True Crime with Kimbyr - A Hollywood Dream Turned Nightmare: The Tragic Case of Kristine Johnson: Part 3

Episode Date: February 19, 2025

The excitement of Christy’s California journey soon took a chilling turn. She was young, vibrant, and full of ambition—but a single encounter would change everything. When Kristine sty mysteriously disappeared, her family and friends were left desperate for answers. What really happened in her final days? And who was the person responsible for shattering her dreams? In this gripping episode of True Crime with Kimbyr, we uncover the shocking truth behind Kristine Johnson’s tragic fate. Stay tuned as we expose the dark secrets that led to a heartbreaking crime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So they did a third lineup, but these are paper lineups, they're just pictures. This isn't in person. And this was the valet attendant. So they would show them six pictures of men, one of which was Victor. Unfortunately, he was not able to make a correct identification. He had only seen the man in the parking lot for a few seconds. It wasn't long enough for him to study his facial features, but there was a new witness who came forward by Wednesday, February 26, after the same composite sketch had been put in the media. This is where he told him, you things would really connect. It was a real estate broker. His name was Paul Katie. He recognized the sketch as a man that he had shown a number of luxury properties to. He told the detectives

the man walked into a Santa Monica office off Los Anica at 7.30 p.m. on February 7th. He told him he wanted to buy a home in his price range, which was $500,000 to $750,000. And he wanted to move in fast because he was expanding his company called Logus Corporation Logus. the last part of Victor's last name. Paul said it was too late for him to start showing him anything that day, but said that he would be glad to do it on Saturday at 11 o'clock. So that day, Paul drove Victor up to Laurel Canyon, and this is a really nice area.

It is way up these winding roads in the hills. I get car sick every time I take this drive. The roads are so narrow. It's almost like one way, but it's actually not. And just a look at these homes. They're absolutely gorgeous. Paul showed Victor a really beautiful home on Wonderland Avenue and then another one on Skyline Drive.

While they were there, they spotted an open house. It was on the same road. This house was really unique, and Victor took interest in it right away. It was at 8583 Skyline Drive. It had an outside-enclosed patio out front that paralleled the street, and it was at a dead-end road. On the end of Skyline Drive,

where the road came to a point where there was a lookout and a view of Los Angeles. It was very pretty. The realtor mentioned that there were also some hiking trails in this area, and he showed Victor that this is where the locals would go hiking. He seemed very interested in this more secluded dead-end residence. The home was spectacular and had this big back patio, very impressive design, but Victor still wanted to look at some other properties,

so they left and they went to a few more homes. This routine continued a few more times. Paul spending the whole day catering to Victor, picking him up and taking him all around. On Tuesday, February 11th, once again picks him up from the Century Plaza Hotel, takes him to see maybe six or seven more homes. And after leaving one in particular, Paul got word that the owner was missing his credit card and his driver's license. But he would never suspect that his client did it. They again met on Wednesday the 12th, Thursday the 13th, and even the 14th on Valentine's Day. Christy went missing the next day.

Paul also reported that Victor act really strangely in each one of these homes. After walking into a closet and closing the door, he would scream and then ask the real estate agent if he could hear him. Victor said he was allegedly checking how soundproof the house was for music production and film. But the detectives found this information very chilling. Paul said that February 15th was one of the only days that he didn't meet up with Victor, but that they did meet on Sunday evening to continue looking at homes. Paul finally dropped him off at a store around 8.40 p.m. Then the next day, it was time for Victor and Paul to sit down

and draw up an offer for one of the homes. So they met again to go over the contract. When he was going to drop Victor off in the evening around 6 at the hotel, Victor made a remark that he was sick of not having his own vehicle. And he asked him if there was like a Mercedes or a BMW dealership nearby. And Paul said yes, so he dropped him off. at Beverly Hills BMW, and we know that's where he stole the SUV and was apprehended. He also stole from all the homes that Paul was showing him.

That is how he was able to afford hotels and food and nice clothing. It was a vicious cycle. He even stole from hotel guests. That's a they got a search warrant for Victor's clothing that he was wearing when he was booked into the jail, and they wanted to search every home that Victor toured. Because the clothing may contain evidence related to the crime, and the suspect may have used one of these locations to commit a crime against Christine Johnson.

Detective Open Chain also said that she believed, based on the above state of facts, that Victor was involved in the abduction and or murder of Christine Johnson. They also got a warrant for the restaurant in Los Yanica Boulevard. Apparently, this is where Victor was living. They collected every piece of evidence they could find.

