When a Santa Monica woman disappeared in February, the media slowly began to pick up on the story. Kristi Johnson, a 21-year-old Santa Monica College student, had left her 29th Street apartment on Feb. 15. She said she was going to a mall to meet a man who claimed to be a photographer. The man wanted to take publicity shots for an upcoming James Bond film. Johnson never came home.
More than a week into the missing person’s case, the national media picked up on the story, and Johnson’s mother, Terry Wark, did countless interviews with the hope of finding her only daughter. The Today Show, Good Morning America, FOX News, and a host of other network and cable television programs showed Johnson’s face across the country.
As Santa Monica Police detectives began to investigate Johnson’s disappearance, they realized it would likely turn into a homicide case. The circumstances around her disappearance were an all-too familiar ruse used by a man whom they describe as a known predator of young women. On March 3, Johnson was found dead in the Hollywood Hills, her hands bound and her body covered in a blue sleeping bag at the bottom of a ravine.
Police picked up her accused killer, Victor Paleologus, just two days after he allegedly killed Johnson when he tried to allegedly steal a car from a BMW dealership in Beverly Hills. Paleologus, 41, is charged with capital murder in the killing of Johnson, as well as six counts relating to the Beverly Hills case including identity theft, filing a false financial statement, burglary, grand theft auto, forgery and receiving stolen property.
When a composite sketch was released during the search for Johnson, hundreds of calls came into the SMPD tipline, which led police to Paleologus. SMPD detectives identified Paleologus as the suspect in Johnson’s disappearance based on the women’s stories and gathered evidence linking him to the crime. Most of the women recognized Paleologus from the composite sketch, and others identified him from his picture.
Police testified against Paleologus during a preliminary trial in June that laid out evidence that the prosecution says links him to the events leading up to Johnson’s disappearance. The evidence also establishes a pattern of Paleologus luring at least seven other women by posing as a publicity photographer for a James Bond movie or as 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 is consistent with what Johnson was wearing when her body was found.
Paleologus, who had been released from state prison just three weeks before Johnson’s disappearance, has been convicted of six felonies since 1998 ranging from grand theft to burglary to assault. Paleologus got three years probation after a jury deadlocked on charges against him in 1991 for attempted rape, assault and false imprisonment. He allegedly lured a woman into a hotel room after telling her she would meet famous people including Madonna at a party for record executives. Paleologus then allegedly tied the woman to a hotel bed and attempted to rape her, but she was able to escape.
Paleologus, who has retained a high-profile defense attorney, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His trial is expected to begin next spring.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 31, 2003. Read the original PDF.