Murder With My Husband - 301. The Casting Call Killer - The Murder of Kristi Johnson

Episode Date: December 29, 2025

On this episode, Payton and Garrett explore the tragic case of Kristi Johnson, a woman chasing her dreams in Hollywood when a single opportunity with a movie producer changed everything. What seemed like a breakthrough became a fatal decision that would ultimately cost her her life. Links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/murderwithmyhusband NEW MERCH LINK: https://mwmhshop.com Discount Codes: https://mailchi.mp/c6f48670aeac/oh-no-media-discount-codes Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/themwmh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/murderwithmyhusband/ Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@murderwithmyhusband Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/into-the-dark/id1662304327 Listen on spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/36SDVKB2MEWpFGVs9kRgQ7?si=f5224c9fd99542a7 Case sources: NBCNews.com - https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/victor-paleologus-murder-rape-assault-allegations-rcna154604 SportsKeeda.com - https://www.sportskeeda.com/us/shows/dateline-secrets-uncovered-season-15-episode-15-a-detailed-case-overview-hibiscus-tattoo-girl-s-murder TheCinemaholic.com - https://thecinemaholic.com/victor-paleologus/ SoapCentral.com - https://www.soapcentral.com/shows/dateline-secrets-uncovered-a-complete-timeline-victor-paleologus-murder-trial-revisited Happyscribe.com - https://podcasts.happyscribe.com/dateline-nbc/the-girl-with-the-hibiscus-tattoo FindAGrave.com - https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7236428/kristine_louise-johnson WoodTV.com - https://www.woodtv.com/news/national/update-to-2003-murder-of-saugatuck-woman-to-air-on-dateline/ Oxygen.com - https://www.oxygen.com/the-real-murders-of-los-angeles/crime-news/killer-victor-paleologus-lured-kristi-johnson-with-fake TheSun.com - https://www.the-sun.com/news/11505904/victor-paleologus-where-now-kristi-johnson/ Dateline NBC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to an Ono Media podcast. Hey everyone, welcome back to the podcast. This is The Murder with My husband. I'm Peyton Morland. And I'm Garrett Morland. And he's the husband. And I'm the husband. Welcome back.

Happy holidays. Christmas. So we are in our pajamas. And yeah, that's about it. Hope everyone had a good holiday. We just kind of hung out at home. Yeah, that's about all we did, huh? Mm-hmm.

We saw some family chilled. Daisy got some toys Did you get some toys Can't get her too excited Hope everyone's doing good I guess New Year's just around the corner as well 2006 here we come Can't even keep track anymore man

What's your resolution Biggest bagel shop in the world That's a good one Thanks What's yours? I don't believe in resolutions too much pressure Okay yeah who needs goals in life right Yeah that is flow

Yeah, uh-huh. Yep. For my 10 seconds, we have a mouse, but it might be the smartest mouse ever. We have at least 67 traps in our house, and the mouse somehow has avoided every single one. I feel like we talk about it so much. Everyone's going to think our house is, like, infested. No. It's the same mouse that loves us. Honestly, he hasn't gotten into any food, so I don't know how he's surviving. Like, he hasn't really been a pest.

No, but we have So many traps out You guys understand It doesn't make sense At this point What's that movie? Mousetrap Yeah It's like that movie

But I don't care enough To get him Because he's done no harm yet I'm just like Go to the garage I don't understand I don't understand how he's alive He might be

He saw him last night He's low-key cute I saw him last night He's kind of cute So I just said hey What's up man And then he ran off He's a little scared

Yeah And anyways we got a little mouse I don't know how long it's going to be here for. He's been here for probably like a year now. Is that even possible? Do mice even live that long? I know everyone is listening to this right now being like, I can't believe they're just letting a mouse roam around their house.

No, we're not. We have had pest control out. We have set, they're the ones who set up all the traps. They went in the attic. They looked in the walls. They were trying to figure out where this little guy's living. You don't understand. Like, when I say he's avoided the traps, he knows.

