Victor Paleologus posed as a Hollywood hotshot. Then he was charged with murder

Victor Paleologus has often presented himself as a well-connected figure in the Southern California entertainment industry — a record label executive, a movie producer, someone with ties to the James Bond franchise.

In reality, he was a failed restaurateur and “master manipulator” who falsified those credentials and, from 1989 to 2003, lured nine women into vulnerable and sometimes terrifying situations, prosecutors claimed at the time. Some women said they were being suffocated. Others said they were tied up. Four accused Palaiologus of trying to rape them.

Paleologus, 61, pleaded guilty to reduced charges in two of the cases and was found guilty of assault with intent to commit rape in a third. Then, in 2006, he pleaded guilty to the murder of 21-year-old Kristi Johnson and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Five of the women who said they survived encounters with Palaiologos testified at his murder trial.

To hear more of the latest in the case featured on the “Murder in the Hollywood Hills” podcast, tune in to “Dateline” at 9 ET/8 CT tonight.

Although he pleaded guilty, Paleologus continued to maintain his innocence, saying he never forced himself on anyone or posed as an entertainment character.

As the years passed with Paleologus behind bars, one of the women who crossed his path, Cathy DeBuono, believed he might eventually become eligible for parole. So she launched an improbable, wide-ranging effort to see if the man she had long considered a serial predator had changed.

DeBuono’s efforts, first reported by “Dateline,” may have answered that question — and uncovered important details about Johnson’s murder. And that has left DeBuono and other survivors — as well as Johnson’s family — preparing for the day when Paleologus appears before the California Parole Board, where they can argue against his possible release. Paleologus is expected to appear before the panel next year.

red flags

DeBuono, 54, told “Dateline” that she met Paleologus a few years before Johnson’s murder, when he approached her at a mall near Beverly Hills. He wore an expensive suit, she said, and identified himself as “Brian,” a Radio Disney producer.

He seemed disarming and gentle, she recalled, and asked her if she would be interested in appearing on a James Bond poster.

At the time, DeBuono, an actor who later became a clinical psychologist, had a recurring role on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and was surprised by the amount of money he was offered for the job. But she continued to listen, she said, and told him to contact his agent. He told her an agent would slow down the process, DeBuono recalled.

“That was a big wake-up call for me,” she said. “So now I just take note of the red flags. And I wanted to continue talking to him, to find out: who was this guy? What is he talking about ?

At the time, DeBuono had no idea of ​​Paleologus’ “continuous crime spree” for more than a decade, as prosecutors described in sentencing documents for Johnson’s murder. In 1989, he was charged with attempted rape and assault of a woman in a hotel room after identifying himself as a Columbia Records executive and inviting her to a “Hollywood party,” documents show. .

“He was trying to kiss me, I pushed him away, then he attacked me,” Christine Kludjian told “Dateline.” “He grabbed me, he threw me on the bed, he tried to rip off my clothes and at that point he pulled ropes behind the headboard.”

Kludjian, then 21, said she tried to escape, but he took her back to the bed and began choking her. Kludjian said she managed to escape after biting him on the crotch.

Palaiologue maintained his innocence and took the matter to court. He was acquitted of the most serious charges – attempted rape and assault with intent to commit rape – and pleaded guilty to the remaining charge of false imprisonment.

The foreman of the jury in the case told “Dateline” that Paleologus, who received probation for the crime, did not look like a rapist. This conclusion prompted Kludjian to issue a warning.

“This guy has done this before. He’ll do it again and he’ll kill someone because he almost killed me,” she told “Dateline.”

In 1996, Paleologus was accused of breaking into the home of a woman he had briefly dated and rushing toward her with a ligature, according to sentencing documents. She pepper sprayed him and he fled, according to the documents.

Paleologus was taken into custody after a confrontation with authorities three weeks later, when he barricaded himself in a trailer with a young boy. The boy was unhurt. Paleologus, accused of criminal harassment, false imprisonment and burglary, pleaded guilty to the latter charge and was placed on probation.

