Juliana Redding

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            Maureen Maher and 48 HOURS investigate the brutal murder of Juliana Redding,  an aspiring actress and model found dead in her Santa Monica home – and whose killer, according to authorities, left behind  plenty of DNA evidence in “Hollywood Secrets,” to be broadcast Nov. 23, 2013 (10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

            It’s a case involving a mysterious millionaire with international ties, questions of a hired killer, and an investigation that lingered for two years before a stunning break would turn everything upside down.

Redding was 21 in 2008 and a fun-loving young woman who was a magnet for men. She moved from Arizona to Santa Monica to chase dreams of stardom. She worked hard to attend college and earn a living so she could enjoy the good life. Then Redding was found dead in her home, beaten and strangled. Hoping to erase any evidence of the crime, the killer allegedly left the gas stove on and a candle burning.

“Whoever was responsible for this wanted to blow the entire crime scene up,” Los Angeles Times crime writer Jack Leonard tells 48 HOURS. Leonard also says Redding “does not seem like the kind of person who is going to be found murdered.”

Yet she was. When she was killed, Redding had broken up with her wealthy boyfriend, a surgeon, who, she’d only recently learned, had a wife and children in Lebanon. Although Juliana’s relationship with the surgeon soured, he offered her father a lucrative business deal, including a Lamborghini, perhaps to win her back. Juliana also had a sometime boyfriend, John Gilmore, who police said had a history of violent behavior and had visited her home the morning after she was believed to have been killed. Gilmore, however, had an alibi.

Inside Redding’s home, police found evidence of a struggle – and the killer left DNA all over. It was on Redding’s clothes, on a broken plate, and, most importantly, on her throat.

“This was a whodunit,” says Leonard.

“The DNA in this case very clearly pointed in one direction,” former Los Angeles prosecutor Alan Jackson tells Maher.

However, the trail of DNA led authorities to a surprising conclusion – that the killer was a woman.

“With that much DNA, most people would think the case was a slam dunk,” Leonard says, “but it wasn’t.”

Maher and 48 HOURS piece together Redding’s life, death and the quest for justice, through interviews with Leonard, Jackson,  a jury expert, and with police interrogation footage.  “Hollywood Secrets” is produced by Chuck Stevenson and Greg Fisher. Al Briganti is the executive editor. Susan Zirinsky is the senior executive producer.

Chat with members of the 48 HOURS team during each broadcast on Twitter and Facebook.

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Press Contact:  Richard Huff      212-975-3328    huffr@cbsnews.com