A Los Angeles man, David Pearce, was convicted on Tuesday of two counts of murder and seven counts of sexual assault in connection with the deaths of two women who overdosed at his apartment. The 42-year-old nightlife promoter was arrested in November 2021 after surveillance footage captured him transporting the unconscious bodies of Christy Giles and Hilda Marcela Cabrales Arzola to hospitals, where they were abandoned.
Prosecutors argued that Pearce supplied the drugs that led to the fatal overdoses and delayed seeking medical help for the women for approximately 12 to 14 hours after they lost consciousness at his home on Olympic Boulevard. Christy Giles succumbed to an overdose of fentanyl and cocaine shortly after arriving at the hospital, while Hilda Cabrales Arzola died following an 11-day coma due to organ failure and cocaine intoxication.
The case garnered significant attention, prompting numerous women to come forward with allegations of sexual assault against Pearce. Many of these women described how he allegedly used his connections in Hollywood to lure them to his apartment after nights of partying. Victims reported feeling incapacitated after consuming drinks he provided, only to awaken to find Pearce assaulting them.
Deputy District Attorney Catherine Mariano highlighted the dangers posed by Pearce, describing him as the type of person one fears encountering in nightlife settings. During the trial, jurors were unable to reach a verdict on charges against Pearce’s co-defendant, Brandt Osborn, who was accused of assisting Pearce in destroying evidence related to the women’s deaths.
A toxicology report revealed the presence of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), a substance often associated with drug-facilitated sexual assault, in Giles’ system. However, Pearce was not charged with rape in relation to either victim. His past had included a police investigation for sexual assault in 2014, but prosecutors chose not to file charges at that time.
In his defense, Pearce admitted to leading a lifestyle characterized by drug use and parties but denied providing drugs to Giles or Cabrales Arzola. He claimed he was not present when the women ingested what prosecutors believe to be the fatal dose of cocaine. During the trial, a key witness, Michael Ansbach, testified that Pearce had served a dangerous batch of cocaine that caused him severe illness. Ansbach recounted Pearce’s chilling comment, "Dead girls don’t talk," which he claimed Pearce said while dismissing the urgency of taking the women to the hospital.
The emotional toll of the trial was evident, with family members of the victims present in court, visibly distressed as they awaited the verdict. Pearce’s mother expressed her love for her son but acknowledged the difficulty of reconciling that love with the gravity of the charges against him.
As the trial concluded, the jury’s decision marked a significant moment in the ongoing fight against sexual violence and drug-related crimes, highlighting the need for justice for victims and accountability for perpetrators in the nightlife scene.