The Last Take

Summary

---

Podcast Summary: "48 Hours" – The Last Take

Date: June 17, 2026
Host: CBS News

---

Overview

This episode dives deep into the 1977 unsolved murder of Krista Helm, an aspiring actress and notorious Hollywood socialite. Through a mix of modern cold case investigation, personal testimony from her daughter Nicole, interviews with friends, detectives, and Hollywood insiders, the episode explores Krista’s complex life, the array of suspects, and the enduring uncertainty surrounding her death. The story reflects themes of ambition, scandal, and the dark intersection between fame and danger in 1970s Hollywood.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Krista Helm’s Life, Ambition & Hollywood Scene

[01:43–10:47]

• Background: Krista Helm was a vibrant, ambitious woman from Milwaukee determined to become a movie star. After a teenage shotgun wedding, she left her family behind to pursue her dream, working as a model and actress in New York and then Hollywood.
• Hollywood Party Girl: Krista gained notoriety for her relationships with high-profile celebrities (Joe Namath, Mick Jagger, Warren Beatty, the Shah of Iran) and her tendency to “keep score” with an infamous “sex diary.”
• Quote:
  • “From the time she was a little girl, she would dance and sing and tell everybody she was going to be a movie star.” — Nicole Helm [05:26]
  • “If she walked in a room, if everyone in the room hadn't stopped to notice her walk in, then she would come back in again and get it right.” — Marisa Rahm [07:37]
• Relationships & Jealousy: Krista’s indiscreet affairs set her at the center of both admiration and resentment in elite Hollywood circles.

---

2. The Crime & Initial Aftermath

[11:07–13:13]

• Murder Details: Krista Helm was stabbed 22 times and bludgeoned to death in front of her agent's house in West Hollywood on February 12, 1977, the same day a year prior that actor Sal Mineo was killed nearby.
• Scene of Crime: The crime was brutal, with evidence suggesting a personal motive rather than a random attack.
• Quote:
  • “I can still remember it… a horrendous, horrendous scream. It was terrifying.” — John Gries, actor and neighbor [11:24]

---

3. Cold Case Revival & Missing Evidence

[17:37–20:41, 22:09–23:02]

• Reopening the Case: Decades later, renewed efforts by detectives Larry Brandenburg and Tom Harris and persistent advocacy from Krista’s daughter Nicole led to reexamination.
• Key Evidence Missing: Krista’s “sex diary” and sex tapes—thought to document relationships with many famous men—were never found and may have been motivation for her death.
• Tony Sirico’s Role: Actor Tony Sirico (later of ‘The Sopranos’) was alleged to have removed Krista’s tapes and personal effects post-murder, supposedly at the request of her friend Lenny Barron. Both denied knowledge or involvement, with Sirico being uncooperative during questioning.
• Quote:
  • “Tony Sirico removed some tapes out of Krista's room, never to be seen again.” — Detective Larry Brandenburg [20:09]

---

4. Personal Theories & Suspect Motives

[28:04–30:12]

• Jealousy & Betrayal: Krista’s complicated love life—men, women, famous, and infamous—meant many potential motives.
• Possible Suspects:
  • Rudy Mazzella: Infamous drug dealer who allegedly bragged about killing Krista; denied involvement.
  • Friends & Lovers: Jealous partners, especially after a turbulent recording session involving DJ Frankie Crocker, backup singer Debbie Danilo, and Patty Collins, who all had emotional ties to Krista.
• Quote:
  • “She had a lifestyle that was provocative. She had a lot of upscale friends… then she also had a lot of friends that were on the seedy side of life.” — Detective Tom Harris [24:15]

---

5. The Female Suspect Theory and DNA Breakthrough

[32:11–41:22]

• Jealousy Among Women: Investigators learn Krista had sexual and romantic relationships with both men and women, discovering a web of jealousy and betrayal.
• Notable Session Fallout: Around Krista's last recording session, tensions escalated among her close circle; betrayal and jealousy among her professional and romantic connections became a key line of inquiry.
• Breakthrough DNA Evidence:
  • DNA from a woman's skin cells found under Krista’s fingernail gives hope of a breakthrough. Key suspects provide DNA samples; Debbie Danilo is cleared. Patty Collins, initially accused by Debbie and others, claims she was never in LA—a claim detectives dispute.
• Quotes:
  • “Their gender doesn't matter—when somebody is in a violent rage.” — Detective Larry Brandenburg [37:22]
  • “There is no other evidence tying Debbie to the murder either, and she has told police she had nothing to do do with it.” — Detective Tom Harris [39:59]
  • “Patty and Krista had a relationship… they had a falling out… was it serious enough for a murder? We don't know that, but we'd like to talk to Patty about that.” — Detective Tom Harris [40:21]

---

6. Alternate Theories & Old Leads

[41:36–43:07]

• Sal Mineo Connection: Retired detective Larry Gansey is convinced the murderer is the same as Mineo’s killer, Lionel Williams, but records suggest Williams wasn’t in jail when Krista was killed and was never questioned in her case.
• Quote:
  • “Sal Mineo's killer is the same killer that killed Krista Helm. In my own mind, I'm so sure of that, I'd bet the deed to my house.” — Detective Larry Gansey [41:47]

---

7. Current Status & Emotional Resolution

[43:45–End]