I kid you not, he knows that these are all traps. so he's not he knows there's at least eight and there was four in the place you saw him she's not talking about mice she's talking about tracts oh yeah yeah yeah there's like eight outside the door and four inside the door

of the place you saw him yeah I think I've given up I think the less I try the better it'll get he doesn't bother me though he stays out of our room he just chills in his little spot we'll call him Freddie for now we'll keep you updated on Freddy and on that note let's hop into

today's case. Our sources for this episode are NBCNews.com, sportskita.com, thecinemaholic.com, soapcentral.com, happy scribe.com, findagrave.com, WoodtTV.com, oxygen, the sun.com, and dateline. Now, at one point or another, most of us have had a dream that we have wanted to chase, something that excited us so much that we would have done anything to make it happen. It's that ambition, that desire that motivates us. It encourages us. It encourages us. us to step out of our comfort zone, try new things, move to new places, meet new people. But following a dream can feel a lot like being in love. It can be blinding, addictive, and it can make us vulnerable, especially in a town where everyone is sort of going after the same

thing. Like Los Angeles. For decades, Hollywood has been a sea of opportunity for a Actors, filmmakers, models. But like any big sea, Los Angeles has its sharks. There's always someone circling, watching, waiting to see who will take the bait. And when the opportunity seems right, some of those predators will strike. Not just killing a victim's dreams, but maybe even taking their entire future away too. So, obviously, February of 2003 in the city of Los Angeles. Angeles. This is where 21-year-old Christy Johnson is living and following her dreams, just like I said in

the intro. Christy graduated from high school in Michigan in 1999, but she wasn't born there. She was actually originally from California, but moved to Sagatuck, Michigan as a kid. she was a big high school basketball star she loved sailing on the lakes near her home she had a very close-knit group of friends from high school and after graduating christie gave college a shot but after a year she felt it was best for her to just dive right into what she had always wanted to do and that was to pursue her goal of getting into the film industry so in a way moving to los angeles in the early 2000s was a like a homecoming for Christie. She was back in California and she felt like she belonged in L.A. While she wasn't totally sure what she wanted to do in the industry, she was considering

something behind the scenes, like maybe producing or directing, but Christy particularly had an interest in being a makeup artist, though Christy did have a face that was perfect for being in front of the camera too. Now, on Saturday, February 15th, 2003, Christy, who was in L.A., called her mom Terry and told her that she was headed to the Century City Mall to do some shopping. Her mother told her to pick out whatever she wanted that she was going to treat her to a Valentine's Day present. And surely, Terry was expecting to get a call on Sunday to hear exactly what Christy had bought herself. But that afternoon, the phone didn't ring at Terry's home. Same was to be said on Monday, February 17th.

Two days with no word from Christy, her daughter, was a lot. She and her mom caught up almost daily. And now, Christy wasn't answering her cell phone at all. So when Terry calls around and learns that Christy back in L.A. also missed work on Monday the 17th, she is very worried. This isn't like Christy at all, which is why Terry ends up calling the Santa Monica police that same day. Leave in the comments how long it would take you to call the police. For who? If you were a parent and your kid wasn't answering for her. But graduated living on their

own as an adult. Correct. Yes, not like a 16-year-old, like an adult living on their own, like at what point? In another state. Would you call the police? For me, I'd probably, probably wait like a week, which is really bad, because I would just assume everything is probably fine. Pain, how long would you wait? I don't know. I don't have kids. Okay, anyways, leave it in the comments. Curious to see you. Let me think if it was Daisy. What you guys got going on. I would call the same day. Okay. Yeah. Two miss calls, cops. Okay, okay. So police take Terry's report seriously writing down Christy's description, tall, blonde hair, a hibiscus tattoo on her lower back. And they also recommend Terry call around to hospitals in L.A. to see if Christy's been admitted

somewhere. And when the officers hang up with Terry, they get a bad feeling about her case. They have seen women like Christy go missing before. And it doesn't always have a happy Hollywood ending. Now, meanwhile, Terry calls Christy's father back in Michigan, who she is now separated from. And she tells him, hey, Christy's missing. I've called the police. And at first, Christy's dad, Kirk, thinks maybe she just went down to Mexico for a few days and didn't mention it to them. Maybe she lost her phone, just decided to skip out on work for the day to go and get it replaced. But when the police go and talk to Christy's roommate, at this same time, the roommate's name is Carrie, chances of Christy just losing her phone or being in Mexico look less and less likely.

because Carrie, the roommate, says that Christy did go to the mall on Saturday afternoon, February 15th, and when she came back from her shopping trip, she had some exciting news to share. Christy said while at the mall, she had met someone there, a producer who was scouting women for a new James Bond movie. And before you're like, this is so made up, this happens. like producers literally go into public places and look for people they do i don't believe it they literally do i think it's just in the movies no i think 2025 or 2023 no way and maybe euphoria multiple actors found on the streets oh they weren't actors before no okay i'll look it up after this i don't know if you should quote me on that okay it might be rumor

