Click the following links to advance to the next chapter in Christa's story:

The Childhood Years
The New York City Years
Let’s Go for Broke
The Los Angeles Years
The Murder
The Original Investigation
The Cold Case Investigation
My Investigation
How You Can Help

THE MURDER

Christa was attending a party with Stephanie in Laurel Canyon the night of February 11, 1977. It is unclear if the party was hosted by our music agent source, though he says it is possible.  According to cold case investigators, Stephanie said she and Christa had attempted to contact Sandy Smith, another music agent in West Hollywood, to come join them at the party. He declined by saying he was too tired and was going to bed early. 

When she spoke to us, Stephanie said that something had obviously spooked Christa at that party.

“Christa approached me with a funny, cloudy look on her face,” she recalled. “I asked her what was wrong, and she told me it was nothing, but I could tell something had shaken her. I’ll never forget that look.”

Stephanie was going to spend the weekend at the beach with her then-boyfriend, so she gave her car keys to Christa. Stephanie then left Christa, and does not know how much longer she stayed at the party.

“Later that evening, riding down Sunset with my boyfriend, I suddenly started shaking,” she said. “I thought of Christa.  I had my boyfriend pull over so I could use a pay phone to call the house, but no one answered.”

We don’t know if Christa made additional stops after leaving the party, but we do know where her journey ended. In the early morning hours of February 12, 1977, Christa drove to Sandy Smith’s house at 9020 Lloyd Place in West Hollywood (see the Our Investigation page for additional information on Sandy).  She parked in front of the neighbor’s house. Investigators say she was travelling at an advanced speed, because her tire was blown out on the curb. However, in the photos of the scene from that night, the tires are visible and do not appear to be blown. Regardless, if Christa was driving erratically, it could indicate that she knew she was being followed.

Christa was attacked with a significantly sized butcher knife and a blunt object on the other side of the property from where parked. Her body was partially tucked under a parked car belonging to Sandy’s live-in girlfriend Nancy. Refer to the blog entry The Geography of the Crime Scene for more information.

Trained in martial arts, Christa fought hard against her attacker(s). In the end, the ferocity of her killer proved too much.  

Our interview with the coroner can be found on the The Original Investigation page for more information on the attack.

A man named Thurman Brooms happened upon Christa's body around 1:30 am, and he claimed he was standing above her when she drew her last breath (though this seems unlikely).  He knocked on the door of Sandy Smith, but received no answer. He then drove to the nearest police station (the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office West Hollywood division) and alerted them to his grisly discovery.

At the time, Thurman was the owner of Bear’s Limo Service.

Brooms’ family confirmed to us that he had indeed discovered Christa’s body and spent the morning at the police station being questioned.  

On December 5, 1979, Brooms himself would be found murdered in a drug-related assassination. 

There is one artifact of Brooms’ existence that many people around the world have in their possession; he received a special thanks credit on Prince’s debut album. 

By the time Thurman happened upon Christa that night, it was too late. She was dead at 27 years of age.

Next chapter: THE ORIGINAL INVESTIGATION