Investigators found stolen ID cards, keys. In addition, they obtained. Victor's computer. And they analyzed the hard drive, and that's when they discovered disturbing images. Women depicted in white-collared shirts, black skirts, nylons, and stilettos, exactly what the casting agent said to wear to these James Bond auditions. While her family prayed for her safe return, 12 days had passed without significant results. To honor Christine, her loved ones held two vigils. One in her hometown and the other in the capital city to celebrate her 22nd birthday. People from all over joined in to show their support and to bring attention to the search for

Christine. It was such a heartbreaking moment. So much was going on behind the scenes and everyone was hoping to find Christy. Maybe she was being held somewhere and they think Victor is the only person that can tell them where she is and what happened to her. Detective Open Chain had another detective go speak with Victor because maybe a man would be able to get through to him better than a woman since Victor clearly had no respect for them. Detective Henry went out to the jail to talk to Victor and right away he tells him, listen, I'm not here on your current charges. About the BMW? No, no, no, no, no. I'm hoping you can help me with something else. I'm with the missing person's unit and I need help finding this girl and he put a photo of Christy right in front of Victor. Before

or even giving this photo a glance. Victor's like, no. He goes on to say, oh, I've seen all the reports on the news. I don't know her. And I haven't seen her. Detective John Henry lies. He says, a witness said they saw you with Christy. He kind of wants Victor to think that maybe they're just trying

to get information and they're not suspecting he had anything to do with it. So he's like, come on, maybe you saw her in passing. It's a big city, lots of people. Just let me know. Just take one more look at the picture and tell me, you've ever run into her anywhere. I just really need your help. But it doesn't work.

Right then, Victor asked for an attorney. He refused to speak with Detective Henry. But that didn't stop Henry from talking to him. He pleaded with him saying, come on, you're not in trouble. We just need to speak with anyone who could have seen her because she could be in danger. Victor told him he was a parolee and won't risk anything because he didn't trust the cops.

And they were most likely trying to set him up for something he didn't do. Detective Henry tried to go the sympathetic route. He was like, imagine it's your mom or your sister. Wouldn't you want to help? Wouldn't you want someone to talk if they had seen something? But this is not working on him either because all he cares about is himself. And that was obvious. They were able to find out some information about him in his past. He was born in 1962 in Pennsylvania. He seemed to have a normal loving family and upbringing, the youngest of five brothers. He went to college, got a bachelor's degree in New Mexico, and then headed out to LA for his MBA.

They actually found no record of his graduate studies. This is just what he said. He was married in 1990 until 1993. That was the same time he met Elizabeth Davis and tried to poison her in 1991. Interesting that he's able to hold down some relationships, though. He failed at the restaurant business, and we know the rest.

He had the woe is me type of personality, like the world was against him. But he did end up providing them with an alibi. He explained that he spent the evening at home before heading out to IHOP to meet a friend. When his friend was able to back up the story, the police were worried that they'd come to another dead end. Yet they knew Victor still had enough time to meet up with Christine after he ate with his friend at IHop. An in-person lineup had been scheduled for Monday, March 3rd. Terry was making her rounds on all the networks, trying to keep Christie's face in the media.

And meanwhile, search efforts had been halted because there were downpourses. happening. A violent storm had come through, one that LA doesn't usually see. Southern California is known for its lack of rainfall, but these forceful downpours were bringing a bunch of mud down the slopes surrounding Hollywood. It made it very hard for people to get out there and search safely, and they didn't even know where to put their efforts until another person came forward with vital information. Another concerned citizen from the Laurel Canyon area named Douglas Kirkland, he called the police to say he recognized Christine from the pictures in the news. He told the detectives that Christine was lost in Hollywood Hills on February 15th

and that she flagged him down in front of his residence. She asked for directions to what she was referring to as the castle house. At first, the man said he had no idea what Christine was talking about, but his wife was outside and she overheard the conversation. She's like, I know where there's a castle-like house. She pointed Christine towards the home around 5.30 p.m. Wow. We know she called 411 around the same time.

And then another witness calls in. Her name, Kathy De Bono. She's a Hollywood actress. She was best known for her role on Star Trek Deep Space 9. She said that she saw the composite sketch and it looked like a man that approached her at Century City Mall in about 1998 or 1999. She told the investigators his name was Brian Kemp.

Kathy, an executive at Disney. He complimented her on her legs and told her she would be the perfect model for their James Bond poster. Yes, I'm sick of hearing it too. How many women did he do this to? Kathy offered to give him her agent's phone number, but Victor told her that he would rather not have to deal with an agent. That way, she could keep more of the money if she got the role on her own. Kathy said he wanted her to leave them all right then and there. But she knew better than that.

She asked him for a business card. and he handed her this old beat-up card, but he wouldn't let her keep it because he said it was his last one. Instead, she just wrote down all the information and she gave that to her agent. The man told Kathy to wear a white button-down shirt, black skirt, nylon stockings, and stilettos.

Her agent contacted Disney and verified that the man was a fake. The person who answered the phone was Brian from Disney, but he quickly let the agent know he was not the man from the mall. Brian urged the agent to inform their client not to attend the audition. He was empathetic and he reiterated that he was not in the mall and had not given Kathy a business card.