That's funny. So she tells her roommate, yeah, like the new James Bond movie, they were looking for a fresh face, someone completely unknown, and Christy apparently had the perfect look for the part. The producer gave Christy a time and a location for later that afternoon, told her it would help her chances if she showed up in character, that she needed to wear a man's white dress shirt, a short mini skirt, and a pair of stilettos. Very James Bond. The producer said they would also give her a necktide wear when she arrived at the official audition. Now, Christy had never really imagined herself being on screen before, like I said, a lot of her dreams were more on off-screen roles. But she also didn't know what she really wanted to do for sure in the entertainment industry yet, so it seemed like a good opportunity, a way to get her foot in the door. And even better, if Christy landed the part, it would mean a six-sixthes.

figure payday. Not to mention fame. I mean, you're an actress in the new James Bond movie. So, according to Christy's roommate, Carrie, Christy gets into her car, a white Miata sometime before 5.30 p.m. that same day. She's heading for an audition in Beverly Hills. But Carrie said that after this, Christy didn't return home. Now, again, Carrie thinks that it's kind of normal for a producer to scout for talent, especially at the Century City Mall, which was close to where a lot of Hollywood offices and agencies were headquartered. People did seem to be looking for new faces. Maybe it is normal then. Plus, it is 2003, a time before social media really took hold. So doing it out in the wild seems even less weird back then. Huh. What? I think social media is

pretty big in 2023, but... 2003. Okay. This changes so much. You thought we were in 2020, this whole time? I were in 2023. That sounds like this is, this is, nah. There's no way this is happening.

2003. Okay. Thank you for clarifying. For anyone else, we're in 2003 if you're not paying attention. Okay. Fast forward to the investigation. They're talking to Kerry and there's one big problem. When police call around town, Hollywood, asking if anyone knows of a new James Bond,

movie that's in the works, there's an audition, they can't get a confirmation. So they figure the next step is to go to the mall and see if they can identify this producer that Christy spoke to. So investigators speak with security at the mall and they end up watching hours of

footage hoping to spot Christy, hopefully her, with this mysterious producer. And while they do find a tape of her shopping alone, she's never seen with or speaking to anyone else on those tapes. So the security footage lead doesn't really lead them anywhere, which is when detectives decide to look into Christy's

cell phone records. All they know right now is that Christy supposedly met a male producer at the mall and that she was scheduled to have an audition later that day around 5.30 p.m. somewhere in the Beverly Hills area. But what's interesting is Christy's last phone call went out from her cell phone at 532 p.m. She wasn't in Beverly Hills when she made that call. She was in the Laurel Canyon area, about seven miles northeast of Beverly Hills. And then after this, her cell activity stopped. And ever since then, there had been no withdrawals on her bank account either. So cell phone activity dropped, bank account dropped.

All signs obviously now point to a dangerous situation. So after this, the Johnson family decides to go to the media for help. And I've said this before in cases, but I can't imagine having your child go missing in a different state or a different country and then trying to like head the search for them. Do you go to L.A.? That would be so hard. Like you're just not, that is even more complicated. So her family wants to get the word out about Christy's case, see if anyone else had, you know, encountered this mystery producer. So five days after Christy's last scene.

She's now been missing for five days. Her family finally gets a hit. A woman named Susan Murphy sees an article in the Los Angeles Times. And she thinks this sounds an awful lot like an experience she had just experienced. So just like Christy, Susan had been shopping at the Century City Mall a week or two before this when a man approached her claiming to be the director of photography for a new James Bond film. According to Susan, he told her, quote, We've been casting all day and you are the look we want.

You're perfect. He asked her if she would be interested in auditioning to become the next James Bond girl and that she would be paid over $100,000 if she got the part. Honestly, in 2003, yeah, before social media, this probably would have intrigued a lot of people. Like if someone came up to you and said that. You don't think that would be intriguing now? No, no, no, I think because of social media being so present and how much we know now,

I think it would be, you'd be too weary. It'd be like, there's no way. And then you go online and you say, what's your name? You'd look their name up on Google. He'd be like, they don't have a LinkedIn present, you know? Yeah. It would just be so much easier to instantly within minutes, like, back check it. So according to Susan, this mystery producer then arranged for her to come to his office in the Beverly Hills area.

and the same man asked her to bring a white button-down shirt, a short black miniskirt, and stilettos. This is obviously the exact same costume. Christy told her roommate that she had to bring to the audition. So at this point, when police hear about Susan's account, they have no question that Susan was approached probably by the same man or someone working with the man that Christy meant. But Susan's story also doesn't end there.

