> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Accused killer takes deal - URL: https://www.smdp.com/accused-killer-takes-deal/ - Published: 2006-07-27T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T19:06:01.000Z - Author: Carolyn Sackariason - Tags: Crime, Downtown, #archive-import *9 Victim’s family welcomes plea* DOWNTOWN LA — Two weeks into his capital murder trial, Victor Paleologus, the ex-convict charged with luring and then killing a Santa Monica woman three years ago, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to her murder. As part of a plea bargain, the 44-year-old Paleologus escaped the death penalty and will be eligible for parole in 20-plus years. Paleologus, a three-strike felon, is expected to be sentenced to between 25 years and life in state prison for killing 21-year-old Kristine Johnson. Prosecutor David Walgren and Paleologus’ defense attorney, Andrew Flier, last week briefly discussed a deal that would dismiss the possibility of being put to death if Paleologus admitted to first-degree murder. On Wednesday, he admitted that he met Johnson at the Century City Mall on Feb. 15 of 2003, the day she went missing. He also publicly accepted responsibility for her death. “It’s unbelievable,” said Johnson’s father, Kirk Johnson, who was present in the courtroom on Wednesday. “It’s totally unexpected. Justice was served.” Terry Wark, Johnson’s mother who lives in Los Gatos, Calif., is grateful that Paleologus’ admission will spare her and her family from several more days of testimony that would have outlined the agonizing details of her only daughter’s violent death. “It’s been really satisfactory because we have this concluded,” Wark said on Wednesday. “He will spend his remaining life in jail.... “It doesn’t make me feel any better about my loss at all but at least content in knowing the system works, but that’s about it.” Wark pointed to Walgren’s stellar presentation of the case to the jury, and weakening Flier’s defense, as reasons why Paleologus agreed to the deal. “I just wanted, whatever was imposed, he would be locked up, away from society,” she said.“There is no rehabilitation for that man.” Kirk Johnson, who lives in Michigan and has been present every day during the trial, said Wednesday provided closure for him in what has been an emotional nightmare. “Victor Paleologus got a deal, the deal is he’s gone,” he said. “Now, I can go back on a plane to Michigan and live my life.” Kristine Johnson disappeared in February 2003 after telling her roommates she was going to a photo shoot in Beverly Hills to meet a man she had met earlier in the day at the Century City Mall. She was found dead on March 3 of that year. Johnson’s autopsy reveals that she was sexually assaulted and died of strangulation, as well as blunt force trauma and other contusions. Close to a dozen women testified against Paleologus, alleging he tried to lure them by posing as a publicity photographer for a James Bond movie, or an industry executive. In most cases, Paleologus asked that the women show up to the photo shoots wearing provocative clothing, including black high heel stiletto pumps, a short black mini skirt and nylons. That clothing was consistent with what Johnson was wearing when she was found dead. She was found partially covered by a sleeping bag, her hands and feet bound by shoelaces, her face badly decomposed. It is believed she was killed several weeks before her body was discovered. Acting on hundreds of tips from a composite sketch broadcast through the media, police suspected Paleologus of being responsible for Johnson’s disappearance before her body was found. Two days after her disappearance, Paleologus was arrested by Beverly Hills police after he stole a BMW off a car dealership lot. He apparently tried to purchase the car after submitting false information on a credit report. When questioned by a sales representative, he drove the BMW off the lot and led Beverly H.ills police on a chase. He drove to the Beverly Center parking garage, where he got out of the car and ran down Third Street and into the kitchen of a sushi restaurant, where he was apprehended, according to court testimony. He was taken to Los Angeles Men’s Central Jail at the Twin Towers facility, where he has remained ever since. During the trial, Walgren and his prosecution team portrayed Paleologus as a calculating killer with a long history of luring attractive young women by claiming to be a Hollywood player with connections in the film industry. In his opening statement,Walgren told the jury that Paleologus approached at least seven women over a 12-year period and asked them to audition for a minor, but very lucrative role in an upcoming James Bond film. Flier painted a very different picture of Paleologus, telling jurors that his client may be a thief who lied to pick up women, but he was definitely not a killer. Flier said he believed Paleologus when he told him he was innocent. Flier also said he had a fair shot of casting a shadow of doubt since the prosecution’s case was built entirely of circumstantial evidence. No physical evidence was ever recovered. Paleologus has been convicted of several crimes since 1998, ranging from grand theft to burglary to assault. He was released from state prison on Jan. 20, 2003, just three weeks before Johnson’s disappearance. Paleologus received three years probation after a jury deadlocked on charges against him in 1991 for attempted rape, assault and false imprisonment. In that case, he allegedly lured a woman into a hotel room after telling her she would meet famous people, including Madonna, then allegedly tied the woman to a hotel bed and attempted to rape her, but she managed to escape. Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry on Wednesday excused the jury comprised of 10 men and two women. The trial was in its second week and was expected to last one month. As for Kirk Johnson, he planned to be there for every gruesome and emotional detail of his daughter’s death. “I didn’t want him to turn around and see an empty courtroom,” he said. “I wanted him to see that there were people who cared about Kristi.” Wark said she will attend the September hearing, when she will have the opportunity to speak directly to Paleologus. “I will express the impact of such a heinous crime to Victor and how it has impacted so many lives,” she said. (Daily Press staff writer Kevin Herrera contributed to the reporting of this article.) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 27, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/072706.pdf?ref=smdp.com)