• Cold Case Continues: Lionel Williams, now out of prison, is a new target for questioning. Detectives aren’t ruling anyone out yet.
• Nicole’s Loss & Hope: Krista’s daughter Nicole continues to push for the truth, revering her mother’s memory and yearning for closure. The eerie resemblance between Krista’s real death and her on-screen demise in "The Legacy of Satan" haunts her.
• Quotes:
  • “She was so young. She had so much time left.” — Nicole Helm [44:21]
  • “All I know is that she had told several people that she was terrified of knives and she believed that was the way she was going to die.” — Nicole Helm [44:47]
  • “I believe that we're going to find closure one day for my mom, and we're going to find justice.” — Nicole Helm [45:19]

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Nicole Helm’s haunting dream and sense of her mother's lingering strength:
  • “There was a strength and a drive in me that I always felt from a very young age came from her... I held onto that as my little piece of my mom.” [04:53]
• Darlene Thorson's chilling postcard:
  • “Dar, I am in way over my head here. I'm into something that I can't get out of.” [23:29]
• Unsettling foreshadowing from Krista’s own career:
  • "The end of one of her films, The Legacy of Satan, she's stabbed to death at the end of the film. And that was a little eerie as well." — Nicole Helm [44:47]

---

Important Timestamps

• 01:43: Nicole Helm introduces the case; Krista's daughter begins her quest.
• 05:22–09:41: Krista’s early life, ambitions, and entry into Hollywood.
• 11:07: The crime; John Gries' chilling recollection.
• 13:01: Case's complexity and numerous suspects.
• 17:37: Cold case detectives take up the investigation.
• 18:42–21:29: Missing diary and tapes; Tony Sirico’s involvement.
• 28:04–30:12: Suspect Rudy Mazzella and dark network implications.
• 32:11–41:22: Jealousy, female suspects, and the DNA breakthrough.
• 41:47–43:07: Sal Mineo parallel and long-held suspicions.
• 44:21–45:19: Emotional concluding reflections; Nicole’s enduring hope for justice.

---

Conclusion

In the tradition of "48 Hours," this episode not only unearths the tragic and tangled saga of Krista Helm but also underscores the tenacity of a daughter’s love and a cold case squad’s resolve. Through dizzying Hollywood highs and criminal lows, the story remains gripping, poignant, and unfinished—driven by hope that the final act has yet to be revealed.

---

Transcript

[DSW Announcer]

At dsw, we ask the important questions, like what shoes are you going to wear? Whether you're prepping for wedding season, festival season, or just planning the ultimate vacay, the right shoes can make or break an rsvp. So own the moment. You've got big plans, and we've got just the shoes at the perfect price, of course. Get ready to get ready with designer Shoe Warehouse. Head to your DSW store or dsw.com today and let us surprise you.

[Cade Courtley]

This is Cade Courtley, former Navy seal, sniper and platoon commander. I've seen what happens when the lights go out. And after Hurricane Helene left 4 million Americans in the dark for days, I'm giving you the same advice I give my own family. Get backup power now. So to celebrate July 4th, get the best selling Patriot power generator, 2200x with a free mini generator to charge your smaller devices. That's double the solar power. Absolutely free. Because as a seal, I learned two is one and one is none. You'll recharge twice as fast for true power independence. This generator will run your fridge, charge every phone in your house, keep critical medical devices alive, all without a drop of gas or deadly fumes. Get $100 off if you're a senior or veteran like me and take a full year to pay. Why such a crazy deal? Because July 4th is our holiday and you deserve it. This sale ends July 7th. Go to 4patriots.com that's the number 4patriots.com don't wait. Get peace of mind.

[Nicole Helm]

She was my movie star. Mommy. Someone has been walking around for 330 years having committed this heinous crime on my mother. I want to know what happened to her. My mom was killed February 12, 1977. I was nine. We found all kinds of things. Two huge boxes, all kinds of evidence, all kinds of interviews, all kinds of information that nobody had looked at before. They were just tucked away.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

The crime scene where Krista Helm was murdered in 1977. She had left a party in West Hollywood and she was attacked and stabbed numerous times. She was a very good looking girl.

[Nicole Helm]

How's my technique coming?

[Detective Larry Gansey]

Oh, you're doing fine.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

She was not against posing in seductive type photos.

[Nicole Helm]

She was a young Hollywood starlet, party girl. She hung out with Joe Namath, Mick

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

Jagger, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, the Shah of Iran. We knew that she kept a diary.

[Nicole Helm]

My mom was a very smart woman. I can definitely see her keeping track of things.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

We don't know if there may have been extortion. A lot of people have told us that there's A diary that's missing.

[Nicole Helm]

They think that the diary was what was taken from her body when she died and that she was going to blackmail people with the diary. We don't know all the names in that book.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

We know that she did have some tapes of famous people sexually.

[Nicole Helm]

I could send you into a sexual frenzy. She had intimate relations and intimate knowledge of a lot of famous people. I think it's gonna be a huge surprise when people find out who committed this crime.

[Darlene Thorson]

She got in way overhead. She was playing with the big boys. Somebody killed her because of what she knew.

[Nicole Helm]

The dream was me standing in a room overlooking a parking lot. The wall is glass. I see my mother walking through. I notice someone coming up behind her. They've got a knife in their hand. And I just am screaming and screaming and screaming for someone to help.

[Narrator / Host]

Krista Helm's daughter Nicole, doesn't want us to mention her last name or reveal where she lives, because her mother's killer has never been caught.

[Nicole Helm]

There was a strength and a drive in me that I always felt from a very young age came from her. And I held onto that as my little piece of my mom, where did you come from? She had a charisma that was just overwhelming. She had a warmth that just made people just be drawn to her on a regular basis. She was powerful and strong and took no bull. She was a very complicated, beautiful human being.