Two years later, Paleologus was accused of approaching a woman at a Hollywood bar and introducing himself as a Disney producer looking for women to promote a new James Bond film. The woman agreed to wear a black miniskirt and black high heels for what he described as a “closed” audition. the documents say.

During the alleged hearing, Palaiologue tied the woman’s ankles and attempted to strangle her with a tie, according to the documents. As he attempted to remove her underwear, documents state, she ran away and alerted police.

Palaiologos denied any wrongdoing, saying the meeting was the woman’s idea and that she was lying about the attack. He was convicted of assault with intent to commit rape.

But before he was sentenced, he approached DeBuono at the Century City mall.

A familiar situation

According to DeBuono, the man who she said identified himself as Brian told her there was a photo shoot in the Hollywood Hills and that he would drive it. DeBuono refused, she said, “and he handled it beautifully.” He was not offended. He didn’t miss a beat. »

They arranged for her to audition another time, DeBuono recalled, and he told her what to wear: a white men’s button-down shirt, a black miniskirt, black stilettos, stockings and a tie. He also told her where to meet, she said: a big house in the Hollywood Hills where she was to park across the street.

He would watch her from the inside, she remembers, and he would let her in when he arrived.

DeBuono didn’t bring the outfit — “I knew it was BS,” she said — but for safety reasons, she brought a burly friend who was a stuntman on “Star Trek.”

When they parked, DeBuono said, no one came out. They waited about 20 minutes and then left. DeBuono was disappointed but didn’t know what else to do, she said.

“I should just move on and hope no one falls for his ruse,” she said.

About four years later, in 2003, DeBuono learned of the connection between Paleologus and the murder of Kristi Johnson. In January of that year, he was released from prison. A few weeks later, on February 15, Johnson disappeared, and by March his body was discovered and he was charged with murder.

Authorities learned from Johnson’s roommate that Paleologus had introduced Johnson – who aspired to work in the film industry — about his appearance in a James Bond film, the Santa Monica police detective who investigated the case, Virginia Obenchain, told “Dateline.” Among the items he told her to bring to a supposed audition: black high heels, a miniskirt, a white shirt and sheer tights.

When DeBuono saw her image in the news in connection with the murder, she immediately called police and described her own similar experience. She testified at the murder trial about her own encounter with Palaiologos, as did several other women.

David Walgren, then an assistant Los Angeles County district attorney who prosecuted the case, said that because there was no forensic or direct evidence linking Paleologus to the murder, the women’s testimony was crucial.

“Without them, we probably wouldn’t have had a case,” he told “Dateline.”

Paleologus told “Dateline” that he had nothing to do with Johnson’s murder. The women who testified against him were irrelevant and had nothing to do with Johnson’s murder, said Paleologus’ defense attorney, Andy Flier.

After about two weeks of testimony, both sides announced that Paleologus had agreed to plead guilty to first-degree murder if prosecutors did not seek the death penalty. Shortly afterward, Paleologus attempted to withdraw, telling the judge in an 11-page letter that he had been deprived of sleep when he accepted the plea.

The judge denied his request and sentenced Paleologus to 25 years to life in prison. He told “Dateline” that he was not responsible for the death and only accepted his plea because he faced the death penalty.

Dig Deep

In 2013, seven years after Paleologus’ guilty plea, DeBuono was moving into a new house when a friend — an independent filmmaker — came across a book about the case and suggested he make a documentary about it.

DeBuono was intrigued. She always thought it was important for women to understand what she saw as the key element of the matter: “One at a time, we get lost in the shuffle, but if you think about the nature of a predator, for every predator, there are necessarily more of us,” she said.

DeBuono began interviewing other women who had encountered Paleologus, she said, and began looking to see if there were any unreported victims. One possibility was in suburban Philadelphia, where Paleologus had family ties and where, in 1988, the remains of a pregnant woman were found behind a…