Hollywood producer found guilty of murdering model and architect with legal drug cocktail
A Hollywood producer has been found guilty of murder in the overdose deaths of two women who were given a fatal cocktail of drugs and left to die outside Los Angeles -area hospitals in 2021.
The jury deliberated for about two and a half days before delivering the verdict on Tuesday afternoon, convicting 42-year-old David Pearce on two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of model Christy Giles, 24, and her architect friend Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, 26, ABC7 reported from the LA courtroom.
He was also convicted of 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, in connection to unrelated cases involving seven women between 2007 and 2020.
Pearce, a self-described 'entertainment professional' testified at his trial last week that Giles and Cabrales-Arzola were 'still breathing' when he left their limp bodies at area hospitals about two hours apart on November 13, 2021 after meeting them in a 'drug room' at a rave the night before.
Giles was already dead when she was left at the hospital and Hilda was in critical condition. She was taken off life support later that month, a day before her 27th birthday. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner determined their deaths to be drug-induced homicides.
Pearce was arrested in December 2021 on suspicion of manslaughter and then charged in 2022 with two counts of murder and two counts in the sale, transport and furnishing of a controlled substance.
While in custody, he was also charged with 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.
Pearce has denied sexually assaulting either of the women and also denied sexually assaulting the five other women who also testified against him. He has remained jailed on no bond since his arrest.
More than three years after the deaths of the two women, Pearce went on trial where he faced life in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors painted a picture of two women enjoying a night out – first at the Soho House in West Hollywood before going to a rave at a warehouse in East Los Angeles where they met Pearce and his actor friend Brandt Osborn.
They partied together before being lured back to Pearce's Beverly Hills apartment where prosecutors claim he gave them a fatal cocktail of drugs – which included cocaine, fentanyl, ketamine, heroin, MDMA, and the date rape drug GBH.
Pearce testified that the women passed out at his apartment and when they were still unconscious 12 hours later, he took them to separate hospitals, telling the court he believed he was doing the right thing.
Even though the women had consumed alcohol and drugs at the party, prosecutors alleged that the drugs Pearce gave them at his apartment are what 'ultimately killed them.'
He claimed he had not provided them with drugs and was not responsible for their deaths.
Sentencing for Pearce has been scheduled for March 13.
The jury was unable to reach a decision on the charges against Pearce's co-defendant, Brandt Osborn, 45, who was accused of being an accessory after the fact.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Eleanor J. Hunter declared a mistrial on those charges after jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked. She scheduled a hearing to discuss whether prosecutors intend to seek a re-trial against Osborn.
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