[Narrator / Host]

Ann says Nicole, her mother was born to be a star.

[Nicole Helm]

From the time she was a little girl, she would dance and sing and tell everybody she was going to be a movie star. When she grew up, and of course, in Little Milwaukee, Wisconsin, no one believed her.

[Narrator / Host]

Krista Helm had the kind of story that Hollywood legends are made from. Smart, sexy, and stunningly beautiful. She was the classic small town girl with a big Hollywood dream. Christa was determined to become a star, and she had the energy and unyielding ambition to make it happen.

[Darlene Thorson]

I remember her one time saying, well, Darlene, I'm not going to be a Midwestern housewife.

[Narrator / Host]

Darlene Thorson was Christa's lifelong friend.

[Darlene Thorson]

We had a saying between the two of us, all's fair in love and war. And she lived by those words. Nothing would really stop her from getting what she wanted.

[Narrator / Host]

Not even a shotgun wedding when Christa was just 17 years old, she was a teenager.

[Nicole Helm]

He owned a karate studio. They were married in Chicago. And the morning after their wedding, she woke up in their honeymoon suite, and my father was gone.

[Narrator / Host]

That was back in 1967. Nicole came along a few months later, but within A couple of years, Nicole's young and ambitious mother grew restless and took off to follow her dream. The first stop, the bright lights of New York, where she found work as a model. Taking the city by storm would be impossible with a toddler in tow. So Nicole was left behind in the care of a good friend. But Krista promised mother and daughter would one day be together.

[Nicole Helm]

I was supposed to be with her when I turned 10.

[Narrator / Host]

Until then, Nicole was a visitor in her mother's life.

[Nicole Helm]

When I was with her, she made me feel so important. The moments that I had with her really strengthened the belief that I wasn't. She didn't just throw me away. She was really waiting until I was 10, until she felt safe.

[Narrator / Host]

Her model good looks and splashy personality made Christa a natural for New York's party scene in the early 70s.

[Marisa Rahm]

If she walked in a room, if everyone in the room hadn't stopped to notice her walk in, then she would come back in again and get it right.

[Narrator / Host]

Krista's sister, Marisa Rahm, was also a sometime actress. She was often at Christa's side.

[Marisa Rahm]

Very driven, very ambitious, really young.

[Narrator / Host]

One of the first people Christa met in New York was a wealthy patron of the arts named Stuart Duncan. He took an interest in Christa's career, opening doors for her.

[Marisa Rahm]

She was throwing parties for big names the Rolling Stones for. She actually got bachelorette of the month with Cosmopolitan. There were definitely big figures in her life. The Shah of Iran she dated and he sent her jewels.

[Narrator / Host]

Krista also picked up a fancy new best friend for life, a flamboyant New York clothing designer named Lenny Barron.

[Marisa Rahm]

She just had him around, sort of feeding her sense of stardom like the Entourage.

[Narrator / Host]

And then in 1973, Krista got the break she'd been waiting for. Stuart Duncan got gave her a starring role in a movie called let's Go for Broke.

[Nicole Helm]

When they were filming it, hair and makeup and people just fussing over her all around, and she was in control of the whole scenario. And that was my mom. We forgot the customary bow.

[Narrator / Host]

The movie opened up in Cincinnati in 1974 and promptly closed in just four days. Undeterred, a few months later, Christa headed straight for Hollywood.

[Nicole Helm]

But there's only going to be one winner in this contest, and you're looking at her.

[Narrator / Host]

She landed bit roles in Wonder Woman,

[Nicole Helm]

Personal things I'd like to go over with you. It won't take long.

[Narrator / Host]

And Starsky and Hotch.

[Nicole Helm]

How about an 8 by 10 glossy of my 6 foot 2 boyfriend? It was always A great adventure when I'd go to visit my mom.

[Narrator / Host]

Nicole remembers visiting her mother at a Beverly Hills home.

[Nicole Helm]

This was a spectacular mansion. It was absolutely enormous. I'd never seen anything like it. It was the first place I'd ever seen that had maid's quarters.

[Narrator / Host]

That mansion belonged to a famous financier, Bernie Kornfeld, who was once profiled by Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes. Bernie goes no place without companions. Principally female, notably attractive, and inevitably, more

[Nicole Helm]

than one sitting on the couch. I was very, very young, and there was a big, huge party going on and lots of smoke in the air. And I kept just staring at this fella's lips. They were the most fascinating thing I had ever seen. I just stared and stared and stared. It was Mick Jagger,

[Marisa Rahm]

we were hanging out in clubs that Warren Beatty was at, Ryan o', Neal, Jack Nicholson. If you, if you were a beautiful enough starlet, you know, you would get to go into the, in, in, in clubs. And so that's where we were usually hanging out.

[Narrator / Host]

Christa was not only ambitious and adventurous, she also liked to keep score. Her friends say she kept a secret sex diary, complete with a rating system.

[Darlene Thorson]

What she did was she gave it these people a rating, like, you know, 1 to 10, so to speak.

[Narrator / Host]

While Krista partied in Hollywood, Nicole prepared for that much talked about mother daughter reunion. But it would never happen. Krista Helm was stabbed to death.

[John Gries]

I can still remember it. And it was a. I couldn't tell if it was a screaming baby or a cat being killed. It was a horrendous, horrendous scream. It was terrifying.

[Narrator / Host]

Actor John Gries was 19 then. He was staying at his mother's house just down the street from where Christa was attacked.

[John Gries]

I remember I jumped out of bed and of course I, you know, my father had recently passed away and I had his pistol and I pulled his pistol out. I was frightened to death. It sounded like it was happening right here.

