> ## 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. # Convicted felon charged with murder of Kristine Johnson - URL: https://www.smdp.com/convicted-felon-charged-with-murder-of-kristine-johnson/ - Published: 2003-05-13T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T02:08:10.000Z - Author: Carolyn Sackariason - Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Suspect has a long criminal history* Capital murder charges have been filed against a convicted felon for the murder and attempted rape of a Santa Monica woman found dead in the Hollywood Hills in March. Victor Lawrence Paleologus, 40, was charged by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office on Monday for allegedly killing Kristine Johnson, a 21-year-old Santa Monica College student, in February. The criminal complaint against Paleologus alleges he killed Johnson on or about Feb. 15, the day she disappeared. It alleges two special circumstances — lying in wait and murder during commission of an attempted rape. The DA’s Office won’t determine whether to seek the death penalty against Paleologus until he is ordered to stand trial. Paleologus is currently in custody in Los Angeles County Jail for allegedly stealing a car from a Beverly Hills BMW dealership under a stolen identity. Paleologus has no bail. Paleologus, described as a predator and a smooth talker by authorities, has a long criminal history of luring and victimizing young, attractive women by claiming to be a photographer in the entertainment industry, police said. He has had six prior convictions dating back to 1998 on various felony counts including false impersonation and making a false financial statement, stealing or possessing the carcass of an animal, battery against a law enforcement officer, burglary, and assault and battery with the intent to commit rape, oral copulation or sodomy. Paleologus was reportedly released from state prison on Jan. 20, just days before he tried to lure a woman into his clutches in West Hollywood by posing as a publicity photographer for a specific film title that he’s used as his ruse multiple times, police said. The woman in the West Hollywood incident, suspicious of his behavior and aggressiveness, was able to escape. In one instance that led to a prior conviction, Paleologus allegedly used the exact same film title to lure his victim as he did with Johnson and the woman in the West Hollywood incident. On Feb. 15, Johnson didn’t return to her 29th Street apartment in Santa Monica after she told her roommates she was going to Beverly Hills to audition for a man claiming to be a photographer she met while shopping at the Century City Mall earlier. Johnson was found by hikers on March 3, her body partially clothed, wrists bound and covered in a sleeping bag on a steep hillside off of Skyline Drive, a remote neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills. Police learned more than a week after Johnson disappeared that her white 1996 Mazda Miata had been valet parked Feb. 16 at the St. Regis Hotel in Century City. Paleologus was identified as the person who allegedly dropped off the vehicle, based on a composite sketch released by police. At about the same time, police served 10 search warrants at various locations throughout Los Angeles. Authorities have only confirmed searches of Paleologus’ West Hollywood residence and a home on Skyline Drive — two properties away from where Johnson’s body was found dumped in a ravine in Laurel Canyon. Police reportedly searched several vacant homes in the Hollywood Hills that Paleologus may have allegedly toured with a realtor shortly before Johnson disappeared, said a source familiar with the properties. Santa Monica police, who led the investigation, had been awaiting results from the Los Angeles County Crime Lab on evidence recovered from those properties, as well as evidence recovered from Johnson’s car, before presenting the case to the DA. The two-story Spanish style home on Skyline Drive, most recently occupied by actor Lawrence Fishburne, could be of interest since it is so close to where Johnson’s body was found. The neighborhood is remote and the location of where her body was dumped can’t be accessed without entering private property. An access road at the top of the canyon is blocked with a 10-foot-tall fence and private homes are at the bottom of the ravine. Her body was found in the brush abutting people’s backyards. How Johnson died has yet to be determined by the Los Angeles County Coroner, which has deferred the autopsy for toxicology testing. Results are expected in the next month. Paleologus has been in custody since Feb. 17 when he was arrested in Beverly Hills for suspicion of auto theft, violating parole and resisting arrest. In addition to the murder charge filed on Monday, the DA’s Office consolidated the charges against Paleologus relating to the Beverly Hills theft case. The Beverly Hills case is expected to be dismissed so all of the charges against Paleologus can be tried together, said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the DA’s Office. Paleologus also is charged with one count each of identity theft, filing a false financial statement, burglary, grand theft auto, forgery and receiving stolen property. The criminal complaint alleges Paleologus stole the identity of a man, used his name, social security number, business address and name without his consent to purchase a BMW two days after Johnson disappeared. Paleologus also is accused of allegedly possessing a stolen credit card when he was arrested. Paleologus is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 13, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/051303.pdf?ref=smdp.com)