Susan did follow through on the audition request like Christy had which was set for the following day only she brought her boyfriend along to this supposed casting call and when the two arrived at the address this man gave them Susan was worried because it looked like an abandoned

building still she got out she looked around while her boyfriend sat in the car and watched now eventually she spotted the man but she's now feeling uneasy. Like she's just not sure. Oh, crap. And so before she goes with him, she's like,

hey, can you give me some ID? And his response was, oh, well, I left it back on set. And that is when Susan is like, no. I don't, like, I don't believe you. I don't think this is real. And she motions for her boyfriend to get out of the car. And as soon as he steps out and the producer sees him, he begins to tell Susan, you weren't the right fit for the part anyways, and literally turns around and ran away.

Holy crap. So thankfully, Susan and her boyfriend get a good description of the guy. He's a white male with short curly hair who told them his name was Victor Thomas, which this is like an amazing lead for police to have. Also, very fake name. So after hearing about Susan's account, they decided. decide to go back to the security tapes from Central City Mall this time around looking at the time frame that Susan was there. So not Christy, who's currently missing, but Susan, who is saying she had this run in with a guy. They're hoping they can catch this on camera to validate her story.

And they find something. A man fitting the description Susan gave was spotted trailing her around the mall until he finally approached her and introduced himself. Now, unfortunately, the name Victor Thomas doesn't turn up any specific results on its own, but Susan also gives a detailed description of the guy to a sketch artist, which is then released to the public. However, Susan's story doesn't exactly offer Christy's family hope. This man was clearly a predator, someone who would have likely gone after Susan,

had her boyfriend not intervened that day. But was he a murderer? This part's obviously unclear, and things are not looking up on February 24th, nine days later, when there is a new break in the case. At this point, investigators had already listed a Bolo, be on the lookout for Christy's white Miata, which she took to get to the audition. So that afternoon, the 24th, police get a hit when someone claimed Christy's car had been valet at the St. Regis Hotel, right next to the Century City Mall. All the valet attendant could offer was that the car had been dropped off by a man. And unfortunately, it didn't seem like there was any security footage of that either.

Now, by the time the police had discovered Christy's vehicle, it had been wiped clean of any DNA and fingerprints. All police claimed they could find was one from Christy on the outside of the car, which is interesting since it seems the valet parked it, but the valet company was able to offer a bit of a timeline around Christy's car. He said the car had been dropped off a little before dawn on the 16th. This is the morning after Christy disappeared. And meanwhile, police are still trying to track down this Victor Thomas,

and that sketch Susan helped make seems to help. because a real estate agent goes to police at this point with information, saying, a man who looked just like the sketch came to him looking for a house recently. In fact, this man had looked at about 10 houses in early February. Many of them just minutes away from where Christy's cell phone last called from, around Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills, not Beverly Hills. Now, the real estate agent mentioned something even more concerning. Apparently, while checking out one of the properties, the prospective buyer went into another room, closed the door, and screamed.

Then he came out and asked the real estate agent if he had heard it. There's no way. There is no way. Like, as a real estate agent, what runs through your mind in that argument? I truly think that because we're 23 plus years ago or whatever, I don't think your mind goes there yet. And I know that sounds maybe... But would your mind even go there now?

I would think... 100%. I would not think it would be because they're going to murder someone. Oh, I would think of something, abuse something. I think there's just too many true crime podcasts, too many documentaries on Netflix, Hulu, I think there's just too much out there where you're like, this is a little. little this little weird you know yeah i don't know i think i would think that he it's just a he's just weird a kink oh like some sexual thing yeah i would think he he's saying like how how

okay i mean yeah it's true yeah it's a good point i guess at least that's where my mind would go okay okay so at this point obviously this case has a bunch of leads that have kind of jumped everywhere they found her car they have susan who's come forward and now they have this real estate agent. So police get a list of every property the agent showed. And around this time, they also get another bite off the sketch they released to the public. A parole officer calls the police to say, hey, that sketch you just put out actually looks a lot like one of the parolees that I'm working with. But catches, I actually haven't heard from him since January 20th. He's broken his parole.

