Aspiring actress murdered after being lured with fake Bond Girl promise

Aspiring actress Kristine Johnson was supposed to be auditioning for the role of a lifetime: A shot at being a Bond girl in a new "007" movie - reports Court TV.

The tall, blond, 21-year-old college student modeled her outfit — a miniskirt, nylons, high heels and collared blouse — for her roommate. She told friends she had an appointment in Beverly Hills to meet a photographer with Hollywood connections.

But there was no audition. Johnson never came home.

Her strangled and bruised body was found 16 days later, on March 3, 2003, in a ravine in the Hollywood Hills. A hibiscus tattoo on her back positively identified her.

More than three years later, a six-time convicted felon named Victor Paleologus, the man who is accused of luring Johnson with the promise of stardom, will stand trial for her brutal murder.

Jury selection is currently under way in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom, where the former restaurant co-owner has pleaded not guilty to seven counts, including murder, unlawful use of personal identity, burglary, and grand theft auto.

Under California's 1994 Three Strikes Law, Paleologus faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted. Prosecutors are asking for the death penalty, and allege a special circumstance of lying in wait.

Paleologus' defense attorney says there is no evidence — no DNA, blood or hair — linking Paleologus to Johnson's killing.

And while prosecutors admit they lack direct evidence, the circumstantial evidence is powerful. Eight women with similar near-miss stories are expected to testify against Paleologus.

He allegedly used the same ploy, unsuccessfully, on at least three women in the days before he allegedly lured Johnson. They are expected to testify that he promised them film roles, and requested that they wear audition clothing similar to what Johnson wore.

Prosecutors say Paleologus is a predator who has never worked in the entertainment industry.

His defense attorney, Andrew Flier, has told reporters that Paleologus is absolutely innocent and took plea bargains in the past for convictions that now haunt him.

Flier says his client will likely testify in his own defense and tell jurors that while he may have made mistakes, he is not a murderer.

Kristi Johnson, a churchgoing Michigan native, moved to California after graduating from high school to pursue her dream of a career in the entertainment industry.

Her murder was a horrific wake-up call to young Hollywood hopefuls who struggle to get their names and faces in front of star-makers — casting directors, agents, and other insiders who hold the dubious allure of being able to make or break film careers.

Her father has told reporters that Johnson had talent, but was still trying to get experience, and she may have been too trusting.

"She always gave people the benefit of the doubt, and that scared me," Kirk Johnson told People magazine.

It was a Saturday afternoon in 2003, the day after Valentine's Day, when Johnson modeled her audition clothes for a roommate. According to authorities, she told friends she was meeting a photographer who recently approached her at the Century City Shopping Center about a role in the next James Bond film.

He said they were looking for fresh faces, that she was a shoo-in for the part. He told her what to wear.

Johnson put her regular clothes back on, packed up her audition clothes, and drove her white Mazda Miata toward the winding, sycamore-shaded hills of Laurel Canyon.

She got lost along the way, and stopped near Wonderland Avenue to ask a man for directions.

And then she disappeared.

Johnson's family flew to Los Angeles to join the intensive search effort. Strangers gathered at candlelight vigils in her honor. Her face was plastered on posters, and her name was on the lips of news reporters across the country.

On Feb. 27, Johnson's 22nd birthday came and went. The only sign of her was her white sports car, discovered in the parking lot of the St. Regis Hotel in Century City on Feb. 24. A valet had parked it on Feb. 16.

On March 3, almost three weeks after Johnson vanished, hikers discovered her body in a ravine in the Hollywood Hills. Her ankles and wrists were bound with shoelaces. She was covered by a sleeping bag.

Her autopsy revealed that she suffered sexual assault, blunt-force trauma and had died of strangulation, according to a report in the Santa Monica Daily Press.

Police already had their number-one suspect in custody.

Paleologus was arrested on Feb. 17, 2003 — two days after Johnson's disappearance — for allegedly stealing a BMW from a Beverly Hills dealership.

His arrest triggered a parole violation: He had recently been released from state prison after pleading guilty on a 1998 assault to commit rape charge.

Prosecutors expect to present evidence to jurors about two of the defendant's six felony convictions, but will not comment on the details.

The details, according to reports in the Los Angeles Times, point to a history of violence toward women.

In 1989, Paleologus told a 21-year-old model that he worked for Columbia Records and invited her to a party at L.A.'s Bonaventure hotel, dangling the promise of meeting celebrities. Instead of a party, she was allegedly tied to the bed and attacked.

The woman escaped, and Paleologus was charged with attempted rape, assault and false imprisonment. When the jury deadlocked in 1991, he pleaded guilty to false imprisonment by violence and received three years' probation.

In 1995, he was charged with breaking into the home of a woman he knew and holding her against her will. He pleaded guilty to burglary and received five years' probation.

Then, in 1998, he was charged with the attempted rape of a 24-year-old woman who claimed he lured her with the promise of a role in a James Bond movie. He took another plea bargain: guilty to assault to commit rape and was sentenced to state prison.

He served three and a half years, and was paroled on Jan. 20, 2003. Johnson disappeared a month later.

Paleologus is being held without bail and has been in custody since his Feb. 17 arrest for the alleged BMW theft.

Opening statements in his capital murder trial may begin as early as Thursday.

Prosecutors expect the trial to last about four weeks.

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