What a CreepSeason 30, Episode 3The Murder of Kirsten Costas(The Inspiration for the 1994 TV  Movie Death of a Cheerleader)In the idyllic suburb of Orinda, California, the summer of 1984 was marked by the shocking murder of 15-year-old <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kirsten_Costas" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kirsten Costas</a>. A popular high school student, Kirsten, was killed by her classmate <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/07/11/inspired.movies/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bernadette Protti </a>from Miramonte High School. Motivated by jealousy and social pressure, the crime revealed the darker aspects of affluent adolescent life. The murder went unsolved for months, and when the killer was finally found, it shocked the community. I contend that this case was one of the first crimes to highlight the insecurities of Generation X. The incident inspired the made-for-TV film "<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109847/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A Friend to Die For</a>" (1994), later retitled "Death of a Cheerleader." Starring Kellie Martin and Tori Spelling, the movie explored themes of peer pressure, envy, and the price of popularity, giving the case a haunting cultural resonance that still lingers today.Trigger Warning: MurderSources for this episode:<ul><li><a href="https://thecampoclaw.com/lifestyle/2014/10/14/murder-still-haunts-moraga-resident/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Campo Claw</a></li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kirsten_Costas" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kirsten Costas Wikipedia </a></li><li><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/07/11/inspired.movies/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CNN</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLg_MG_4Jqo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Discovery +</a></li><li><a href="https://murderpedia.org/female.P/p/protti-bernadette.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Murderpedia</a></li><li><a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-03-14-mn-26586-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Los Angeles Times</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/angela-delvecchio-stacy-lockwood-cheerleader-case/sonja-ska" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ranker</a></li><li> <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/bernadette-protti-kirsten-costas-cheerleader-145017812.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yahoo News</a></li><li><a href="https://people.com/archive/in-a-deadly-explosion-of-teenage-unhappiness-one-life-is-cut-short-another-blighted-by-murder-vol-23-no-19/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">People Magazine</a></li><li><a href="https://www.inquisitr.com/bernadette-protti-kirsten-costas-cheerleader-murder-on-ids-1980s-the-deadliest-decade-plus-the-obsession-with-finding-bernadette-protti" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Inquisitor</a></li><li><a href="https://screenrant.com/facts-about-lifetime-film-friend-to-die-for/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Screen Rant</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/17/us/16-year-old-is-held-in-killing.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The New York Times</a></li><li><a href="https://thecinemaholic.com/what-happened-to-bernadette-protti/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Cinemaholic</a></li><li><a href="https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner/35054020/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The San Francisco Examiner</a></li></ul>Be sure to follow us on social media. But don’t follow us too closely … don’t be a creep about it! <ul><li>Subscribe to us on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-a-creep/id1460298336" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Apple Podcasts</a></li><li>Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/CreepPod" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://twitter.com/CreepPod</a> @CreepPod</li><li>Facebook: Join the private group! </li><li>Instagram @WhatACreepPodcast</li><li>Visit our Patreon page: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/whatacreep" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.patreon.com/whatacreep</a></li><li>Email: WhatACreepPodcast@gmail.com </li><li>We’ve got merch here! <a href="https://whatacreeppodcast.threadless.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://whatacreeppodcast.threadless.com/#</a></li><li>Our website is <a href="http://www.whatacreeppodcast.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.whatacreeppodcast.com</a> </li><li>Claudia Gomez-Rodriguez created our logo. Follow her on Instagram @ClaudInCloud</li></ul>

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