Unseen - The Disturbing Case of The James Bond Killer | The Story of Kristine Johnson | UNSEEN

Episode Date: December 5, 2023

“I was staring at the face of evil” -- It’s February 17th 2003, when Terry Hall calls the police to report her daughter Kristine Johnson missing, after not hearing from her for two days. When detectives talk to Kristine’s flatmate, she says her friend left for an audition in the Hollywood Hills for a big opportunity to be cast as a Bond Girl, but detectives quickly discover that the movie doesn’t actually exist. The only clue to help catch a serial predator, who has been escaping the law for more than 10 years, lies in what Kristine bought at the Century City Mall on the day of her disappearance. External Footage From: "Dead On Arrival" (S1 E6, The Road To Hell, Investigation Discovery), "Death In The Hollywood Hills" (Dateline NBC, Justice For Kristi), "Murder In The Hollywood Hills (The Death Of Kristine Johnson, THELIPTV, Crime Time), On The Case With Paula Zahn (S3 E13, Dark Side Of a Dream, Investigation Discovery), "The Los Angeles Times", "Google Maps", "Getty Images", "Motion Array", "Audio Network". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pay attention to the woman in the black hat in this footage. It was recorded in Los Angeles on February 15, 2003. This is 21-year-old Christine Johnson. It might look like a normal shopping trip at the mall, but this footage hides a disturbing secret. Just hours after it was recorded, Christine disappeared, and the key to uncovering the truth about what happened to her

lies in what she bought. Christine, please come home safe. I can't find peace in my life without me. Investigators look at Christie's phone records. Just after 5 p.m., she called an information line from Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills. One witness says a woman matching Christie's description pulled over to ask for directions to a house up the hill, but they can't find any more clues about what happened to her afterwards. February 20th, five days after Christy's disappearance, police get a call from a woman who saw an article about Christy in the paper.

She told investigators about a man who approached her at the same mall just weeks before. He told her he was working on the new James Bond movie, and he wanted her to audition. He said, you have to have a white shirt, you have to have a miniskirt, nylons, and stiletto heels. And that happens to be everything that Christy purchased on February 15. One by one, detectives discover strikingly similar stories of other women, exposing a serial predator who's been hunting women in Hollywood for over a decade. He was prepared for murder. He was prepared to have no one testify against him.

It was critical that we find her as soon as possible. We're talking about a predator, and somewhere along his life he needed to be stopped. It's 2001. 20-year-old Christine Johnson just moved from the small town of Sagatuck, Michigan, to Southern California. She's working on finishing school, and she's hoping for her big break in Hollywood. but it's hard for her to find work in the movie industry, and she considers moving back home. And in fact, it had gone so far that I had already contacted U-Haul,

and I was going to fly out to Los Angeles. She decided to... She wanted to continue to give it a try. She was sincere and staying. Christine keeps trying in Los Angeles. She's able to get a job as a production assistant for a new movie, but after that, she continues to struggle finding work in the industry. She starts working at a cell phone company, but she's still looking for opportunities in Hollywood,

refusing to give up on her dreams. Saturday, February 15, 2003. Christine is on the phone with her mom, Terry. Christine talks about how she's planning a trip to the mall that day. Her mom tells her to pick out a Valentine's gift for herself. They say goodbye, and she heads to the mall. February 17th, Terry normally talks to her daughter on the phone every day, but she hasn't heard from Christine in over four years.

48 hours. She can't get a hold of her on her cell phone, so she calls her work and finds that Christine didn't show up that morning. She's always on time for work, and her parents worry that something happened to her. They call the police and file a missing person's report. No one has any idea where she is, and her family flies to Los Angeles right away. I went to Christy's apartment and I put a poster on her wall into the entrance to her apartment. The big picture of Christy, I couldn't believe this was happening. Police share details with the media and set up a tip line. Soon, Christie's disappearance is all over the news, and the search grows. There were people that were going around to empty lots, handing out flyers, nailing them on telephone poles. Everybody fell in love with Christy. Investigators call Christie's credit card company and learn that she purchased several items at the Westfield Century City Mall in Los Angeles on February 15th. They look through surveillance videos and discover security footage of her at the mall around 1 p.m. that day.

