> ## 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. # Paleologus gets 25 to life - URL: https://www.smdp.com/paleologus-gets-25-to-life/ - Published: 2006-09-16T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T21:24:52.000Z - Author: Kevin Herrera - Tags: Crime, Downtown, #archive-import *Man who murdered 21-year-old Santa Monica woman shows no emotion* DOWNTOWN LA — An ex-con who pretended to be a producer working on a James Bond film so he could lure young women and rape them was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Friday for the murder of Kristi Johnson, a 21-year-old Santa Monica woman whose body was found three years ago at the bottom of a ravine in the Hollywood Hills. Dressed in an orange jumpsuit, his hair closely cropped, Victor Paleologus sat motionless with his head down as a Los Angeles Superior Court judge rejected a request to rescind his guilty plea and represent himself in another trial. In an 11-page letter, Paleologus, 44, said his attorney, Andrew Flier, pressured him into accepting a deal in the middle of trial. The deal spared him the death penalty. Paleologus will not be eligible for parole until 2031\. The plea agreement also prohibits Paleologus from appealing his conviction. Family members of Johnson, along with prosecutor David Walgren, said Paleologus’ request was a “desperate attempt by a desperate man,”who tried to use the criminal justice system to his advantage while never showing any remorse for the crime he committed. “I expected him to try something like that,”Walgren said during a press conference following the sentencing hearing. “I’m not surprised by it, nor the court’s ruling … He’s a liar, a manipulator and a murderer. That’s what he is.” During the sentencing hearing, Johnson’s parents were allowed to address Paleologus, at which time they expressed their anger and disgust with him, as well as the sadness they feel knowing that they will never get to see their daughter again. “Today is the day that Mr. Paleologus will have to stand up and take responsibility for what he’s done,” said Kirk Johnson, who fought back tears as he held up the last Father’s Day card he received from his “guardian angel” Kristi, which contained her picture surrounded by hearts and balloons. “For the last three and half years I have struggled with my emotions. I have tried not to live the rest of my life with anger and hatred for Mr. Paleologus. I have asked for salvation and I ask God to have mercy on his soul.” Terry Hall, Johnson’s mother, said she will forever be haunted by thoughts about her daughter’s final minutes, wondering if she fought back, whether the pain lasted long and whether or not she was still alive when she was thrown down a steep hill in a sleeping bag. “The nightmare remains of the entrapment, bondage, torture and murder of Kristi,” Hall said. “What pain and terror she felt will remain in my mind.” During the July trial, which lasted a little more than a week, Walgren told a jury comprised of 10 men and two women 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. There was no film. The offer was merely a ruse so that Paleologus could get the women alone, rape them and kill them, Walgren said. The act almost worked on several occasions, but the women were able to fight their way free from his clutches, all except for Johnson, a trusting Michigan transplant who was attending Santa Monica College with dreams of becoming a professional make-up artist when she went missing in February and was discovered dead in March of 2003, Walgren said. She was found partially covered by a sleeping bag, her hands and feet bound by shoe laces, her face badly decomposed. It is believed she was killed weeks before her body was discovered. Her disappearance gained national attention as Hall pleaded publicly for her daughter’s safe return. Johnson told one of her roommates that she had been approached by a movie executive at Century City on Feb. 15, who offered her an audition. She left that afternoon to meet the man and was never heard from again. Paleologus was charged with Johnson’s murder, which carried the special circumstances of lying in wait. He also was charged with using another man’s identification to purchase a BMW from a Beverly Hills car dealership, a car which he was accused of stealing from the lot after allegedly submitting false information on a credit report. Paleologus was originally arrested Feb. 17, 2003, two days after Johnson’s disappearance, on charges of grand theft auto. He was held without bail. In court papers filed shortly after he was taken into custody, prosecutors said Paleologus had previously been convicted of a half-dozen crimes, including assault with intent to commit rape. During trial, a former girlfriend testified that Paleologus climbed into her guest bedroom and tried to strangle her. Others testified that he approached them claiming to work for Disney and asked them to show up at auditions wearing a short black mini skirt and high-heeled stilettos, the same outfit Johnson was wearing when her body was discovered. 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 denied charges that he pressured Paleologus to plead, saying that his client was going to receive his “third-strike” and would have received 25 to life even if acquitted of the murder charges, given the fact that he had admitted to stealing the BMW. Some questioned the move by Walgren to accept a plea because it didn’t include the death penalty. Observers in the courtroom felt Walgren’s case was strong even though there was no physical evidence linking Paleologus to the murder. Walgren said he had no regrets because the goal was always to “take him off the streets forever.” After speaking with family members, Walgren said they were all in agreement and he accepted the plea offered by Paleologus’ defense. Walgren said he has seen no signs of remorse from Paleologus, whom he described as a predator. With the legal proceedings behind them, Johnson’s parents said they can move on to the next phase of their lives, which will include testifying at Paleologus’ parole hearing in 25 years. “If I am still alive, I will be there,” Hall said. “I’m pleased that this has come to an end … (but) I will live with the loss of Kristi for the rest of my life … She was a gift to me, a gift to her father, her brother … and anyone who briefly new her. She brought sunshine and life to everyone she touched … I am relieved that this has come to an end … (but) the loss I feel will never go away. I will live with it for the rest of my life.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 16, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/091606.pdf?ref=smdp.com)