person that they try to track down. And remember, it's still a cold case. So don't get super stoked. So unfortunately, we're not going to have an answer at the end. Exactly. So the last group of people that were of interest to the new investigators on the case, were directly related to Blair Aronson, Rudy's roommate.

Okay. Now, it turned out right before Krista died, she was actually recording a disco album. And, you know, the acting was starting to die down. She was kind of hoping this would be her chance to finally achieve, like, actual stardom. So the group she joined had Blair Aronson. His sometimes girlfriend, though it's debated whether or not if they actually dated. Like some people say yes, some people say no. One of them says yes.

The other says no. We'll get into it. Her name was Debbie Danilo, and another woman named Patty Collins. So they were all working together to do a disco album. Amazing. Their producer was Frankie Crocker, a DJ at the time, and also rumored to be somebody that Krista was casually dating. Okay.

Patty Collins and Krista were also casually dating and involved in a sexual relationship together, which was confirmed by some of the tapes found in Krista's apartment. Oh, okay. So the way that, like people described it was that she didn't consider her a lesbian or bisexual, but sometimes she would have sexual encounters with women. Okay. Just putting it out there. Yeah.

So there was a specific tape, actually, in which Krista and Patty were having relations with another man. Okay. A threesome, if you will. If you will. A menagerie. I was going to say that, but I didn't know how to spell it. That's amazing.

The new investigators on the case wouldn't say who this man was, but apparently he's very famous. And if it came out that it was him on the tape, it could be, quote, unquote, damaging to his career. So they didn't feel like it was fair. Come on. There are rumors about who it is. I'm not going to say it on this podcast because I'm not an asshole, but I will tell you afterwards when the recording is done. And you can probably Google, I imagine, and find it somewhere.

The rumors. Google the rumors and basically get your answer. I'll tell you that much. Oh, I want to know. If you look hard enough, you'll find it. Maybe I already told you where you could. So he told the investigators that during this encounter, this like unnamed man, this very fucking prominent. Thank you.

Well known. I'm just picturing like Mr. Sheffield from fucking nanny. It is. That's who it is. It's Maxwell Sheffield. I just said Shepfield. So he told the investigators that during this encounter, we'll call it with Krista and Patty that it was very, very evident that Patty was jealous and angry watching Krista be involved with him. Okay.

She didn't like it at all. Okay. So when the new investigators were able to reach Debbie Danilo, she confirmed that Patty was extremely jealous of anybody that Krista was with. Oh. She didn't want Krista to be with men and she really wanted her to alter herself. Yeah. So Debbie said that Krista expressed interest in her actually.

Like Krista said something to her like, you're cute or whatever. And that she wasn't interested. But when Patty found out, she would just stare at Debbie with these like, intense daggers of like, I will fuck you up if you try anything. Oh, damn. Now, apparently, in the last days of Krista's life, she had Patty taken off the recording that they were all doing together. Oh, Patty was livid about that and livid that Krista just didn't want to be with her. Now, the interesting thing about that and the reason the new investigators took specific note of that is because in the latest investigation, they were able to test DNA that was,

found underneath Christa's fingernails. The DNA profile was determined to be that of a woman underneath her fingernails. And people had heard women voices. Ooh. And this woman is wicked jealous. And this is a rage killing if I've ever heard of one. And we're not even hearing this from like one man that like, you know, like we had a sexual encounter and she was super jealous.

We're hearing this from multiple people. Oh. Exactly. That's interesting. It is. Now, that does not mean necessarily that Krista was murdered by a woman because that DNA could have come from like the party that she was at. Maybe she would have to graze her nails along some woman's skin. Yeah. Basically like hard enough, but not as hard as you think. But not hard like you have to break skin or something like that. Yeah, you don't have to break skin. So she could have hugged somebody goodbye and that could have gotten over her nails. And gripped somebody's arm or something like that and somehow just yeah. So it doesn't necessarily mean that she was murdered by a woman. But. But it's just an interesting note. Exactly. And you know, it doesn't mean that she didn't get murdered by a woman.

So because the other thing is that absolutely could have come from finding off a woman attacker. And she did put up quite a fight. There were tons of defensive wounds all over her hand. And someone heard two women. Thank you. That was my next note. See? So Debbie Danilo agreed to submit her DNA.

She was like, I have nothing to fucking do with this. Go ahead and take it. Now, she wasn't necessarily a suspect, but it was helpful to rule her out at the very least. Yeah, for sure. Especially because Blair Aronson told the original investigators on the case an interesting story. He said that the night before Krista was killed, he actually had a sexual relationship with her, and that at the time he was dating Debbie. And he said, as he and Krista were wrapping up, shall we say, they saw someone peeking in the windows. And when they looked closer, they realized it was Debbie and she was just waving at them.

Like caught you, motherfuckers. Oh, shit. Now, Debbie denies not only this story, but the fact that she was ever dating Blair. So this is literally like the biggest game of he said she said. Wow. She did, however, say the day after Krista was killed, she put on a wig in a disguise and got the fuck out of Hollywood. Okay. She offered up that information, a very eccentric woman.