But they can't find anything in the footage to help figure out what happened to her. We have nothing. We have no leads whatsoever. Christy just dropped off the face of the earth. Detectives turned to her roommate, hoping she might have some information on where Christy went. Her roommate explains that on February 15th, Christy came home after the mall and showed her a new outfit she bought. Then, Christy left for a big movie audition. Finally, investigators have a clue about where she was headed, but her roommate couldn't remember where the audition was.

They look at Christy's phone records. Just after 5 p.m. on February 15th, she called an information line from the Laurel Canyon neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills. The witness came forward, saying a woman matching Christy's description, driving a white Miata, pulled over to ask for directions to a house up the hill before she disappeared. After learning more about the day Christie went missing, her parents wonder if someone she knew may have tried to hurt her. They want to do all they can to help find their daughter. I knew she was having problems with a boyfriend, and she had broken up with him.

It was actually one of my first suspicions that he could have been involved. Christy had called the police. Christy had a domestic violence incident with her boyfriend. Police bring Christy's ex-boyfriend in for questioning. He admits there was a domestic violence. violence incident, but denies having anything to do with her disappearance. He had said that he was extremely sorry. That was the one and only time that it had happened, that they were on their way back together again, that he loved her very much, and anything that

he could do to help, he would. He also claims he was out of town the day she disappeared, and multiple people confirm his story. After verifying his alibi, police realize it's another dead end. February 20, 2003, five days after Christy, and she's disappearance. Police get a call from a woman named Susan Murphy. I saw this article and this picture of this girl missing. I called the Santa Monica Police Department. When I started to explain my situation,

they put me on hold and said, we want you to speak to the lead detective on the case. The newspaper article Susan saw said Christy disappeared after leaving for a movie audition. Susan tells investigators about a man she encountered less than a month before, hoping it might help them find Christy. He invited Susan to an audition

too. And as she continues explaining her story, Detective Virginia Obanchan realizes it's their first big break in the case. He said, it's very important that I wear black stilettos as high as possible, black miniskirt, a white man's shirt. And that happens to be everything that Christy purchased on February 15th. The items Christy bought at the mall weren't published in the news, but as soon as Susan read the article about her disappearance, she had a feeling the man she met weeks before could have something to do with it. My heart sank, I thought, could it possibly be the same person? After Susan tells police she thinks she met the same man, they ask her to give them every

detail she could remember about him. She helps create a composite sketch of what he looks like, and they broadcast a sketch on TV across the country. The Amar Police Department is seeking the assistance of the public to identify and locate the individual depicted in this composite drawing. February 24th, nine days after Christy's disappearance, her cars found in the valet lot of a hotel. Detectives like Christy's parents know right away, and they fear the worst. The thoughts went through my mind. They're going to find Christy in the trunk. They're going to find blood. They're going to find... I didn't know idea what they would find.

But all they find in the car is Christy's cell phone. The valet tells police that a man brought the car on the lot on February 16th, the day after she went missing. Every bit of evidence that we were being told kept pointing towards something had gone wrong. Something was drastically wrong. It was critical that we find her as soon as possible. February 27th, 12 days after Christy's disappearance, no one's reported seeing her since, but her family won't give up. Two vigils are held in Christy's honor, one in Los Angeles and one back in Michigan.

Today is Christy's 22nd birthday. Happy birthday, Christy. Please come home safe. I can't find peace in my life without me. As news spreads, along with the sketch Susan Murphy helped make, other women come forward with similar stories, hoping they can help with the search for Christy. Twelve years before her disappearance, back in 1991, Elizabeth Bazini met a man at a restaurant who told her about an opportunity in a new James Bond movie. They sat at the bar together, but Elizabeth noticed red flags right away. As she looked at her drink, she saw white powder on top. She quickly went to the bathroom and called the restaurant manager. I said, this man is trying to drug me.

