After years fighting in the courts, a man authorities believe was pretending to be a Hollywood producer to lure women into his orbit has been found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Christy Giles, 24, and Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, 26.
A jury took two days to side fully with the prosecution's case against David Brian Pearce, 42, which not only included the alleged rapes and deaths of the aforementioned victims, but the sexual assaults of an additional seven victims ranging from 2007 to 2021.
In those cases, he was found guilty on three counts of forcible rape, two counts of sexual penetration by use of force, and one count each of rape of an unconscious person and sodomy by use of force, according to KABC.
After Tuesday's verdict, Pearce's sentencing is scheduled for March 13. On the two first-degree murder charges, he is looking at 148 years to life in prison.
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Los Angeles district attorney Nathan Hochman said that his office will "prosecute to the fullest extent of the law those who illegally supply fentanyl and destroy lives, especially those who commit sexual assaults," in a statement received by The Hollywood Reporter.
"Today, a serial rapist was held accountable for the deaths of Christy Giles and Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, both of whom tragically died as a result of fentanyl poisoning, and the victimization of seven other women across Los Angeles," he continued, praising the women who "bravely came forward to report the crimes committed against them."
Seven different women testified that they were the victims of sex crimes perpetrated by Pearce, who purportedly described himself as an "entertainment producer," with THR noting it appears he has no production credits.
The outlet notes the jury did not reach a verdict on two counts of being an accessory after the fact against co-defendant and actor Brandt Walter Osborn, who was arrested on the set of NCIS: Los Angeles in December 2021, per the New York Post at the time.
A third man, cameraman Michael Ansbach, was also arrested in relation to the deaths of Giles and Cabrales-Arzola, but was never charged.
In the case against Osborn, the court declared a mistrial, per KABC; it is unclear if prosecutors will attempt a retrial, but a hearing to determine this has also been set for March 13. Osborn is currently out on bond, while Pearce remains behind bars.
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Giles & Cabrales-Arzola's DeathsWhile drug overdose was first considered as the cause of death for both Giles and Cabrales-Arzola, the Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's office ultimately determined in April 2022 that both women's deaths were homicides. Pearce was charged in July 2022.
Two separate reports, obtained by People, found both women died due to "multiple drug intoxication", while Cabrales-Arzola also suffered multiple organ failure.
Giles, 24, was found to have a fatal cocktail of cocaine, fentanyl and ketamine in her system, as well as gamma-hydroxybutyrate acid, AKA GHB — the so-called date-rape drug.
Cabrales-Arzola, 26, meanwhile tested positive for cocaine and MDMA, as well as other indeterminable drugs. She died of multiple organ failure.
In November 2021, both women went to a party in downtown Los Angeles before heading to what was later determined to be Pearce's apartment.
"Twelve hours later three men in an all black, masked in bandanas; with license plates removed, dropped Christy off on the sidewalk of a hospital," a GoFundMe for the women detailed at the time. "Christy was already lifeless and pronounced dead at the scene."
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"Two hours later the same vehicle with two masked men dropped her friend, Hilda off at a different hospital," it continued. Eleven days later, just one day shy of her 27th birthday, Cabrales-Arzola was taken off of life support.
As detecives began investigation, THR reports they were able to find that both women had ordered rideshares from Pearce's apartment within an hour of their arrival but neither of them left until they were dropped off at area hospitals 11 hours later.
In the case against Pearce, as reported by KABC, prosecutors argued that his DNA would not have been found on both women, including under Cabrales-Arzola's fingernails, had they not been drugged and sexually assaulted.
"This is no accident, no mistake," she argued in court, per the outlet, arguing that this was instead an attempt by the defendant to "get away" with what he'd been doing for years.
On the stand, Pearce denied giving the women drugs and argued that when he returned to the room they were in with Ansbach, who was arrested and never charged and became a key witness for the prosecution, he found all three passed out.
After having been friends for 20 years prior to the night in question, Ansbach reportedly told jurors Pearce had given the women two glasses of wine and him an energy drink mixed with vodka he said "had a distinctly awful taste to it."
Pearce told jurors that after finding all three passed out, "I assumed they just needed to sleep it off." He said he took Giles to a spare bedroom and Cabrales-Arzola to his own room, where he fell asleep. "My DNA was everywhere," he said, denying he'd ever sexually assaulted them.
In Osborn's testimony, per KABC, he told jurors that he went to bed shortly after arriving at Pearce's apartment that night with the young women. He did say he recalled hearing Pearce ask if they wanted wine.
Osborn admitted being with Pearce when they brought Giles to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, but that he had no idea the license plates had been removed, saying he was "dumbfounded" when a security officer asked them about it, calling Pearce "an idiot" for the move.
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