On February 11, 1977, Christa and Stephanie went to a party in Laurel Canyon. Although he believes it is conceivable, our music agency source did not throw the party. Cold case investigators claim that Stephanie and Christa made contact with Sandy Smith, another music agent in West Hollywood, in an effort to invite her to the party. He refused, stating that he was too worn out and going to bed early.
Stephanie told us that there was certainly something at the gathering that frightened Christa.
She recalled that Christa had a strange, hazy expression on her face as she approached her. “When I asked her what was wrong, she said there was nothing wrong, but I could tell she had been upset by something. I won’t soon forget that expression.
Stephanie gave Christa her car keys since she planned to spend the weekend at the beach with her ex-boyfriend. Christa remained at the party for an unknown amount of time after Stephanie left.
Later that evening, while she and her partner were travelling down Sunset, she recalled, she suddenly started shaking. “I had Christa in mind. My partner stopped so I could call the house on a pay phone, but no one picked up.
Christa left the party without making any further stops, but we do know where her voyage came to a conclusion. Christa drove to Sandy Smith’s residence at 9020 Lloyd Place in West Hollywood early on February 12, 1977. (see the Our Investigation page for additional information on Sandy). She left her car in front of the neighbor’s residence. Due to her tyre blowing out on the curb, investigators believe she was moving at a high pace. The tyres are visible and don’t appear to be blown out in the pictures taken of the site that evening, though. In any case, Christa’s erratic driving could have been a sign that she was aware she was being followed.
Christa was attacked on the opposite side of the property from where she was parked with a large butcher knife and a blunt object. Her body was partially hidden beneath Sandy’s live-in girlfriend Nancy’s parked automobile. For more details, see the blog post The Geography of the Crime Scene.
Christa, a martial arts expert, put up a valiant fight against her assailant (s). In the end, her killer’s violence was too much.
For more details on the attack, see The Original Investigation page and look for our interview with the coroner.
Around 1:30 am, Thurman Brooms discovered Christa’s body. He claimed to have been nearby when she took her final breath (though this seems unlikely). Sandy Smith’s door was not answered when he knocked. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office West Hollywood division was the closest police station, so he drove there to inform them of his gruesome find.
Christa’s body was found by Thurman Brooms.
Thurman ran Bear’s Limousine Service at the time.
We received confirmation from Brooms’ family that he had in fact found Christa’s body and had spent the morning being interrogated at the police station.
Brooms would be found dead on December 5, 1979, the victim of a drug-related murder.
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One memento of Brooms’ life is in the possession of many people all over the world; he was given a special thanks credit on Prince’s debut album.
Thurman eventually found Christa that night, but it was too late. At the age of 27, she had passed away.