[Narrator / Host]

GRY stood in his yard, but didn't hear anything more or see anything and went back inside.

[John Gries]

The next day, the sheriff came knocking on the door and they asked if any of us had heard anything unusual in the middle of the night. And then they told me that somebody had been murdered. And I remember the police officer saying, had I walked into the street and looked down, I would have seen her, but I only looked down the sidewalk.

[Narrator / Host]

Turns out Gries had his own connection with Christa.

[John Gries]

There were a lot of girls like Christa. I met her a couple of times. Beautiful girls who just kind of seemed to work their way through the various corners of Hollywood.

[Nicole Helm]

The reality hit me that I wasn't gonna go have this beautiful life with my mommy that I'd been dreaming about for so long and I fell to my knees outside of the school and just sobbed and sobbed and sobbed.

[Narrator / Host]

As the detectives started to investigate, they soon realized the case would be very difficult. With Christa's complicated life, there were plenty of people who might want to kill her.

[Darlene Thorson]

I think that she was a little girl that made it big in Hollywood, a little girl that knew too much foreign.

[Weight Loss by Hers Announcer]

Losing weight is one thing, but keeping it off, that's where it gets really frustrating. That's why Weight Loss by Hers now offers access to the FDA approved Wegovy pill and the FDA approved Wegovy pen. Wegovy is designed to help you lose weight and keep it off. Everything is 100% online. Through hers, you'll connect with a licensed provider who will determine if treatment is right for you. If prescribed, your medication is delivered right to your door. No insurance necessary. And it doesn't stop there. Weight loss by hers goes beyond medication by offering access to 247 messaging with your care team and tons of in app lifestyle and nutrition tips like recipes, meal plans, fitness videos, sleep content and more. Ready to reach your goals? Visit for hers.com 48hours to get personalized affordable care that gets you. That's F O R h e r s.com 48 hours for hers.com 48 hours weight loss by hers is not available in all 50 states. WeGovy is the registered trademark of Novo Nordisk as To get started and learn more, including important safety information, WeGovy clinical study information and restrictions. Visit for hers.com if you're an experienced

[Lemonade Pet Insurance Announcer]

pet owner, you already know that having a pet is 25% belly rubs, 25% yelling drop it. And 50% groaning at the bill from every pet visit. Which is why Lemonade Pet insurance is tailor made for your pet and can save you up to 90% on vet bills. It can help cover checkup, checkups, emergencies, diagnostics, basically all the stuff that makes your bank account get nervous. Claims are filed super easily through the Lemonade app and half get settled instantly. Get a'@lemonade.com pet and they'll help cover the vet bill for whatever your pet swallowed after you yelled drop it.

[Nicole Helm]

Help me Nicky. I'll come back with help. It's the only chance for all of us.

[Narrator / Host]

At first, detectives thought Krista Helm's murder that night back in 1977 might be connected to another sensational Killing the stabbing of actor Sal Mineo, best known for co starring with James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause. The papers had a field day with the similarities. Christa had been stabbed and bludgeoned to death in front of her agent's house in West Hollywood. Mineo was murdered one year earlier on the very same day, February 12, in the very same neighborhood. There were no known witnesses in either case. But the Sal Mineo lead fizzled. The suspect in his murder was believed to be in jail when Christa was killed. The 21 year old murder suspect had

[Detective Larry Gansey]

to say in his jail cell when

[Detective Tom Harris]

advised of his charges.

[Narrator / Host]

So detectives started to look more closely at Christa's celebrity studded love life and her infamous diary. Research perhaps for a tell all book.

[Darlene Thorson]

She was someday going to write a book and she was going to expose all these people and it was going to be a best selling seller.

[Narrator / Host]

But Krista's scandalous diary had vanished. It may have been in her purse which was missing from the crime scene. With that crucial piece of evidence gone, investigators hit a string of dead ends.

[Nicole Helm]

I think the initial investigation was a complete mess. I think that they didn't pay attention. She was a young Hollywood starlet, party girl.

[Narrator / Host]

Nicole mourned the loss of her mother and the life they were supposed to have together. She raised her own family in the northeast. But a few years ago she felt compelled to find out what really happened.

[Nicole Helm]

I think that it's my job to make sure that people know who she was and what happened to her. She went through way too much in her life to have her death be so dismissed.

[Narrator / Host]

After years of pressure from Nicole, a new generation of detectives took the case. Larry Brandenburg and Tom Harris are LA Sheriff's department hotshots. Homicide detectives with the cold case unit. How do you go about investigating a murder that occurred three decades ago?

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

Well, actually you try and go back in time yourself. I mean you try and go back and look at it the way it looked that night. When we're talking about is in the middle to late 70s. You know, back then it was a lot of the free love, a lot of the sex, sex, drugs, sex, drugs and rock and roll.

[Narrator / Host]

Krista's written diary wasn't the only way she kept track of that long list of lovers. It turns out Krista was tape recording her sexcapades with all those celebrity boyfriends.

[Nicole Helm]

I promise to cause you nothing but pleasure.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

She did have some tapes of famous people sexually.

[Narrator / Host]

There's a well known list of people. Can you tell us any of those names?

[Detective Tom Harris]

I don't Think it would be fair to those folks at this point to do that?

[Narrator / Host]

How significant do you consider those tapes?

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

They're a very significant part of this case.

[Nicole Helm]

Nothing but pleasure.

[Narrator / Host]

Because those sex tapes could have supplied a motive for someone to kill Christa.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

We don't know if there may have been extortion or a thought of extortion.