Further, he said someone may have his business card and was passing it off as their own. But Kathy still drove to Laurel Canyon to meet this guy. But she brought a stuntman from deep space. The guy told her to wait in her car and she did as she was instructed, but he never arrived. It sucks because all of this is circumstantial. They still don't know where Christie is.

So Monday came before they knew it and Victor was going to be put in a lineup with other men and witnesses were going to try to pick him out. Interestingly, Victor had grown out his beard since he had been arrested. And the detectives knew that this could be a way to throw off their witnesses. So they asked the jail to have Victor shave, but he wouldn't. So they actually had to get a court order to shave this man's face because he would not shave his beard on his own. Susan Mark and the valet attendant were all asked separately,

which man they believe was a person that they knew as a suspect. And just like before, Susan and Mark picked Victor, but the valet attendant couldn't choose the correct individual. He explained he didn't get a good look at him. It was 3 p.m. once it was finished, and Open Chain's phone rang. Right away, she knew it wasn't good. A few hours earlier, four teenage boys were smoking cigarettes

and hanging out walking down Skyline Drive high up in the hills. They walked all the way to the end where the pavement stops, and they were looking over all of Los Angeles, just taking in the view. One of the boys walked closer to the edge and looked down. The drop was a few hundred feet. But about 80 feet down, something looked off. Among all the green, he saw something blue.

He told his friends it looked weird, and they all started to peer over into this narrow ravine full of mud and thick, brush and they thought they could make out the shape of a body. It looked like a mannequin. One of the boys started to make his way down there little by little to get a closer look, but it didn't take him long to turn back and yell that it looked like a dead body. They didn't know what to do. They didn't have cell phones. So they walked down Skyline Drive and they saw a man outside gardening, but he said he didn't have a phone with him. They walked back to the edge of the ravine

pacing, trying to think of what to do. A woman, let's call her Sally, who lived in the air, the area about a mile away off Marascall Drive was walking her three dogs like she did every day. She crossed this road right here on Wonderland Park Avenue, went down Skyline Drive, past the Castle House, which is right here, and went up to the 8,500 block, where the lookout was. That's when she saw the boys huddled near the edge of the ravine. As she got closer, one of the boys said they thought that there was a body down below. Sally jumped into action. She tied her dogs up and she made her way down that ravine, carefully balanced. balancing herself as she tried to get a closer look.

There it was. A body lying on its right side, the legs were covered with a blue fabric, the head facing down the slope. On top of the head was a gray hoodie covering the neck and the shoulders. Sally could see their hands were tied behind their back and there was a scrunchy on their right wrist. The body was folded into sort of a fetal position. The person was not clothed from the waist down except ripped panty hose and the buttocks area was exposed. They appeared to be wearing a gray shirt that was pulled up in the back, exposing the midsection. Some hair was sticking out from the hoodie, and she could tell it was dirty blonde.

Sally didn't know what to think. It was a lot to take in. She didn't see any blood or wounds at all, but she knew this is most likely the body of a deceased female. Sally took note that the body probably would have gone unnoticed had it not hit a tree stump on the way down, trapping it in a more visible position. position. Sally quickly left, she called the police, and she waited until the LAPD arrived on scene. In these moments, as she waited, she realized that this could be the missing girl that she had seen on TV, and she couldn't hold in that sadness. Witnessing something like this is not easy. She cried

and cried, and she let the cops take over the scene and then made her way back home in shock, especially since this was so close to where she lived. But was this Christine Johnson? detectives think it is, especially because the realtor Paul Katie had brought Victor right to this house off the 8,500 block of Skyline Drive, the one that he seemed so intrigued by, 8583 Skyline Drive at the dead end, right before the lookout, right near a ravine. As Detective John Henry made his way down there, he was hoping it wasn't Christy, but there was too much adding up. He made his way down and he saw the blue sleeping bag. And just below it, there was a pair of feet sticking out, and they had black stiletto heels on them. And that's when he felt his stomach drop.

He knew it was Christy. The shirt was white, but it had become dirty with the rains in the mud. He could tell that her hands and ankles were tied with white shoe laces and on her exposed midsection, a lower back tattoo of a hybiscous flower. They found her. But the identification was not official. They had the difficult task of retrieving her body from this very dangerous location while also preserving as much evidence as possible.

It was going to take a lot of work. It took hours and a team of experienced rescue workers and they carefully put her inside a body bag to preserve any clothing that she had on, and they slowly lowered a basket down. They put the body inside, and they labeled her Jane Doe 22 until she could be formally identified. Unbelievable. She was hoisted up over the ridge and put on a gurney to be transported to the medical examiner's office. Now they had to notify Christie's parents. And at this moment, her mom, Terry, she was on a flight to New York.

