Attempted Rape Victim Testifies in Murder Case

describing an episode in which Paleologus exploded in anger after having to a pay a $20 parking ticket. "He was loud and very angry," Walter told Deputy Dist. Atty. David Walgren.

Defense attorney Andrew Flier challenged Walker about why she continued to meet with a man who made her fear for her safety, repeatedly questioning her about whether she was dating the defendant. Walker denied the accusation, stating that she had a boyfriend at the time whom Paleologus knew about, and said her hope of landing the audition led her to continue meeting with the suspect.

When Walter saw a photograph of Johnson on the television news with a sketch of a suspect that resembled Paleologus more than a month after she stopped speaking with him, she didn't call the police. "I did nothing," she testified. "I just avoided it. I didn't want to realize that this person was the same person I knew." Walker, who contends that she is embarrassed at how "stupid and naive" she was for believing Paleologus, contacted the police Mar. 7, 2003 to report her experiences with the suspect.

Testimony continued with Heather Maher, whom Paleologus solicited outside of Skybar on Aug. 28, 1998, telling her she had great legs and was perfect for publicity photos for a James Bond movie. Maher, who was attending fashion school in Los Angeles at the time, met the defendant for the "audition" at the Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey. She came alone because he insisted it was a closed set. When she arrived, he handed her paperwork that stated she would earn $80,000-100,000 for the work. Paleologus asked Maher to pose seductively with her legs crossed and ankles close together, telling her it was important she keep them tight.

"It seemed strange to me," she testified. "[But] I wasn't familiar with how things worked in that industry."

Paleologus asked Maher to drive with him to a Brentwood location on San Vicente Blvd. to meet the casting director. She took the precaution of driving alone in her car because she "didn't know him." She met the defendant outside of what appeared to be a commercial property with movie posters. Inside she found an empty room with a commercial kitchen, not realizing the property was the former Cafe Milano, where Paleologus had worked before it closed.

The suspect encouraged Maher, who was 24 at the time, to pose seductively again, stressing the importance of keeping her ankles together. He had her sit on the floor with her legs stretched before her and crossed. He leaned over her, pressing her ankles tightly together again. He then pulled a nylon cord from seemingly out of nowhere and tied it tightly around her ankles. Maher yelled at Paleologus, struggling to remove the cord. "He pulled me down on the floor," she testified. Paleologus then removed his necktie and slipped it around Maher's left wrist, struggling to tie her hands together. She hit him repeatedly with her right hand, screaming for help, as Paleologus brought the necktie "down with both hands" over her neck. Maher managed to shove her hand between the tie and her neck and push it away.

The defendant then lifted Maher's skirt and pulled down her nylons. "He tried to pull down my underwear. I heard metal like he was loosening his belt," she testified. At this point, Maher managed to loosen the ligature around her feet and pull her legs free. She escaped Paleologus's grasp and lifted her stiletto as a weapon, keeping distance between herself and her attacker. He blocked the door and told her she would never leave and that since he first saw her, he couldn't control himself. She noticed the door he blocked had a metal bar release like many commercial doors. Maher fought Paleologus at the door, and managed to duck beneath his arm and race from the building barefoot to her car a block away. She reported the incident to the police and identified Paleologus in a line-up. He was convicted of attempted rape on June 24, 1999.

Flier questioned Maher about her testimony that her attacker had brown eyes unlike Paleologus's blue. Maher asserted that she was more focused on the anger in his eyes than their color. Flier also questioned her about her testimony that she encountered no civilians during the walk to her car and why it took her two hours to reach the police station after the crime. Maher said because the attack occured at nine a.m. on a Sunday morning, the neighborhood was empty. She accounted for two hours by saying that she drove from Brentwood to the West Hollywood police station where she was redirected to the West L.A. police station to file a report.

Jurors also heard testimony from Beverly Hills police officer Jeffrey Allan Gelfman regarding his Feb. 17, 2003 arrest of Paleologus near the Beverly Center. Gelfman apprehended the suspect after receiving a report he was seen in a stolen BMW. In Paleologus's wallet, Gelfman found fake driver's licenses, stolen credit cards and checks.

Wendall Winfrey, an employee of Del Rey Auto in Marina del Rey, testified that his company repossessed a Mercury Sable leased to Paleologus in 1999 and found a duffel bag containing high heel shoes, pantyhose, neckties, rope and a dildo among other items that Paleologus later retrieved.

Prosecutor Walgren used the testimony of Walker, Maher, Gelfman and Winfrey to establish Paleologus's past criminal behavior and capacity for violence, highlighting that Maher and Walker both were asked by the defendant to wear the same outfit found on Johnson when her body was discovered in the Hollywood Hills weeks after her disappearance on Feb. 15, 2003—a button-down white shirt, black mini-skirt, nylons and black high heels.

The prosecution has not yet produced any physical evidence linking Paleologus to Johnson. Flier reportedly said in his opening statement last week that none exists and that his client is innocent.