Okay. Strange to some, but she said she was worried that whoever had killed Krista. did so because Krista knew too much. And that if the person responsible for the murder knew Krista and Debbie were friends, they might assume that Debbie knew too much. So she was like, I'm getting the fuck out of here. I mean, okay. When her DNA was tested against the DNA found under Krista's fingernails,

it was not a match. I had a feeling it wasn't going to be. It did not match. So we don't think it was her. No. Okay. Now, detectives Brinenberg and Harris, thought, you know, hopefully we'll be able to track down this Patty Collins lady and test her

DNA against the profile. Let me guess. She fucking vanished. So they found a woman in Montana who they believed was the Patty Collins. Stop it. And it's debated whether or not it was the Patty Collins. Because this woman Patty said that she had never lived in L.A. And she didn't know anybody named Krista, yada, yada, yada.

her sister was like she literally lived in L.A. And one night she called our parents and said she was in trouble and she needed them to pick her up and she literally never went back there again. Oh my God. Was it Patty? We don't know. That doesn't make sense. Why would her sister say that? Why would her sister say that?

And it makes sense that you would run away to Montana or something like that and be like, I don't know anything about that. I've never been there. Who are you? I don't know. Who's Patty Collins? Who's that? I don't get it. That to me makes a lot.

Whoa. So. Whoa. DNA. Not a match. God. Damn it. Not a match. And they don't have anything. Oh, man. They were, so they tracked down that woman. They were like, is this the Patty Collins? So then they continue to try to track down any other kind of Patty Collins. And they've been unsuccessful. Yeah, because that was the Patty Collins. Regardless of whether she's a suspect or not, like that is Patty Collins. I'm sorry. Like, yes. That is her. You heard it here first. I'm here to say verifiably that is Patty Collins. Patty, I see you and I know you. Yeah, that's her. So could it be that Patty had something to do with Krista's death? Probably.

Wow. For me, at least, and like I'm, you know, whatever, like who am I? But she's the best suspect, in my opinion. That's a good suspect. She's a good suspect. And out of the lineup, I would say she's the best. Yeah, I'd say, you know, the guy who died. Yeah, Rudy also.

Rudy. Rudy is a great suspect. But there's a lot of people that I'm like, how many people were people working together here? What was going on? It seemed like there was a whole shady gang of people. And they said that too. It was like Krista had, you know, encounters with all these famous McJagger, George Hamilton, all these like the Shah of fucking Iran, like amazing, like prominent people.

But she also hung out with really seedy characters who could have conspired something against her. Yeah. Doesn't sound like she was surrounded by great people all the time. No. No, exactly. Now, Larry Gansy, the original lead detective on the case, just to throw you for one last fucking plot hole, he helped the new investigators. And he gave him, uh, they, he gave them, excuse me, all of his information.

Now, he believes and said that he would put up the deed for his house to bet that Sal's killer, Lionel Williams, is the same guy who killed Krista. Really? Because it turns out. he wasn't in prison the night that Krista was killed. And he was released for the murder of Salmoneo in 1990 after 12 years in prison. But it doesn't appear that he's been interviewed in connection with Krista's death. But Larry Gansy said he would put the deed up to his house to say that this was the guy responsible.

Do it. Do it. Do it. You won't. He was like 83, 10 years ago. so I don't know what... If that's possible now, but... Exactly.

Wow. So after 45 years, there's still no answer as to who killed Krista. Her case is still cold. The detectives who reopened the case are now retired. Oh, my gosh. And to this day, her diary has never been found. Oh, that's killing me. But her daughter Nicole says she believes the person who killed her mom is still out there

and that one day there will be closure as to who killed her mom. And just to end this on like a quote about Krista that is from Nicole, she said, quote, she had a warmth that made people draw to her on a regular basis. She was powerful and strong and took no bull. She was a very complicated, beautiful human being. Oh, what a nice thing to say. I know about your mom. I know.

And it's just like, it's so Hollywood to me, like a very beautiful, very complicated human being. Honestly, that's so Hollywood. Right? Yeah. So that is the murder of Krista Helm with no great outcome. But so many avenues with which to run down. So many avenues that you're like, what the fuck were you doing? Something's got to be.

And Nicole was like super frustrated with the original investigators on this case. It seemed like a, well, another Hollywood girl's dead. Yeah. Okay. It seems like an old school LAPD investigation. It sounds like. And then they tried to get it. get it going again yeah but man it was just too many people died too many people disappeared i mean they

bear i mean they have the DNA that's underneath her fingernails but then they're like that could have come from the party she was out early yeah it could be anything sucks as time goes by it's just harder and harder but i have faith that they can find who did this i think so too i think like assigned some more people to it now yeah come on man come on man man that was nuts well we hope that you keep listening And we hope you keep it weird. But not so weird that like you, I don't even know. Just don't do it. Don't do it.