So they called her father, Kirk. As soon as he answered, the chief of police asked him if he was home and if anyone was there with him and he said, yes, I'm here with my wife. And as soon as he heard that question, he knew that he was probably going to get bad news. The chief continued by saying, I'm very sorry. We found Christy, but she's no longer with us. Kirk's life flashed before him. All the memories of his daughter being born, her childhood.

It was all shattered. It was too much to take in. He ran outside and he looked into the sky and he cried, Christine, and then he just said, I love you, I love you, I love you. And at that point, he knew that she was in heaven. And that poor father, Terry got the news soon after she landed. She was equally upset and torn apart. and she knew she had to turn right back around and come back to California.

It just did not seem real. Before the autopsy was conducted, the body was taken to the Forensic Science Center, and this is where they collected all the evidence. It's where they take off all the clothes and accessories, and they bagged them for analysis. It was in the middle of the night into March 4th. Now Oben Chain was there watching the entire procedure, taking notes of everything she deserved.

Here are a few things that they found. Her shoes were scuffed in a way that showed that she was dragged at one point and they grazed across the road. She had blisters on her feet from the shoes being a bit too small and narrow on her feet. Her hands and ankles were tied with white converse sneaker shoelaces. When they removed the gray sweatshirt from on top of her head, it was unbelievable. Unbelievable. Her face, it didn't even resemble a face. It was just all black, dead tissue, unlike the rest of her body.

Sadly, insects had gotten to that portion, and it was just unbelievably devastating to see that. When Oben Chain saw that she still had panty hose on, though, she thought that maybe this meant that someone didn't force themselves on her because they would have to take the time to put those panty hose back on. However, they did collect DNA evidence that may still be on or in her body. The autopsy was conducted on March 5th by Dr. Lisa Shinen. Oben Chain and another detective were present. They were at the LA coroner's office, and here's what the doctor observed.

The victim's face and head had been severely decomposed, which was due to a number of factors, one, the position of the body because the head was laying straight down and blood pooled to that area, and then because of the elements. There were wounds that aren't apparent without medical knowledge. Some were post-mortem, meaning after death, but there was one that was determined to be perimortem, and that happens on the brink of death as they lay dying. She had bruising on the outer part of her pelvis and her hips, and there was evidence of recent sexual activity. The sample still had to be analyzed for DNA, though.

There were marks on both of her wrists from the shoelaces, and there was a very large bruise on the upper left part of her arm near the elbow. This indicated that someone had forcefully grabbed her here. She had bruises on her right and her left calf, as well as both knees and in her buttocks area on the left. It was evident that she put up a violent fight. for her life. Her left ear was no longer attached to her scalp. But the most significant finding was the perimortem injury. It was to her skull behind her left ear. There was bruising to the front portion of her throat, but the bones in her neck were not broken, which is what they usually see in strangulation cases. The manner of death was ruled a homicide, but the cause was still unknown.

There were other tests they needed to carry out, such as toxicology test and an examination of all of her organs. Her final official identification was done by matching her teeth to dental records. This poor woman. I can't imagine the horror that she had to endure. And they still needed to connect Victor to this murder. They still did not have any evidence directly linking him to this crime. However, as they went through his phone records, they noticed several calls made to a number around 11.30 p.m. on the night that Christy was killed. They tracked down this person. Let's call him Joey. He was 32. He was married. He worked at a pharmacy off Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Anica. Detectives paid him a visit. Joey was actually Victor's alibi. He had been contacted

by phone briefly when Detective Henry was interviewing Victor in jail. And Joey was the one to confirm that he was with Victor at IHop that night. But now detectives want to know everything he knows about his friend Victor. And Joey looks scared. He told detectives he doesn't know him well at all. They met on January 24th of that year and Joey was just a handyman. He worked for some buildings in the area, including the abandoned restaurant. He was there to tidy it up. And that is where he met Victor. The landlord was his old business partner's son,

and he really wanted him to leave, but there was a history there. They were trying to be nice, give him a place to stay until he got back on his feet. Later it was found out that Victor actually lied to them about why he was in prison. They thought it had to do with some bad financial decisions, not sex crimes. Anyway, Victor was nice to Joey, and they talked and they exchanged numbers just in case they needed anything. And that time came on Saturday, February 15th at some point they make plans to meet at IHOP at 1130 p.m. They had gone there together before. Joey said he got there and he waited for Victor to arrive, but he wasn't there yet.

