The Cheerleader Killing: The Murder of Kirsten Costas

A popular cheerleader. A desperate classmate. And a lie that would turn deadly. When 15-year-old Kirsten Costas answered an invitation to a secret club dinner, she had no idea it was a trap. Hours later, she was bleeding to death on a neighbor’s porch, and the hunt for her killer would expose a world of jealousy, obsession, and betrayal lurking beneath the surface of suburban Orinda, California. In this episode of Murder U, we dive deep into the chilling case that inspired the Lifetime movie Death of a Cheerleader. We follow Kirsten’s final hours, the bizarre clues investigators uncovered, and the unraveling of Bernadette Protti’s shocking confession. How could a bright and promising girl’s life be destroyed over a quest for social status — and how did the town’s own fears and assumptions nearly let her killer slip away? From the trap that was set with a simple phone call to the haunting fallout that scarred an entire community, we uncover the true story behind one of the most infamous murders of the 1980s.

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