Please call the police immediately. Please watch him, make sure he doesn't leave. Elizabeth made a plan and went back to the bar, trying to stall him until the police got there. They kept talking, and she asked him what the white powder was. He claimed it was sugar. Elizabeth tried to switch drinks with him, saying he could have hers instead. I looked at me kind of oddly and I said, what's wrong?

You can drink the drink. I said, I don't like sugar. And that's when he excused himself and he ran out of there and he never came back. The man got away before police arrived. But over a decade later, when Elizabeth hears what happened to Christy, she thinks the same man is responsible. More women report eerily similar stories to the police. And one of them is Christine Clugin.

She says that back in 1989, she met a man who, introduced himself as John Moroni. They started talking for a few weeks, and he asked her out on a date. He said, I'll pick you up in a limousine. We'll have dinner, and there's a big industry party because he said that he was a music executive. The man told her he worked for Columbia Records and that the party was going to be in a suite at a hotel. They went out to dinner first, and they took a limo to the hotel afterwards. But when they took the elevator up and got out, Christine Klujin noticed the hallway was quiet. She didn't hear anything that sounded like a party nearby, and she got nervous. Suddenly, the man took her to an empty hotel room, and she saw what he

was planning the whole time. He was trying to kiss me, and I pushed him away, and then he attacked me. He threw me on the bed. He tried to rip my clothes off. The man pulled ropes from behind the bed to tie her up, but she was able to escape from him and run out of the hotel room to get help. A man named Victor Paleologus was arrested for her attempted rape. He accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to three years of probation. 14 years later, police are now desperately searching for Christy Johnson. A parole officer calls in. After seeing the sketch they broadcast of the man they're looking for, she says it looks like one of her parolees, Victor Paleologus. Police issue a search warrant for his address. On his computer, they find pictures of women wearing the same type of outfit that

Christy bought the day she disappeared. It's also the same outfit the suspect had told Susan Murphy to wear for an audition, and now the pattern is becoming clearer. Investigators need answers from Paleologus, and they find out that he's already in custody on unrelated charges, after he tried to steal a car. We're looking for him, yes in person. Have you seen this young lady? No. I've seen reports going on TV every day. I don't know her. Tell us where she was the last time you saw her. Can you at least tell us that? Just time I saw her, she was on TV.

Detectives continue to interrogate Paleologus, but he won't give any information about Christy's disappearance. He also has an alibi for the day she went missing. Victor had shown up on a Saturday night at the IHop restaurant, and he met a friend. The friend he claimed he met confirmed that they ate together. But despite his alibi, Paleologus remains a prime suspect in the case. Christy was last seen around 5.30 p.m. on February, and it wasn't until hours later that Paleologus went to IHOP.

There was plenty of time in between when he could have done something to her. We were continuing to hope against hope that she was alive, that she was being held against her will someplace and we just needed to identify the location so we could get there and save her life. Sixteen days after Christie's disappearance, police asked Susan Murphy to identify the man who approached her in a lineup in person. It's like going to a horror film because you're seeing this person again. I immediately recognized him.

I was like, that's the guy, for sure. Susan identifies Victor Paleologous. It seems like investigators are closing in, still hopeful they can find Christy. My first question was, has he ever been arrested for murder before? And they said no. So then, of course, as a parent, I'm very hopeful. I'm thinking maybe this is somebody who's abducted, daughter, but he hasn't murdered her.

And everybody believed that there would be a happy ending to the story. But as Detective Obenchain walks Susan out of the police station, she gets a call that completely changes the investigation. I remember overhearing Virginia talking on the phone. My heart dropped. A group of hikers found a body in a ravine just off of Hollywood Hills. Police arrive at the scene, finding the body of a young woman. I got down there and got closer and closer, I could see that there was a female, it was a white

female. Her hands were tied behind her back. I could see that she was wearing a white blouse, and then that's when I went one step further to see if the tattoo was there, and it was. And that's when I concluded that this was, in fact, Christy Johnson. After weeks of searching for Christy, everyone's worst fears are confirmed. Now, police have to tell her family the heartbreaking news. He said that Christy was no longer with us.