And that Victor called him three times to tell him he was running behind. The first time he said he was with someone and driving there and he'd be there soon. Then he called him again around 1130, and then at midnight, to update Joey on his arrival saying, okay, I'm making my way over. When he called that third time right before midnight, he said he was walking up. Joey noticed that he came from a different direction

than he usually did. It wasn't the direction of where he knew Victor was living. And he wasn't in a car being dropped off like he said he would be. At the time, he didn't think much of it, but now he's telling the detectives everything that stood out to him. They ordered some food, and while they waited,

Joey noticed that there were three red scratches, like welts above Victor's right eyebrow. He asked them what happened and he said, oh, you know, just some furniture fell on top of me, no big deal. They were there until after one in the morning, and that is when Victor asked a question that was kind of out of character. He wanted to know if he could spend the night at Joey's. They weren't far from Victor's place, but it wasn't that comfortable. So Joey was like, you know, I don't want to be rude. And they took the city bus to Joey's off sunset and Grower Street. They boarded the bus and Joey said it was weird because he sat in the front,

but Victor went all the way to the back which he thought was a bit odd because it wasn't full. Joey showed him to the living room couch where he could sleep that night. And Victor said, please wake me up at like 4.30 in the morning because I want to catch the early morning mass at Good Shepherd Church in Beverly Hills. Joey said they had some coffee together real early around 4 or 4.30. And then Victor left by 5 or 5.30. He just walked out the front door. Detectives went to that church. Not only was there no 6.30 a.m. Mass on the weekends, but when they showed a picture of Victor

to everybody that worked there and all the members, he wasn't one of them. After all this, Open Chain had a theory of what she believed happened to Christy, and you can tell me your thoughts. I want to know. She believes Christy bumped into Victor at Century City Mall. He approached her just like he'd done

with all the other women who came forward. He complimented her, carried himself professionally, said the right things and offered her a last-minute audition and told her to meet him that evening at 5.30 at the house off Skyline Drive that looked like a castle. It's an easier landmark to find than perhaps the house on Skyline Drive, who knows? But he gave her directions and told her exactly what she needed to wear, a white blouse, black miniskirt, black heels, and sheer pantos. Poor Christy wanted so badly for this to be her big break. She may have been a bit apprehensive, but on the other hand, She was in Century City, which is the area where all the producers and agencies are based.

So it made sense. She was in a logical location to be discovered. Christy walked away feeling like this could be her chance to become the next bond girl. And with her mother's permission, she bought whatever she wanted at the mall. She spared no expense. This footage shows her in Bloomingdale's purchasing the panting hose and the $185 blouse. She probably figured that if she landed this role, she would have more than enough money to make up for this purchase.

She wanted to look her best, to stand out and make an impression. She knew she may only get one shot. So she rushed and she gathered all of those items that she needed, her last stop, trashy lingerie, because the shoes at the mall? Well, they were probably pretty expensive. So to get some stilettos at a lingerie store seemed like it would be a better price.

Then she rushed home, bumping into Lucas out front telling him, She's excited and in a hurry, and then telling Carrie all about her encounter, including modeling the outfit she was supposed to wear. Her roommate had never seen Christy so excited about anything. Most likely it was the promise of a $100,000 paycheck that contributed to that. Then she packed up her outfits, got into her car, and headed out for the Hollywood Hills. A glamorous area filled with stars and big-time producers. This is the point where Christy's hope Chrissy's hopes and dreams seemed like they were going to come true. All that was left to do was find the castle house that had been described to her.

Well, I'm going to tell you that this area is very hard to navigate. The roads they loop all around, they're steep and narrow. The signs are hidden, sometimes by overgrown trees and brush. Even for someone like me who has been here before, I could easily get lost. If I didn't have GPS, forget about it. There's no way I would make it to some random house. I found the castle house. It's located at 2,502 Green Valley Drive.

And John and I made our way to it. It's a sight to see. Built in 1954, the last time it was sold, was in 1972 for only $50,000. Now it's appraised at $2.5 million. Open Chain believes that Victor was waiting outside of this house for Christy. When she pulled up, he most likely asked to get in her car and then directed her to drive up Skyline Drive to this dead end, which is which is now where this house sits on the 8,500 block of Skyline Drive, high above the hills, on the edge of a ravine.

Obenchain thinks that maybe he had watched the real estate agent type in the number to open this outside gate right here. And maybe the door to the inside of the home was unlocked. Because the house was empty. It was being shown to prospective buyers. Maybe he guided her onto that patio and had the audition there. We don't know. But at some point she changed into that outfit and probably did what he had done to many women who came before her, made her pose, and ended up using shoelaces that he probably prepared beforehand to tie her hands and ankles together. But she fought. One theory that Oban Chain had was that this happened inside of her car. I don't know. What do you think? I think it most likely happened inside the house or out on the patio.

Either way, her car was involved because that's where the blue sleeping bag is. came from. I just think that her screams would have echoed too much outside or in a car, but I could be wrong. Either way, she is fighting back, and that's when he goes to an even further extreme than he had in the past. He puts his hands around her neck, and she passes out. He thinks that he's killed her, so he puts her in a sleeping bag. It belonged to her older brother, and he threw her off the edge of the ravine, mere feet from the home that he had been shown on the dead end of Skyline Drive. She was most likely alive when this happened, and it was the skull fracture that caused her to be unable to move,

later passing away from her injuries from the impact that she sustained when she hit the tree on her way down. Who knows how long she was with him before this attack? How long he waited before he threw her body over that cliff. It most likely happened when it got dark. We know from previous stories that he sometimes had these women for hours. practicing the poses if they started at six. They could have gone till nine.