[Darlene Thorson]

That scared me a lot.

[Narrator / Host]

Her friend Darlene warned her against making the tapes.

[Darlene Thorson]

I thought it was dangerous. I thought she was playing with fire.

[Narrator / Host]

But here's a shocker. Just like Christa's diary, most of those tapes have also disappeared. The hunt for the missing tapes has led detectives to another new twist. It's an angle right out of the Sopranos. You're a made guy now. It's your turn to make some real

[Detective Larry Gansey]

money, and I get to relax a little.

[Narrator / Host]

Tony Sirico is the actor best known as Paulie Walnuts of the Sopranos. But 30 years ago, Sirico was a Brooklyn tough guy trying to make it in Hollywood. Here he is in a 1978 movie. Fingers.

[Detective Tom Harris]

What's on you, my pal?

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

Back in 1977, Tony Sirico was an upcoming actor, and he knew some of the same people that Krista knew. We know that after Christa was killed, Tony Sirico was sent to her residence to check on the welfare and watch over her roommate for a few days and to make sure that she was okay. According to the roommate, Tony Sirico removed some tapes out of Krista's room, never to be seen again.

[Narrator / Host]

Christa's roommate, who to this day is too frightened to talk publicly, also told detectives that Tony took some of Christa's furs and clothing. At the time, police never questioned Tony.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

That's Tony Sirico right there with the blood. But that's part of a film they were making.

[Narrator / Host]

But in 2006, when the new detectives took over, they paid him a visit. Have you spoken to him?

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

Yes, we have. We have.

[Narrator / Host]

Has he been cooperative?

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

Not exactly.

[Detective Tom Harris]

Mr. Sirico told us at first that he didn't even remember the victim. He didn't really know Christa, and that he didn't even remember that she had been killed. And then his memory got a little bit better, that, yeah, I think I had heard about her being killed, but I didn't really know her that well, Just met her in passing.

[Narrator / Host]

According to detectives, Sirico denied going to Christa's apartment and denied he even knew the roommate.

[Detective Tom Harris]

We started getting to the point of where he was on that day and asked him those type of questions, and the interview was abruptly stopped. By his attorney. And we explained to Mr. Sirico also that he was not. Was not a suspect in this investigation. He was considered a witness and someone that we were trying to glean information from.

[Narrator / Host]

Years later, most of Krista's missing things did turn up at the home of Krista's closest friend, Lenny Barron, her designer and confidant.

[Nicole Helm]

All of the furniture, all of the crystals. The Shaw of Iran had given my mom a lot of crystals and jewels and beautiful things. She had fur coats, all of which were found in his home.

[Narrator / Host]

Police now think it was Lenny who sent Tony Sirico to clean out Christa's apartment to protect her.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

We believe that he didn't want her reputation soiled, didn't want the information out there about her surreptitiously recording people or even her sexual activities.

[Narrator / Host]

If he had so many of her things, her personal effects, Is it possible that he may have been the one who had the audio tapes and the written diary?

[Detective Tom Harris]

It's possible.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

It's possible.

[Narrator / Host]

Possible. But Lenny can't tell us. He died about 10 years ago. And Tony Sirico's manager says Tony didn't want to talk to us. But there's another new clue, this time from Krista's friend Darlene, who never spoke with police until now. Right before Christa died, she sent Darlene a postcard with a cryptic message.

[Darlene Thorson]

She said, dar, I am in way over my head here. I'm into something that I can't get out of.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

Rocky's the one that said that Christ was sitting on $300,000 worth of dope. 11 pounds.

[Detective Tom Harris]

If we could find her, it might be helpful. This is another gentleman we haven't been able to locate. Can't talk to him because he's dead.

[Narrator / Host]

Without Krista Helm's sex diary to guide them, Detectives Tom Harris and Larry Brandenburg have had to dig deeper to find people who were involved with her.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

We've got to find Rocky.

[Narrator / Host]

They've discovered that Krista may well have been in over her head.

[Detective Tom Harris]

She had a lifestyle that was provocative. She had a lot of upscale friends that were famous, some of them. And then she also had a lot of friends that were on the seedy side of life, if you will. Street people.

[Narrator / Host]

So job one has been tracking down all those people Christa socialized with in her two years in Hollywood.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

If someone is violently murdered, you're never going to forget that.

[Narrator / Host]

So far, though, few of them remember much or are saying much.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

It's very interesting to go back and talk to these people because people can't remember what Their lies were they can remember what the truth is.

[Detective Larry Gansey]

The neighborhood that we responded to in 1977 was a pretty upscale neighborhood. I was the lead detective on the case. I think we came in from this direction. We drove in this way.

[Narrator / Host]

Brandenburg and Harris return to the crime scene with the one witness who is happy to cooperate.

[Detective Larry Gansey]

She was probably about like this. Okay.

[Narrator / Host]

83 year old retired Los Angeles detective, Larry Gansey.

[Detective Larry Gansey]

Earrings. She had earrings on.

[Narrator / Host]

I know that they're hoping to jog the memory of the original investigator.

[Detective Larry Gansey]

She had no identification. We don't know who is it about

[Narrator / Host]

the night Krista died, we found out

[Detective Larry Gansey]

that she was a party girl. She had come from a party with a girlfriend. She was headed over to see her agent, Sandy Smith.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

The house looks the same now as it did then.

[Detective Larry Gansey]

Exactly. This is me right here.

[Narrator / Host]

They also opened the box of evidence Gansey started 31 years ago.

[Detective Tom Harris]

Bringing back some memories?