And I told him, I said, I told him I appreciated the fact that they found Christy. And I said, treat her with dignity. This is Euphoria Calvin Klein, the new Elixir Collection, featuring three perfume intense scents, inspired by a unique orchid accord paired with vanilla, each with its own distinct attitude, each with its own universe, bold elixir, sensual, woody, addictive, magnetic, Slixtor, sweet and romantic like a lingering touch. Solar elixir, a radiant expression of joy, ultra-concentrated for amplified impact and lasting power.

Find your euphoria. Discover the euphoria elixir collection by Calvin Klein. Her family is devastated. Autopsy results show Christy's cause of death with strangulation. Investigators determine she was murdered, and now police have to turn to bringing her killer to justice. But even after finding her body, it doesn't seem like they're any closer to proving

who did this to her. There was no forensic evidence. We found no fiber. We didn't find any hair. There were no eyewitnesses. There was nothing. We had found Christy. The case was not anywhere close to being over.

With multiple reports against Victor Paleologus and identifications of him in a lineup, police are able to charge him with Christy's murder. But with no DNA evidence, prosecutors will have to build a circumstantial case against him. The trial starts on July 13th. 2006, Paleologous' history as a serial predator comes to light, thanks to his past victims, whose testimonies could be the key to bringing him to justice.

Kathy DiBuono takes the stand to tell her story. In 1999, four years before Christy went missing, Kathy was approached by a man at the same mall. He claimed his name was Brian, and that he worked for Disney. He told her about a new James Bond movie he was working on, that she would be perfect for. Kathy knew that Disney didn't make the James Bond movies, and she asked the man for a business card before she left. My agent called Brian at Disney's office and left him a voicemail about this. He called her back pretty quickly and said,

tell your client not to go to this meeting that was not me. I did not meet her at a mall. I did not give her a business card, and someone is lying to her. Kathy called her father, who was a detective in New York. He too warned her against meeting with the man, again. So I had the information. I was already confirmed that this was a load of BS. The other thing that I had inside me was I couldn't let go that he was going to do something bad. He hadn't committed a crime yet, and the police couldn't help Kathy. She knew the man could be dangerous, but she decided to go

anyway, hoping to stop him from hurting anyone else. She brought a friend who's a stuntman to go with her for safety, but the man who invited her never showed up. Until this day, I will never forgive her. myself for not having my stuntman friend lie down in the back seat of the car. That was the end of my story. But I imagine he was waiting from whatever place, from whatever home with his binoculars or whatever it was, saw that I had a man with me in the car, and that was the end of that. Kathy didn't have the chance to take him down herself in 1999, but when she saw Victor Pahlia Logis' picture on TV, four years later in connection to Christie's case,

she knew it was the same man who approached her, and she could testify to fight for justice. Another survivor, Heather Mayer, tells the court about when Paleologus attempted to rape her in 1998. He was caught and pleaded guilty. But after serving three years and five months, he was led out on parole on January 20, 2003, less than a month before Christy went missing. And just four days after he was let out on parole, he targeted Susan Murphy. She takes the stand to testify against Paleologis, facing him again to help bring closure to Christy's family. truly believed I was staring into the face of evil. Anyone who's not going to tell you, my voice, I was shaking.

And then looking at her families, that broke my heart. And I kept thinking about, what if that was my dad sitting out there? You never get over something like this. There's an innocence that is absolutely gone. January 24, 2003, Susan Murphy explains that she was at the Century City Mall, the same place Christy was at just hours before she went missing. A man approached Susan, introducing himself. as Victor Thomas.

He said, I know this sounds ridiculous, but, you know, I'm a director of photography, and we're casting for the new James Bond movie. And he said, there's a certain look we're going for, and you'd be great for this. He'd be perfect. He started naming out a bunch of legitimate directors and photographers and costume designers. I guess he seemed plausible. The man invited Susan to an audition the next day. Even though he seemed to know a lot about the industry,

she noticed that something felt off about his invitation. After she left, Susan called the Screen Actor's Guild to ask if there was a new James Bond movie in production, and they said no. She knew the man was lying to her, and she wasn't sure what he was going to do if she met him again. But she decided to go anyway, hoping she could put a stop to whatever he was planning. I'm on to something here. Something's going on. I'm going to show up tomorrow. I'm fully aware that I'll probably be thrown into a van or something, but I'm going to be there. The next day, Susan brought Mace and a camera with her, and her boyfriend Tony watched from the car as she went to,