It would have been dark. Then he got into Christy's car and he drove away. The time between this and 11 when he calls his friend Joey is unclear. But Open Chain thinks that he drove Christy's car to IHop and he parked it in a back lot where Joey wouldn't be able to see it. Then he got out and walked out front to meet him and that's why he came from a different direction than usual. He left Christy's car there, takes the bus,

with Joey, wakes up really early, catches the bus not to church, but back to IHOP, gets Christy's car, and then parks it in the hotel parking lot in the valet. The valley attendant said that that car came in at 5.45 a.m., and from there he probably just took the bus back to where he was living. It sounds plausible. March 7th, yet another woman came forward, Alice Walker. And I know it's like a broken record, but I feel like I can't leave this out. She told detectives that she met a man. His name was Victor. Last name, Ippolito. She was waitressing at Houston's in the very same mall, the same day that he met up with Susan. Centry City Mall. He was dressed in a blue business suit with a tie, and they just had

some friendly talk. He said he just moved from New York to California. He was staying at the Century Plaza Hotel, and Alice had just moved from Illinois. She was an English major, but she was a She wanted to take her shot at acting. He told her that he was actually publishing a book, and that piqued her interest. She found him attractive, and they were flirting with each other a little bit. She was enjoying the interaction. So we asked her if she would like to hang out after she got off at 11, and she said, sure. He told her to meet her in the lobby of the Century Plaza.

She actually showed up, only a few blocks away like I showed you. They sat down and they talked for four hours. I can't even believe that, but they were really hitting a little. They were chatting about their future plans, about projects he was working on, and the business he was trying to start. Cologus Corporation. But first, he was working on that book I told you about. A book about a guy named Vincent. Now listen to this.

He said it's about a guy who gets a divorce, and then he wants to start a restaurant. So he borrows a bunch of money, but he can't pay it back, so he hires her lawyer. And then he goes to a party with that lawyer, and his lawyer meets some girl, and he tries to have sex with her in his car, but he ends up strangling her to death. and then the lawyer tries to pin it on this man, Vincent. Wow. Now you know why one of Open Chain's theories is that Christy was killed in her car. But of course, this conversation would have been foreshadowing

because it happened prior to Victor meeting Christy. But what about the James Bond audition? Well, he didn't exactly offer that to Alice. He said that his friend was the director and they were looking for a girl, but she had this certain look. She had to have really strong legs. He wasn't sure Alice fit that description, but you told him, well, I was a ballerina for years.

So we actually grabbed a hold of her calves to see if they were strong. He told her that the Bond Girl character in this film was going to be a dominatrix and that there were going to be all of these shots basically focusing on her legs. Alice believed him. She really thought he was legit. She bought all of the items that he requested. Specifically, nylons that sparkled like diamonds. Those were his words.

She went home, got a couple hours of sleep, bought the items, and then met him at that same abandoned restaurant on Las Anacca Boulevard. Around 2 p.m. on Sunday, January 26, and he did the same routine as before, made her do a bunch of poses. He put the necktie around her neck, but he didn't tighten it up or anything. Hours went by. And she's like, I've got to go to work. Is this audition going to happen today? He's like, let me check. She changed back into her regular clothes, and when she came out, he's like, listen, I'm really sorry,

but we're going to have to cancel the audition. Sean Connery is sick. I'll call you, and we can reschedule for later in the week. Unbelievably, just three days later on Wednesday, he called, and she met him again at 5 p.m. same routine, but this time he tried kissing her. His excuse was that it was just part of the rehearsal, but she got angry, and this caused a little tiff between those. But he apologized and he said he's so sorry. He just really wants her to get this part.

She met him two or three more times for dinner, but said it wasn't romantic. They just hung out and they talked. She connected him with this case because of the corporation name, Logos. When she questioned him about the meaning of it, he lied and told her that it was his last name, Epilito Logis.

And that was just too similar to Victor Pileologis and the story too. It's just that's why she came forward. After this, Alice and Victor talked a few more times on the phone, and he told her he was in the middle of buying a house in Hollywood Hills for $2.5 million, and she should come see it, but she declined. When there was no more talk about the audition, Alice pretty much had no more interest in talking to him.

He did try calling her on February 15th. He left a voicemail. The number was traced back to a payphone in the Century City Mall. She too picked Victor out of a line of photos without hesitation. I know this story has been long. Some people comment that I like to milk it. I'm giving you the facts, and there's so many of them. It takes me a long time. I try not to leave anything out. I think of these individuals that I talk about, like they're my own family members. Would I want to leave this part out? No. So I include it. And this wasn't the last woman to come forward.

