CA CA - Christa Helm, 27, stabbed to death, West Hollywood, 12 Feb 1977

[Whocanitbenow]

Tonight I watched a 48hours show about Christa Helm and actress that was killed in 1977. Murdered in the street.

Anybody here do any research or find any information other than that was on the show?

Thanks!

 

[kline]

Tonight I watched a 48hours show about Christa Helm and actress that was killed in 1977. Murdered in the street.

Anybody here do any research or find any information other than that was on the show?

Thanks!

I believe her daughter has a website with quite a bit of info.
Interesting case.She was really involved with quite a few celebrities and had quite few aquaintences in the seedier side of L.A. in the entertainment industry.
Back in those coke fueled days of the mid to late 70's 'HollyWeird' truly lived up to its name I think one could truly consider her a high risk victim due to her lifestyle.
If you happen to have access to the box set of season One of Starsky and Hutch or have access to Youtube she had a bit part as a Drive in waitress in an episode entitled 'Silence'.
She waits on Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul who have to peel out in their Torino to answer a radio call leaving her holding their order.
Really attractive lady.

 

[Whocanitbenow]

She was indeed gorgeous. It was a crazy decade. Some people really got crazy. I did see enough to understand that one det. thought there was a link to Sal Mineo death and another has concerns about "Paulie Walnuts" don't remember his real name..

I just found it so fascinating all the players and the fact that no one has ever been charged.

Lots of twists.

 

[kline]

Yeah besides the fact it was a stabbing death and a loose time proximity Im not real convinced there was a link with Mineo's murder.
Of course considering some of the high powered Hollywood players she partied with and the Cocaine saturated millieu Christa inhabited I seem to remember their were rumours that she kept some sort of diary ala' Marilyn Monroe that might have provided a motive but who knows if that was true.
Christa was also reportedly quite bisexual and there was some speculation that her assailant may not have been a man ,the manner in which she was killed,up close stabbing, often suggests a very personal motive for a killer.
Given the time and the place and the police attitude of 'Too bad: live freaky die freaky' not to mention the Entertainment Biz influence in a very 'company' town im not surprised the investigation didnt get too far.
But at the end of the day someone got away with a very brutal murder it would be nice if there was some kind of resolution or answer but its probably unlikely barring a death bed confession.
Im sure there are probably quite a few folks who know what happened though.

 

[scriptgirl]

The funny thinng about it was that this was West hollywood, a place where women are not routinely attacked. I think Christa knew too much about someone and they wanted her gone.

 

[kline]

The funny thinng about it was that this was West hollywood, a place where women are not routinely attacked. I think Christa knew too much about someone and they wanted her gone.

Your right Scriptgirl.Ive never felt this was a random attack....I think she knew very well who killed her.

 

[scriptgirl]

I also think she knew why she was killed

 

[Sleuthdog]

What ever happened to the female DNA they found under Christa's nails? The 2008 cold case show I saw only ruled out 2 women. Anything more recent???? No updates????? Verify that the woman they tracked down and tested was NOT same person and find the right person to test against the DNA....???!!!
Come on now!
Frustrating! I feel for her daughter's frustration! ( Don't give up hope Nicole!)

 

[scriptgirl]

Seems like something is still being covered up.

 

[scriptgirl]

the new online crimeblog from lamag has this about Christa:
http://www.lamag.com/crimeinla

 

[STANDREID]

Was Lionel Williams, the killer of Sal Mineo, ever excluded?

 

[scriptgirl]

I thought no one knew who killed Sal.

 

[Bargle]

No, the case was solved a while back, though a long time after the murder. I'll see if I can find an online story about it. I don't trust my memory.

 

[Bargle]

I thought no one knew who killed Sal.

Here you go.
http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/celebrity/sal_mineo/6.html

 

[scriptgirl]

Thanks.

 

[CharlieGirlSays]

Thinking of Christa and her daughter today. 38 years ago today a beautiful, talented young woman was murdered. Why was she taken? This was a woman who wanted to be a star and she was on her way. I don't think Christa would jeopardize her dream by revealing Hollywood secrets. Let this be the year justice is found.

 

[scriptgirl]

I think Christa hung around some dangerous people and knew their secrets and that was what led to her demise.

 

[STANDREID]

the new online crimeblog from lamag has this about Christa:
http://www.lamag.com/crimeinla

The lamag article says that she taped her sexual encounters which, despite that we now all think video, would almost have to be audio tapes in the mid 70s. To my knowledge, the only video tape cameras back then were for commercial use and I don't see Christa having the means for that. Bob Crane taped his trysts a couple of years later but he had the means and connections to acquire commercial video equipment.

 

[Steph54]

I would like to know more about the audio equipment she had and how she obtained it. The audio quality of the tape they played on her 48 Hours episode was quite clear, unless it was enhanced later for quality. After listening to the Movie Geeks interviews on YouTube, I started wondering if she could have been a police informant. Perhaps she landed herself in some police trouble due to drugs and she was trading information. That would account for the recording equipment and how the police were able to confiscate all the tapes.

 

[moviegeeksunited]

The police only recovered two of the tapes, and they were in Lennie Barron's possession when he passed (as far as I can recollect). One of the tapes featured a threesome with George Hamilton.

I'm the host and producer of Movie Geeks United who did the Christa Helm episode. We did uncover one clue we were able to give to cold case. After putting together the episode and conducting those interviews, I have a strong suspicion as to who likely was involved. They're still alive, and its the one person the detective indicates they still haven't collected DNA from. Incidentally, it's also the one person who flagrantly lied to me during our conversation.

Here's the completed episode with the new information, some of which was not featured in 48 hours...

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/movieg...-tragedies-episode-2--who-killed-christa-helm