to meet the man again. When they started talking, he asked her if she wanted to get a drink across the street before the audition, but the building he was pointing at looked abandoned. I said, well, first of all, I'm not going anywhere with you. I need some identification. And he said, oh, I don't have any identification. And at that point, I said, well, maybe this will help you find it. Susan pointed towards the car where her boyfriend was waiting. As soon as the man realized that she didn't come alone, he immediately changed his act. When Victor saw Tony, because Tony's big guy, he's a second-degree black belt. Victor was like, you know what, you are so not right for his part at all, and I'm done.

The man started to run away, but Susan wanted to stop him before he tried to hurt someone else. She got in the car with Tony, and they chased after him. They quickly found him hiding in the bushes around the corner. Then Tony stops the car, he gets out and he starts frisking him. I could see this guy was practically in tears, but then the guy broke free, and then he ran through traffic on Santa Monica Boulevard. Even though Susan wasn't hurt, she thought the man would try to trick another young woman, and she had no idea what he was capable of.

He didn't commit a crime when he met her, so there was nothing the police could do at the time. Less than a month later, Christie went missing. Now, Susan's story helped show the clear pattern of Victor Paleologis' actions. In total, seven women testified against him, bravely facing the man who targeted them and has repeatedly escaped justice. Pileologus kept using similar schemes. He told the women to buy the same clothes, and he used the promise of a career-making audition to lure in his victims, praying on their dreams for their big break in Hollywood.

There was a complete lack of scientific evidence, but they did have a very strong circumstantial case, and what they had was the parade of women. One after one we testified, one after one we didn't know that there were the others. When I looked at Christy's parents sitting in the back of the courtroom and her father gave me the thumbs up to keep going. It made me stronger and I wanted to fight for her. That could have been me. I was very impressed by the courage of these prior victims have come forward. Their stories were powerful and the similarities among all the victims and Christie were striking. Together, the women's stories are crucial for building a strong case, but without any DNA evidence,

they're still not sure if it will be enough to convict him. I definitely think this is a very clear example of somebody who has abused our system over a long period of time. It's not about a naive young female. It's about a repeat predator offender. We're talking about an evil person, and somewhere along his life he needed to be stopped. And unfortunately, Christy was the stopping point. With the circumstantial evidence building up against him, Victor Pelliologis accepts a plea deal to avoid the death penalty. But afterwards, he makes a shocking decision. He writes an 11-page letter to the court, asking to withdraw his guilty plea.

I'm going to deny the motion, Mr. Paleologos. The law states very clearly a plea may not be withdrawn simply because the defendant has changed his mind. On September 15, 2006, Victor Paleologus is sentenced to 25 years to life for the murder of Christine Johnson. The reason that we're here is because of Mr. Paleologous, Peleogas. And there is a reason why this happened.

Only God knows. And I can't find an answer for that. Victor Peliogas has been allowed the freedom to let the evil in his life escalate, resulting in the heinous murder of Christy, my beloved young daughter, a beautiful young woman on the threshold of her life. Because the women recognize the similarities between Christy's story and their own, and because of the strength they had to come forward. Together, they're able to stop a serial predator

who's been targeting young women in Hollywood for over a decade. And even though they didn't know her personally, Christy's impact can be seen through the women who helped put her killer in jail. It could have been me, and there was a part of me that felt very close to Christy because of that. Like, I never knew her, but a part of me feels like I do in some strange way.

They helped bring answers and closure for Christy's family, who continues to honor her memory every day. And today, the women are advocates for other victims and survivors of sexual assault. They want people to know how much of an impact they can have by coming forward, that every story matters, and every story can help in the fight for justice. I want women and victims and survivors of all genders to realize there's nothing to be ashamed of. You are not going to just be a victim for the rest of your life. What you can be is completely powerful. Every night, I go outside, whether it's 10 degrees below zero, snowing, I go out and say, good night, Christy.

I love you.