There were others. There was a woman named Laura Hayden that came forward and told them that she met him at Lookout Mountain in Hollywood Hills near a home with a four-sale sign back in 2000. Same story again and again for about eight women, from 1991 to 2003. They were still waiting on that DNA analysis. So far, there was no foreign DNA found under Christie's fingernails. And all the evidence tested from the Castle House and the other homes that Victor visited, plus the abandoned restaurant, nothing matched anything of Christie's. By the end of April, toxicology came back negative.

Her death was ruled a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head and neck. compression of the neck resulted in internal bleeding and exphyxia. By May 12th, District Attorney Eleanor Hunt filed charges against Victor for first-degree murder. He was eligible for the death penalty. By February 2004, Victor had a defense attorney, and he insisted to the media that his client was innocent, that there was no DNA linking him to this crime. However, there were phone records. At 109 p.m. on February 15th, a call went out from Victor's self and it was traced to a tower that covered the Sentry City Mall, putting him at the same location that Christie was at.

And when they traced the three calls Victor made to Joey that night, guess where they were pinging off towers that serviced the Laurel Canyon area and Hollywood Hills. But it still didn't prove that he killed Christy. And that was the hardest part. And there were no phone calls between Christy and Victor at all. No security footage from the places that she went in the mall with Victor anywhere near her. And since Victor didn't have a car, they were having a hard time figuring out how he would have gotten up to the castle house to begin with. No taxis were working that route and certainly no buses.

The defense was also planning to challenge a time of death by using insects found on Christie's body. The prosecution had to come up with a way to present their most powerful evidence, the women who claimed that they'd been conned by Victor. They created a big board and had columns on it. On the far left were pictures of each woman, and then each of the columns had the places where Victor approached them, whether they pitched the James Bond film, the clothing that he asked them to wear, and what each of these women went through, so the jury was able to see this visual and see a pattern. Each one of these women would testify. These visual aids were really important to keep all of the facts in order. The hurdle was getting the prior acts

admitted in court. Someone actually left a comment on one of my last videos asking about this specific thing. They were frustrated about why sometimes prior criminal acts aren't allowed in court. And I am not going to go into a full explanation right now, but what I will say is it usually a criminal's prior acts are not admissible because it would prejudice the jury. It would make them look at the defendant as a bad person, and then they would be less likely to be impartial. But there are exceptions to this rule. And in this case, of course, both sides wanted it their way. The prosecution wanted it in. The defense didn't. But ultimately, the similarities in the previous acts is where the exception was given because there were so many similarities. It wasn't like a case where the defendant

on trial for murder and the perpetrator broke in before the murder and the defendant had a history of breaking entering. Yes, it's similar, but not enough. There are a lot of rules and exceptions. Luckily, the prior acts in this case were admissible by Judge Perry. And there were a few women that came forward and their stories were different. They happened at different malls and those were excluded. The defense even wanted to keep Christie's roommate from testify. Obviously, they were trying to get a bunch of things excluded. However, like I said, there were exceptions, and the defense was arguing this is hearsay. When a person hears someone say something and then they're relaying it.

However, the prosecution argued, this is actually an exception to the rule because it shows Christie's plan, her immediate plan to go to this audition, and she was supposed to become this bond girl with this specific outfit. So it was allowed in. In the case of the insects, the defense really wanted to rely on the age of the maggots. and the prosecution, of course, was worried about them using up all the samples and them not being able to test them on their own. So this is just what keeps these trials from actually happening

because all of these things beforehand. The judge decided to have both sides meet with an expert and the expert was going to run the test in front of them. They were going to watch. And it ended up that there was nothing that useful that came out of it, so they didn't use it. All this trial prep took years. 43-year-old Victor Hileologus finally went to trial in July of 2006.

Christy's family was in attendance. The jury was comprised of 10 men and two women. The prosecutor's opening statement included things about who Christy was, how she ended up at the mall, how she met Victor, and sadly how he killed her. He went into very graphic detail showcasing pictures of the way Christy's body was found, and of course, Victor wouldn't look. Christy's parents were in tears, and he went on to tell them that they would hear from women who encountered Victor just like Christy,

and that there was no phone activity on Victor's phone from 3.49 p.m. that day until 10.06 p.m. when it did start back up, his phone pinged in Hollywood Hills. And a search of his computer with all the pictures of women in the exact outfit that he had requested time and time again. Some were bound to chairs. Others, explicit photos of women undressing wearing one of the said items. This was part of his fantasy. The prosecutor made sure to address the lack of evidence of DNA, but it had more to do with the elements, the downpours, the decomposition, and not proof that it wasn't there at some point. There just wasn't enough to test.