Okay. And that's when the police finally get maybe an actual name. Yep. 40-year-old Victor Pelliologus. A little bit different than Thomas. Still, he kept it with the first name. Yeah, he didn't keep the first name. Now let me tell you a little bit about this, Victor.

He was a Philadelphia native who moved to Los Angeles in his 20s after getting divorced. And he had dreams of moving there and becoming. a restaurant owner. So Victor opened, not one, but three different spots over the years in the Hollywood area, and each one of them ended up failing. Actually, one of those failed restaurants was in the building where Victor told Susan Murphy to come meet him for her supposed audition. Things are starting to click. But maybe because of those many upsets in the restaurant industry, Victor turned to a life of crime when he reached his late 20s, burglary, forging documents, stalking, sexual assault. As a matter of fact, he had been preying on ambitious women and their careers since

1989. Jeez, man. This all started with an aspiring actress named Christine Lodgian. This Christine is obviously different than the current Christine. But back then, 1989, that year, 21-year-old Christine met Victor, who said his name was John Moreno. He was dressed in an expensive suit, and Christine believed Victor. He told her she should come along with him to a big industry party. He took her out to dinner, mentioned all the famous people she would meet later that night, including Madonna.

He then brought her to a hotel downtown for the supposed party. except instead of leading her into some ballroom, he guided her into the elevator and up to the 20th floor and then forced her into a hotel room. He began trying to kiss Christine, the first Christine, and then grabbed her and threw her on the bed before trying to rip her clothes off. Then he pulled out ropes from behind the headboard.

This is a clear indicator that all of this was planned. This was premeditated before she even arrived. Christine said she fought him off for over an hour until finally she got in a shot. She bit him on the crotch as hard as she could and began screaming for help in the hotel. That is when Victor grabbed his coat and just darted out of the room. Now, eventually, hotel security responded to the screaming, came in and rescued her, untying her bruised wrists from those ropes. Oh, my gosh.

Could you imagine? No. So Victor was later arrested. They caught him for this crime. He was charged with attempted sexual assault, assault, and false imprisonment. I mean, I get it and I don't get it because, like... To me, it's just like premeditated, tied her up. Like, this should come with a huge penalty because it's like one step away from murder.

It's not hard. Like, I think, yeah, put him in... Yeah, honestly put him in prison for life. don't care he's not doing anything useful to the country anyways and he's trying to kill and rape people so like why are they like why should he even be out i'm not saying it's their fault because he's out and did this but it's just it's just these patterns always happen yeah and to me it's like this is the most in-your-face pattern of gonna eventually murder i'm gonna eventually rape and murder somebody. Like the premeditation, the ropes, the lies, the getting her, seducing her,

getting her to the hotel, then forcing her into the room. Like, this is so many steps of soon to be murder. It's like flashing in my eyes. Yeah. So he goes to trial and Victor pleaded guilty to false imprisonment. He's like, okay, yes, I did kidnap her and put her in that room. But the jury found him not guilty of the sexual assault and assault charges. I want name. I want names right now. Well, when asked, the jury foreman claimed Victor, quote, just didn't look like a rapist. In 1989. So what did Victor do?

He doesn't clean up his act, just like Garrett and I are saying, he keeps going. Like, this is repeat offenders here, okay? He tries it again. In 1991, Victor preyed upon an aspiring act. named Elizabeth Buzini. Keep in mind, he's literally picking victims, women who are just working as hard as they can to become something in L.A. This is his chosen target. So the two, Elizabeth and Victor, met at a bar in Hollywood where he told Elizabeth he was, this time, a producer for Disney. And when she caught him trying to mix a white powder in her drink, she called 911.

My gosh. But Victor fled before the police got there. And we also know of a case in 1996. When Victor broke into the home of a woman, he was dating and tried to strangle her to death. I don't understand how this guy's not in prison for life. I truly don't. Luckily, this break-in, she was equipped with pepper spray and blasted him in the face, causing him to run out. But just three weeks after that, when police went to arrest him,

for this assault Victor barricaded himself inside a trailer it led to a long standoff before he was finally taken out and put into a cop car only he refused to walk to the cruiser so

this would be like those body cam footage we all love to watch or they carry them he's literally being carried out and stuffed inside just like we watch on body cam now Victor this time was charged with stalking false imprisonment and burglary He pleaded guilty and was given, probation.