[Detective Larry Gansey]

Well, yeah, yeah. She was bleeding quite profusely there. You could see that she had numerous stab wounds in the chest. Our thoughts then we had a rage killing that somebody was really upset with this girl.

[Narrator / Host]

What strikes you as odd or unusual or interesting about this case?

[Detective Tom Harris]

Well, the way she was attacked really sticks out. It was violent, a lot of passion involved. She was stabbed 22 times.

[Narrator / Host]

22 times?

[Detective Tom Harris]

Yes.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

Bludgeoned and bludgeoned also.

[Narrator / Host]

This doesn't strike you as a random act of violence?

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

No, it would be more of somebody was very mad at her.

[Narrator / Host]

There was a side to Krista that seemed to provoke people.

[Nicole Helm]

You sound almost charming.

[Narrator / Host]

Because while many thought she was a barely passable actress on camera, off camera, she was an infamous drama queen.

[Marisa Rahm]

Christa was the role of her lifetime. She loved the daily drama.

[Narrator / Host]

One of her recurring dramas starred her beautiful and younger sister Marisa, who learned the hard way the lengths Christa would go to.

[Marisa Rahm]

We'd party together and we'd go to this party and that party. I was excited. I was meeting this actor and dating that actor and they were calling me and she knew that and was really upset that it was me. When she started to see that I was attracting more attention than her, that started to wear on her.

[Narrator / Host]

In an apparent jealous rage, Krista cut her sister off and threw her out of the apartment.

[Marisa Rahm]

She basically said, okay, now you're out on your own. She didn't care if I didn't have any money or a place to live.

[Narrator / Host]

That sounds like there was a very, very cold side to her.

[Marisa Rahm]

Oh, just a definite cold. Cut it off and get back in her own world and push you aside

[Narrator / Host]

Would she step over bodies to get what she wanted? Would she use people?

[Marisa Rahm]

Yes, I would say so.

[Narrator / Host]

Is that possible that that has played into what happened to her?

[Marisa Rahm]

I have always presumed that that was a part of what happened to her.

[Narrator / Host]

Harrison Brandenburg think so too, and wonder if Krista might finally have crossed the wrong man. As they dig deeper into the case, they find a startling confession of sorts.

[Detective Tom Harris]

This guy bragged about doing the killing.

[Narrator / Host]

His name, Rudy Mazzella. And he was known for his anything goes parties where Christa was a frequent guest.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

He was very flamboyant, very strange. He would do certain things like wearing nothing but a cowboy hat and a gun belt with a six gun on it, and that's the way he walked around the house.

[Narrator / Host]

But Mazzella was also a known drug dealer. He was a thug with a bad reputation.

[Detective Tom Harris]

He's a violent kind of guy. He's known to carry guns and knives. We spoke to his ex wife, deathly afraid of him, said that he would threaten her.

[Narrator / Host]

What was Christa doing with him?

[Detective Tom Harris]

He was in that other circle of friends, what we call the dark side of her life. The street people, the drug dealers that would come to these parties.

[Nicole Helm]

Rudy is a pretty big guy, pretty powerful and scary guy.

[Narrator / Host]

In this interview In July of 1977, a woman who frequented Mazzella's house told police what she had heard about him.

[Nicole Helm]

My boyfriend told me Rudy had told him that he had murdered Krista. He didn't give a reason, but he said that he had murdered Krista.

[Narrator / Host]

And was that followed up on back then?

[Detective Tom Harris]

They did question Rudy. Yes, they questioned him. He denied any involvement. Rudy was the kind of guy that would brag about things that maybe he didn't do just to get some notoriety and to boost his standing with people.

[Narrator / Host]

With no other evidence, time is elo to the cross. The original investigators left it at that.

[Detective Tom Harris]

Was he serious? We don't know because the person he bragged to is deceased, and we. And so is Rudy. So we can't talk to either one of them anymore.

[Narrator / Host]

And now, three decades later, the cold case squad can only wonder, is there any other lead?

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

I don't know that we can actually eliminate anybody at this point.

[Narrator / Host]

It does seem like something or someone had crossed to spooked.

[Nicole Helm]

My last visit with her, she had actually said that she was leaving Hollywood.

[Narrator / Host]

Nicole now believes her mother realized she was in some kind of danger.

[Nicole Helm]

I think that the fight just got to be a little too difficult for her. It got ugly. There were a lot of dark people and dark lifestyles that she didn't really want to be part of.

[Narrator / Host]

Mom, can you tell me a story?

[Lemonade Pet Insurance Announcer]

Sure.

[Narrator / Host]

Once upon a time, a mom needed a new car. Was she brave? She was tired mostly. But she went to Carvana.com and found a great car at a great price. No secret treasure map required.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

Did you have to fight a dragon?

[Darlene Thorson]

Nope.

[Narrator / Host]

She bought it 100% online from her bed, actually. Was it scary? Honey, it was as unscary as car buying could be.

[Nicole Helm]

Did the car have a sunroof?

[Narrator / Host]

It did, actually. Okay, good story. Car buying you'll want to tell stories about. Buy your car today on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply.

[Greg John Jackson]

History that Doesn't Suck is a legit, hard hitting American history podcast told through entertaining stories. As we approach America's 250th anniversary, now might be the time to go back and learn how we got here. With more than 200 episodes, you can binge your way decade by decade, defining event to defining event from the founding into the 20th century. Join me, professor Greg John Jackson, for History that Doesn't Suck. An odyssey podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Narrator / Host]

31 years into the Krista Helm case, detectives Larry Brandenburg and Tom Harris have uncovered a long string of boyfriends and girlfriends that Krista left in her wake. They now suspect jealousy may have been a motive in her murder.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

We've identified people that she was involved with who had other girlfriends, and those girlfriends found out about Krista. There were a couple other females that we believe that she was involved with sexually that were upset because she would be with men.

