The Last Take

Did A Hollywood Actress' Secret Love Diary Lead To Her Murder?

(CBS)  In an interview in July 1977, a woman who frequented Mazella's house told police what she had heard about him. "My boyfriend told me, that Rudy had told him that he had murdered Christa. He didn't give a reason but he said that he had murdered Christa," she said.

Asked if that was followed up on back then, Brandenburg says, "They did question Rudy. He denied any involvement in it. 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."

With no other evidence tying Mazella to the crime, the original investigators left it at that. "So, was he serious? We don't know because the person he bragged to is deceased and so is Rudy. We can't talk to either of them anymore," Brandenburg says.

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

It does seem like something or someone had Christa spooked. Nicole now thinks her mother realized she was in some kind of danger. "I think 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 a part of."

Thirty-one years into the Christa Helm case, Brandenburg and Harris have uncovered a long string of boyfriends and girlfriends that Christa left in her wake. They now suspect jealousy may have been a motive in her murder.

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

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

They've gotten a first-hand account of the session from back-up singer Debbie Danilow. She and Christa became good friends.

The detectives now believe that the session exploded in a storm of jealousy and betrayal. It began when Christa apparently got involved with the record's producer, well-known disc jockey Frankie Crocker.

"I think that he 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," Marisa says.

Debbie says Christa flaunted the relationship. "I remember that day telling Christa, I said, 'I don't think that it's gonna 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 b****.'"

Debbie also claims Christa was having an affair with the other backup singer, Patti Collins.

"Patti was very, very jealous of anyone being around Christa. Very jealous, you know, just watch your step kinda thing," Debbie says.

As if things weren't complicated enough, the session's keyboard player, Blair Aaronson, has told detectives he was casually involved with Debbie.

"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," Harris says. "I believe that Debbie had a more serious commitment to Blair than Blair did to Debbie."