So he strikes again, obviously. In 1998, he targets a woman named Heather Mayer at the popular Sky Bar in Hollywood. He tells her he's a producer who works for Disney and is helping out with the next James Bond film. This is ridiculous. Sound familiar? This is so ridiculous. So it's in 1998 with Heather that he uses. the ruse that we then learn about in the present time of our case with Christy, who is currently

missing. Okay. So he tells Heather back in 1998, James Bond film, wear a black mini skirt and high heels to a closed set audition that he's holding. And he gives her the address for Ritz Carlton. Except when she arrives, he says, ah, I'm actually taking you to another location for the audition. and it is that same abandoned building where his restaurant used to be. So the stories are just kind of floating around in the same river, if you catch what I'm saying. Like, details are a little different, but they are all tied together. Tomato, yeah. Three girls now at this same abandoned building that he has ties to.

So after they get there, him and Heather, Victor begins sexually assaulting Heather, but she manages to escape his clutches and flee the scene. This time, again, he is caught and convicted of assault with intent to commit rape. But as he's awaiting for his sentencing date in 1999, he goes after another woman. Now, keep in mind, these are all just cases that we know about. Like, these are cases that have made it out in public into the court of women who actually reported, which... I'm genuinely very, very confused. We know the report rate is so low.

low. So these are women who actually came forward. How many other women are victims? I just, I don't understand how, I truly understand how he's not in prison. Okay. So while he's awaiting his court date or attempting to rape Heather, he goes after 28 year old Kathy DiBono. He gave her the same song and dance about the James Bond casting. He's now kind of really diving in with this specific storyline. But the thing is, Kathy is a working actress who had been to many auditions. She had booked roles on Chicago Hope and Star Trek Deep Space Nine. She knows how the industry worked. So she told Victor, don't even talk to me. You got to go through my agent to set up an audition with me, not me directly. Like, thanks, I'm flattered, but this is how I operate. And he refused. He's like,

No, like, I'm not wasting my time. Auditions are happening currently right now as we're speaking. They're up in the Hollywood Hills. Exactly where Christy's cell phone last pinged before she disappeared, if you remember. Now, at the time, Kathy said Victor wasn't sounding too many alarms to her. He dressed and spoke like a professional, maybe even a scouter or a producer. And she was curious. Being the next Bond girl could be a big step in her career.

plus the amount of money he was offering for this role was hard to refuse so she's like whatever i'll take down the address victor or rather brian as he portrayed himself to her so he's no longer using the same first name with a different last name he just completely changes his name with kathy he's like well don't worry i can just drive you straight to the audition right now kathy's like no i will just meet you there so she grabs a friend a stuntman named Chester to go with her to the James Bond audition. But when they arrive together at the location, Kathy says Victor never comes out to greet her. So she thinks Victor likely saw Chester sitting in the car with her and just abandoned his plan. So this is very similar to what happened to Susan Murphy

back at the abandoned restaurant building. He saw a guy with her, her boyfriend, and ran away. So shortly after this, Victor was sentenced to eight years and eight months for burglary sexual assault and writing fake checks for previous offenses. So it's not just like his assault charges. He's doing other things as well that's giving him a record. So he went to prison around 1999 and gets out on parole in 2003. And then just weeks later, Susan Murphy has her encounter with Victor the one where she shows up with her boyfriend and then just two weeks after that Christy Johnson goes missing after talking to Victor and getting the same rules. Okay, got it, yep.

So we now have Susan, who has heard about Christy's story and has come forward. And then as soon as Kathy sees Christy Johnson's story on the news, she also decides to come forward. She sees the sketch. She knows it's the same guy. It's the same experience she had. So she calls the police right away. She's like, hey, here's my details of my experience with Victor. As do some of the other women who had encounters with Victor, including a woman named Alice Walker,

who met Victor at the Century City Mall where she worked. This was just five days after he had been released. Alice was also getting started in the industry. It's all just copy and paste. He too went to the same abandoned building being promised a James Bond role. and when she showed up it was just Victor, she actually goes inside. So Alice of the girls who have come forward has a little bit longer experience. Alice goes in, practices a few moves, but according to Alice, he doesn't touch her while she's there

because when he told her to come back for a second audition, a few days later she did. This time when more people don't show up and it's just Victor alone again, she gets uncomfortable and leaves. And before he can schedule a third audition, follow up with Alice, Christy Johnson disappears. And then Alice Walker hears the news. So now police have a name and many witnesses verifying Victor's identity and his choice of crime. So they begin searching for him.