[Narrator / Host]

So she had relationships with both men and women? Yes, and felt no compunction or loyalty to be with any one person. And no one person was off limits to her.

[Detective Tom Harris]

Yeah, I mean, that was her lifestyle.

[Narrator / Host]

The detectives are now focusing on Krista's final stab at fame, a recording session she set up in the winter of 1977.

[Debbie Danilo]

Go on and dance, dance, dance, child.

[Narrator / Host]

They've gotten a firsthand account of the session from backup singer Debbie Danilo. She and Krista became good friends.

[Debbie Danilo]

Once in a while, you meet someone and it's like you've known them forever. Soulmates, maybe. And when I met Christa, it was like she was an instant soul sister.

[Narrator / Host]

The detectives now believe that the session exploded in a storm of jealousy and betrayal. It began when Christa apparently got involved with the records producer, the top 10, the top 25 well known DJ Frankie

[Cade Courtley]

Crocker with Fast Frankie in the City.

[Marisa Rahm]

And I think that she was probably a boyfriend or sleeping with him. And so he had a beautiful Beverly Hills mansion and part of the music scene, part of the party crowd.

[Narrator / Host]

And what was he like?

[Marisa Rahm]

Oh, very full of himself, Rich. I'm somebody in Hollywood. You're not.

[Narrator / Host]

Debbie says Christa flaunted the relationship.

[Debbie Danilo]

I remember that day telling Krista, I said, I don't think that it's going to work out with Frankie because I don't think he likes the way I'm handling the songs. And she said, don't worry about Frankie. I've got him by the balls.

[Narrator / Host]

Debbie also claims Christa was having an affair with the other backup singer. Her name was Patty Collins, and Patty didn't like to share.

[Debbie Danilo]

Patty was very, very jealous of anyone being around Krista. Very jealous, very, you know, just watch your step kind of thing.

[Narrator / Host]

As if things weren't complicated enough, the Sessions keyboard player Blair Aronson has told detectives that he was casually involved with Debbie.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

We were told originally that they were boyfriend, girlfriend. Some come back and say, maybe casual dating. Some come back and say, well, that, you know, they were a pretty heavy item. I believe that Debbie had a more serious commitment to Blair than Blair did to Debbie.

[Narrator / Host]

Then Blair dropped a bombshell. He told detectives that he slept with Krista the night before she died and that Debbie caught him.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

We interviewed Blair Aronson, and he explained to us that he and Krista had spent the night together, were in bed, and they got up, were sitting on the edge of the bed, and happened to look over and saw Debbie looking through the window, waving at him.

[Detective Tom Harris]

Blair and Krista were startled, obviously, by seeing her outside the window, but they laughed about it, and she ran away.

[Narrator / Host]

Debbie adamantly denies any involvement with Blair or that she saw him in bed with Krista. And Blair declined to speak to 48 Hours. But detectives find the entire recording session suspicious, especially since Debbie and Patty were both abruptly pushed out. It seems Patty took the news especially

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

hard, and apparently she was very upset about it at that time. We don't know if she was removed by Frankie Crocker or by Krista herself.

[Narrator / Host]

When Debbie talked to the original investigators about Christa, she pointed the finger squarely at Patty.

[Debbie Danilo]

I told them that she had a female lover that seemed she was extremely jealous. That was my first thought, that maybe her female lover killed her, because every time that I was around her, she seemed so threatened and so dark.

[Narrator / Host]

Just days after Christa's murder, Debbie packed up her entire LA life, disguised herself in a wig, and then made a mad dash out of town.

[Debbie Danilo]

I didn't want anybody to know who I was. I was afraid that somebody had killed her because she knew something she wasn't supposed to know. I thought, well, what if they think she told me Me, you know, I had never been around anybody that had been murdered, and I just wanted to be away from it.

[Narrator / Host]

Frankie Crocker is now dead. Still, the cold case squad is left to wonder, could Krista's killer have been a woman? It just seems like a pretty violent, really vicious attack for.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

I don't think I would characterize it as that. I think when somebody is in a violent rage, I think their gender doesn't matter.

[Narrator / Host]

Then investigators get a break. One of Krista's fingernails, preserved for three decades, yields DNA.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

It's obvious to us that she put up quite a fight. And a lot of times in that situation, you're going to find skin cells or blood or something from the other person under the fingernails.

[Narrator / Host]

Even more intriguing, that DNA is from another woman. Did you try to match the DNA to a specific person?

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

Well, we are requesting from people that we interview. At times, we're requesting oral swabs.

[Narrator / Host]

One of those people is Debbie Danilo. Do you consider Debbie Danilo a suspect?

[Detective Tom Harris]

Everyone's still a suspect.

[Debbie Danilo]

I've been searching my heart to remember Songs I've left behind for nine long months I questioned why my God would

[Narrator / Host]

forsake me Debbie Danilo put Hollywood and Krista Helm behind her many years ago. But she never really got over the murder that struck so close to home.

[Debbie Danilo]

Changed me. It changed the way I looked at everybody in the group. You know, you start looking around going, who did it?

[Weight Loss by Hers Announcer]

Who did this?

[Debbie Danilo]

Who could have done this? You know, and it's scary.

[Narrator / Host]

And then recently, out of the blue, she got a letter from Krista's daughter Nicole.