But then it was the defense's turn to provide an opening argument. It was short, basically saying there is no evidence that Victor is connected to Christy. He's never been accused of murdering anyone before, and he didn't kill her. Their trick up their sleeve was they wanted to emphasize how the valet attendant couldn't identify Victor. He was the only outside witness to have seen this man and he couldn't conclude it was Victor. This insinuated that all these women just wanted to testify to get their five minutes of fame. He wanted to make it out like they can't be trusted that they're actors after all.

But this man, he worked for 30 years in valet. He's telling you the truth. He can't say it's Victor. He actually described the man as a Rambo-type character. Does Victor look like Rambo? The defense's argument was you've got the wrong guy. Arguing against the prosecution saying DNA doesn't just not exist, but there's nothing. No semen, no saliva, no hairs, no skin, nothing,

and that there was no evidence found in the Skyline House or any other house Victor visited. He did still things. And that's why he told the agent to go in the other room while he screamed. He just wanted some space to steal. Good arguments, I have to say, but would they be enough? The last point that he argued was that the body was moved. And it was moved while Victor was in jail on the BMW theft.

Because had her body been there this whole time days and days, people in the area would have gone down there and they would have seen it. He fails to take into account how bad the weather was. Normally, yes, people would be hiking, but for the past few days they weren't. It had been raining. Perhaps she was more covered up before the wind and the rains came pouring down and over time she became more visible. Remember how the death penalty was on the table? While the state had seven women testify, each story was powerful, emotional and unique, sharing many similarities though to Christine's.

And Christine's family sat in the back of the courtroom, and they were encouraging each woman. When they saw they were struggling to deliver their testimonies, they would give them a thumbs up, empowering them to keep going. It was becoming increasingly clear that the defense was not getting anywhere. So guess what Victor decides to do? He opted for a plea deal in the middle of the proceedings. Remember, this was Victor's ace in every trial. Wait to the last minute and then a Hail Mary. In order to get the death penalty removed, Victor decides to plead guilty, hopefully to a lesser charge, and maybe get 10 to 12 years in prison and cut his losses like he had done every other time. The prosecution knew they had weaknesses, so they did want to try to come up with a deal.

This was three weeks into trial, but they wouldn't budge. It had to be guilty on first-degree murder, not a lesser charge, and he had to give up his right to an appeal. While the day it came, the defense attorney told the judge, his client was going to plead guilty. but he didn't want to make an open confession in court. Instead, he wanted to give a factual confession, not give details, just that he was responsible for her murder, and he would get 25 years to life. No right to an appeal.

So finally, an open court with everyone present, the judge asked Victor if this was his decision to accept a plea deal, and Victor said, yes, Your Honor. The judge asked him if he had been forced or if he made it freely, and Victor said it was his choice. The judge asked him, Are you taking responsibility for her murder today? Victor said, yes, Your Honor, I am.

And then Victor's attorney said that Victor would like to make a statement. And he did. He said, quote, first and foremost, I've always felt from the very beginning. I know what it's like to lose somebody very close to you, and my sympathies have always gone out to the family. I just wanted to make that perfectly clear that I'm not doing this plea to upset anyone, including the family. My sympathies are with you.

Second of all, I would like to acknowledge the fact that there was a tremendous amount of media attention to this issue. I don't want to get into specifics of why I have made this choice specifically, but I think there are some obvious reasons and I would like to accept the responsibility. After this, the judge said that he needed an actual plea from Victor. So the judge went on to say, honor about February 15, 2003, you did commit the murder of Christine Johnson and that this murder is first degree. To that charge, how do you plea?

And Victor said, guilty, Your Honor. When Christy's father found out that Victor was able to get this plea deal, he was relieved. It wasn't a perfect outcome, but he knew that Victor would be behind bars for good. And that was enough to give Christine's father some peace of mind. Well, that was about to be put into question because at sentencing, the judge begins with the news that he received an 11-page handwritten motion from Victor from his jail cell. It was a motion to withdraw his plea. Yes, he did. I found this letter.

I'm not going to read it, of course, but nice to try a good effort, you know, even though it was riddled with silly, made-up words, trying to sound professional and intelligent, arguing that he was denied sufficient representation, forced into taking the plea. While the judge wasn't having it, he said, nope, he dismissed the motion because you can't just withdraw your guilty plea because you change your mind. Instead, Judge Perry went on to sentence him to 25 years to life. On reflection, we can be thankful that the other women who had the misfortune of meeting Victor

didn't suffer the same fate. However, at the same time, one life was taken, and that is one too many. Christine is gone, and all her loved ones have are the memories. Every year, Kirk Johnson makes a call to the California Department of Justice to confirm that Victor remains behind bars. He's been making this call for years to ensure that he is still locked away and unable to commit any more crimes. He takes comfort in knowing that his daughter's killer is where he belongs, and the streets are safer. It may not be that much, but this simple phone call is one way that Kirk can help improve the world. This was a long story. It was an intense one. It brings up a lot of questions.

Like always, please leave comments. I like to have discussions with all of you, and I will see you in my next video. Bye.