And he's actually pretty easy to find. He has already landed himself back in jail for trying to steal a BMW off a deal Law in Beverly Hills two days after Christy went missing. So it's around February 25th when police go down and speak to Victor who is sitting in jail. Christy has now been missing for about 10 days. They show up, they're like, hey, what did you do with Christy? And he's like, I never met Christy. I don't know anything about her case.

So by February 27th, Christy's 22nd birthday, she is still missing and Victor's not talking. so police have no hope of finding her anytime soon. Now this day, her father, Kirk, goes on the Today Show to try to bring more awareness to her case, put pressure on people. And the family is also hanging on to hope here because Victor has never been convicted of murder before. I was going to say it surprises me that he not waited, but I guess kind of waited. Like it took so long. To escalate? Yeah, to escalate that fast.

I don't think he was given much opportunity. I think women. Maybe not, yeah. either got away or kind of picked up on the red flags before. So they are hoping at this point they're like maybe Christy's alive because look at all these other women who lived through this. They're like maybe she's just being held somewhere and he got arrested and she's just alive like tied up somewhere.

However, things take a turn on March 3rd. That day, a few hikers are on a path in the Hollywood Hills. This is where her phone last pinged And they're walking around this area Surrounding a ravine When they spot something It's a sleeping bag with what appears to be a body inside So police are called to the area

And they find the body belongs to a woman Her hands and ankles are bound She has been strangled She also has an identifying tattoo on her lower back A hibiscus flower Which confirms This is most likely the body of 21-year-old Christy Johnson. Now due to the level of decomposition, the medical examiner believes she was

out there in this sleeping bag for about 16 days, meaning she was most likely killed the day she disappeared. But because of that decomposition, they aren't able to tell for certain whether or not she was sexually assaulted. There is one devastating fact, though. The medical examiner doesn't think she died of that strangulation. She was strangled. They think she was likely still alive when she was tied up and pushed down into the ravine in the sleeping bag and died after the facts still tied up in there. Oh, okay.

Unfortunately, it was also a rainy period in Los Angeles, and with Christy out in the elements for so long, it had washed her body. There was no DNA left. Still, with all of these witness accounts, police have enough to arrest Victor for the crime. Yeah, and like at this point, considering his history, open and shut, I don't even care. The question is now, do they have enough to convict him of murder? So Victor pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder in Christie's case. And the prosecution's a bit worried about whether they're not they're going to be able to maintain this.

Remember, they have no surveillance footage of his case. him following her around. There's too many other accounts from other witnesses and victims that... Right. How do not? There's no murder weapon, no DNA, no fingerprints. All the prosecution really had are a plethora, like Garrett said, of other accounts from other women who had been targeted by Victor in the past with the exact same ruse that Christy told her roommate. Would this be enough to get him charged?

And even more so, would it be enough to get him the death penalty, which the prosecution... is hoping for. So the trial doesn't actually start until July of 2006. This is three years after the murder. But when it did, five women, including Susan Murphy and Christine Klugean, testified against Victor about the experiences they had with him and how similar it was to Christy's case. And then two weeks into that testimony, Victor and his counsel make a shocking announcement. They have decided to change his plea to guilty to avoid the death penalty. Coward, coward, coward. Now, if only he knew that the death penalty, but would eventually be taken off the table. So shortly after this, he actually tries to back out of his plea. Like,

never, never mind, never mind. I want to plead not guilty. He writes the judge an 11-page letter about how he was sleep deprived and coerced into it by his lawyer, but the judge is like, yeah, no, I don't care. Still, Victor continued to say he was innocent despite pleading. guilty. He's like, I had nothing to do with Christy's death. He also said he never forced himself on anyone. He's like, all these women who have come forward are also lying. Every single one of them is lying. Yeah, he's like, I've never committed sexual assault or even posed as an entertainment industry professional. He's like, not only did I not like do this, I never lied and said that I was working on the Bond movie. Delusional, man. So after refusing

to allow him to change his plea back, the judge sentenced Victor to 25 years to life in prison for Christie's murder he was also given the possibility for parole there's no way again there is no way yeah he didn't get life in prison without parole yeah what is wrong like what are okay and is he out like what's happening yeah there's people sitting in life in prison for first offenses mind you that aren't even sexual assault it's almost been 25 years right yeah I'll get there yeah before I get though can I just say it's like I don't know why in my brain but it's one thing when a serial or repeat offender like Victor comes forward and just pleads guilty and goes to prison and it's another thing for a repeat offender like Victor to come forward and not only plead not guilty