[Debbie Danilo]

And it said, hi, my name is Nicole. I think you knew my mother as Krista Helm. And I am trying to find out information about her because I didn't know her.

[Narrator / Host]

Shortly afterwards, Debbie heard from the cold case squad.

[Debbie Danilo]

Of course, they had gotten my name from Nicole, and they said, can we talk to you? I said, sure.

[Narrator / Host]

But detectives Harrison Brandenburg didn't just want Debbie's memories. They wanted her DNA. And what they really wanted to know was if it matched the scrapings they had found under Krista's fingernails.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

We did collect DNA from Debbie Danlo, and it was not her DNA that was under the fingernails.

[Debbie Danilo]

So now I'm letting go.

[Narrator / Host]

There is no other evidence tying Debbie to the murder either, and she has told police she had nothing to do do with it.

[Detective Tom Harris]

Tom and I are in agreement, Debbie Danlo is much farther down on the scale as a person of interest in this case. Now,

[Narrator / Host]

with the help of an anonymous tip, the Colque squad finally tracked down the woman they believe was Krista's girlfriend, Patty Collins.

[Detective Tom Harris]

Patty and Krista had a relationship, according to. According to more than one person. They had a close sexual relationship and a professional relationship. At some point they had a falling out with one another, it looks like, according to these people. And was it serious enough for a murder? We don't know that, but we'd like to talk to Patty about that.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

Hopefully she's home. Hopefully we can get an interview and maybe collect a sample of her DNA.

[Narrator / Host]

Patty was happy to talk to the detectives and willingly gave them a DNA sample. But they were stunned by what she had to say.

[Detective Larry Gansey]

I do not know Kirsty Hill. I have no idea who she is. They showed me a photograph they thought was me and it's not me.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

We're trying to bring clothes.

[Narrator / Host]

Not only that, Patty claimed she was never in Southern California.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

She was in Southern California. We know that. But for some reason she's denying ever being there in her life. I got a feeling we'll be back

[Detective Tom Harris]

to talk to her again. I really do.

[Narrator / Host]

But not until they get the DNA results and confirm her identity. Meanwhile, they'll go after other leads.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

It's an ongoing process. We still have a lot of work to do.

[Detective Larry Gansey]

She was probably about like this.

[Narrator / Host]

The Colquet squad's best lead might turn out to be the oldest lead of all. And it comes from the man who first worked the Krista Helm case. 83 year old Larry Gansey.

[Detective Larry Gansey]

Sal Mineo's killer is the same killer that killed Krista Helm. In my own mind, I'm so sure of that, I'd bet the deed to my house that he is a one number one suspect.

[Narrator / Host]

Remember, Sal Mineo was murdered a year before Christa. On the same day and in the same way. A stabbing and in the same neighborhood

[Detective Larry Gansey]

method of operation. The area of operation was so similar to Sal Mineo's killing, it's almost identical.

[Narrator / Host]

The man ultimately convicted of mineo's killing was 21 year old Lionel Williams. And he was thought to be in jail at the time of Krista's murder. But the the Colque squad recently learned that Williams wasn't arrested until after Christa's death. Even more surprising, he was never questioned about Christa's death.

[Detective Larry Gansey]

I don't even know what he looked like. They never saw him, never got the chance to talk to him.

[Narrator / Host]

Shortly Afterwards, Gansey and his partner were reassigned. And then Gansey left the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department for good. That's when the Krista Helm case went cold.

[Detective Larry Gansey]

I think this case has affected me personally more than any. I worked. And you're not supposed to get involved. You're supposed to put. You're supposed to put everything behind and you're neutral. You're just doing a job. But with me, anyway, I couldn't put this one to bed.

[Narrator / Host]

Meanwhile, Lionel Williams served 12 years for the murder of Sal Mineo. In 1990, he was released from prison.

[Detective Larry Brandenburg]

He has been in and out of jail since this occurred. He's been arrested for other crimes. We believe we have an idea where he was living and we believe that he's not that far away and, you know, we're going to go talk to him.

[Narrator / Host]

So after sifting through all the drama of Krista Helm's life, the myriad lovers, the diary and the sex tapes, the tales of jealousy and betrayal, could it really be that detectives will discover that Christa was simply the victim of a random late night street robbery at the head hands of a career criminal?

[Nicole Helm]

She was so young. She had so much time left.

[Narrator / Host]

Krista's daughter Nicole, now 40, hopes that discovering the truth about the murder will finally bring solace.

[Nicole Helm]

She was 13 years younger than I am right now when she died.

[Narrator / Host]

All Nicole has to remember her mother by are a scrapbook, a couple of B movies, and the stuff nightmares are made of.

[Nicole Helm]

The end of one of her films, the Legacy of Satan, she's stabbed to death at the end of the film. And that was a little eerie as well. All I know is that she had told several people that she was terrified of Nies and she believed that was the way she was going to die.

[Narrator / Host]

That's kind of freaky.

[Debbie Danilo]

Yeah.

[Narrator / Host]

But Nicole still has a child's hope that justice will, will somehow be served. Even after all this time, I believe

[Nicole Helm]

that the person is still out there and I believe that we're going to find closure one day for my mom and we're going to find justice. And I believe that this person is. They know that they did it, and we're ready.

[Narrator / Host]

Detective Larry Brandenburg says the connection to Sal Mineo's killer has been discounted because the crimes were so different. He said he and colleague Tom Harris

[Cade Courtley]

would focus their attention on people who

[Narrator / Host]

knew Krista Helm personally.