David Brian Pearce, 42, was convicted of first-degree murder in the fentanyl overdose deaths of model and aspiring actress Christy Giles, 24, and her friend Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, 26, an architect, in November 2021.
Pearce’s roommate at the time and co-defendant, Brandt Walter Osborn, 45, was also charged with two counts of accessory after the fact. The jury deadlocked on charges against Osborn. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Eleanor J. Hunter declared a mistrial on his two charges.
The jury deliberated for more than two days before finding Pearce guilty.
Prosecutors told jurors that Pearce met the two women on Nov. 13, 2021, at an after-hours rave in downtown Los Angeles, took them to his apartment, and drugged them “because he didn’t want anybody to leave” and was “giving them drugs to facilitate the sexual assault.”
Pearce and Osborn allegedly drove the women to two separate hospitals instead of calling 911.
Giles and Cabrales-Arzola were taken to the hospitals about two hours apart. Giles was dead when she arrived at Southern California Hospital in Culver City. Her friend was kept alive outside Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Hospital in critical condition, and was taken off life support by her family later that month, one day before her 27th birthday.
In his testimony last week, Pearce denied giving the women drugs and denied sexually assaulting seven women, along with five other women who also testified against him.
Pearce’s defense lawyer told the jury there was no proof that Pearce had drugs in his house.
Deputy District Attorney Catherine Mariano told jurors that Pearce was a “sexual predator” and said there was no reason for his DNA to be found on the two women if they weren’t drugged and then sexually assaulted, according to City News Service.
Pearce’s attorney, Jeff Voll, told reporters that the verdict was “truthfully not surprising, given the overwhelming amount of incriminating evidence,” but said he thought the jury would deadlock on the murder counts.
“Because to believe David Pearce intended to kill Hilda and Christy, you would have to believe he intended to kill (key prosecution witness) Michael Ansbach and there was just no reason, no evidence ... because they all got sick off of fentanyl—all of them, and unfortunately two passed,'' Voll said.
Voll told reporters that his client’s testimony in his own defense “didn’t help,'' saying he had filed a written statement with the court informing the judge that he didn’t think his client should be called to the stand.
He said he didn’t expect his client to ever get out of prison, but added that he expects his client to hire another attorney to file a motion for a new trial.
Giles’s mother, Dusty, told reporters she was proud of the prosecution and the Los Angeles Police Department detectives. The family pleaded with them not to rule the deaths as accidental overdoses and to investigate the cases, according to the mother.
“The man who killed my daughter I hope is going away forever,” she said.
The victims’ deaths were investigated as homicides by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner. The office found multiple drugs in both of the victims’ systems, according to the department.
Pearce’s sentencing is set for March 13. He faces 148 years to life in state prison, according to the district attorney’s office.
A pretrial hearing for Osborn is set for the same day.