but then look every single one of his victims in the eyes at trial and be like everything you said is an absolute lie like not just the assault but like all the way down to the fact that I didn't tell you that I was a producer. Like, it's just, it, I don't know, it's crazy. So just as devastating as part of his deal, the possibility of parole, Victor did not have to provide details of Christy's final moments. He didn't have, in his plea deal, he didn't have to say, this is what happened to Christy.

This is what I did to Christy. So we might never know what actually happened to her before she was murdered. Thick. So for a lot of women who were survivors of Victor's abuse, this sentencing was devastating. If Victor hadn't been released on parole for the crimes he committed against them, Christy Johnson might still be alive today. So, Kathy, the established actress who Victor tried to Lauren back in 1999, actually sets out to do something about this when all of this is happening.

In 2013, seven years after Victor's sentencing, a friend of her, suggest they should make a documentary about it. Maybe it will change the court's mind. So, Kathy begins interviewing other women who are survivors of Victor, which is why we have so much information today. She also starts looking into other possible victims that had yet to come forward. And an interesting unsolved murder case back in Philadelphia from 1988 that she believes Victor might be tied to. Her hope was basically just to provide as much evidence against him, if a parole hearing ever came up. She's like, I'm going to just start doing all the work now.

And as the years passed, him going up for parole was actually looking more and more likely. California state officials were planning to lower the standard for parole eligibility to inmates who had served more than 20 years of their sentence and were over the age of 50 because of overcrowding in prisons. This was something that was actually put into action in 2022. But before that happened, Kathy had actually. earned Victor's trust. She was writing letters back and forth to him.

And he told her about a violent sexual fantasy that seemed eerily similar to his real-life crimes. Kathy felt like she could use all of this in a parole hearing. But something else also came of those letters. Victor allowed Kathy to come and visit him in person in 2016. And during that meeting, he told her more about what happened to Christy. He said that when Christy did arrive at his house in the Hollywood Hills, so at this point he's like no I didn't have anything to do with her but now I'm telling this woman who is a previous victim who I've now created this relationship with that he doesn't understand is one-sided

he says they smoked weed and had consensual sex and during it he choked her which she also consented to and then she didn't wake up and that was when he panicked put her in the sleeping bag and rolled her into her routine it's such a lie obviously such a lie Kathy doesn't believe a word of this she knows that Victor's obviously a pathological liar but it was important because this was the first time Victor had admitted to even having killed Christy Johnson. I'm not really sure what came of Kathy's documentary, but I do know she went on to have a successful career in the industry, as did many of the survivors. And she brought up a lot of research on this case. So I do know this. Victor actually had a potential parole hearing scheduled in October of 2025 so just two months ago but he waived his right to the parole hearing and of the sources I looked at I don't have like a solid concrete on why on why but I do know that Christy's mother has come out and said it was like just a huge weight off her back and a huge sigh of release of

relief because now she and other victims don't have to attend this parole hearing and fight for justice because he waived his right. And that is what we have up to date. He obviously will have more parole opportunities. There's got to be a reason like he met with an attorney and they said wait, like there's something going on. Right. Now there is still a group called Justice for Christy that has been working to block Victor from receiving parole. Now in his 60s, many of the survivors think he's still got plenty of years in him at 60 to still kill again. 100%. And in this, and in this time they are not going to let that happen without a fight and that is the case of christie johnson it's crazy we've done a few cases like this where people are in and out of prison for years and years and years and

years and you just know what's coming and then it happens and it's like oh shoot guess we should have kept them in prison what like what like the jury that found him not guilty like literally give me every single name and to me it's like listen There's a difference. There's a difference in the type of crimes he was committing versus other criminals. Like when he is premeditating, using the same ruse, tying women up. Like, those are indicators of reoffending. Yeah, 100%.

Like, that's just psychology. There are studies that has been done on this. So to me, it's crazy that he's offered parole over and over again. Yeah. Take some time today to think of Christy's family who are still her. from this all of the other victims of victors who had all of this come to light imagine how just terrifying that was for them and how hard they are working now to keep him in prison and we will see you guys next time with another episode i love it i hate it goodbye