A Hollywood producer was found guilty of first-degree murder for the drug overdose deaths of a model and her friend, as well as for sexually assaulting seven other women.

A jury in Los Angeles took about two and a half days to reach a verdict against 42-year-old David Brian Pearce. He was convicted for the deaths of Christy Giles, a 24-year-old model and actress, and Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, a 26-year-old architect.

The two women were found at separate hospitals on November 13, 2021. Giles was already dead when she was left outside Southern California Hospital in Culver City. Cabrales-Arzola was found alive but in critical condition outside Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Hospital. She remained in a coma until her family took her off life support just before her 27th birthday.

Pearce was also convicted of multiple sexual assault charges, including rape and forced sexual penetration, involving seven other women between 2007 and 2020.

Co-Defendant’s Trial Ends in Mistrial

Another man, 45-year-old Brandt Walter Osborn, was accused of helping Pearce cover up the crime. However, the jury could not agree on a verdict for him, leading the judge to declare a mistrial.

Pearce, who has been in jail since his arrest in December 2021, could be sentenced to 148 years to life in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for March 13.

Prosecutor Calls Pearce a “Sexual Predator”

During the trial, prosecutors described Pearce as a predator who drugged women to assault them. They pointed to DNA evidence found on the two victims, including under Cabrales-Arzola’s fingernails, as proof that they had been drugged and attacked.

Pearce’s lawyer, Jeff Voll, admitted that the evidence against his client was overwhelming. However, he argued that Pearce did not intentionally kill the two women. Voll suggested that all three—Giles, Cabrales-Arzola, and a prosecution witness—accidentally overdosed on fentanyl.

After the verdict, Giles' mother, Dusty, expressed relief, saying she was proud that authorities had taken the case seriously. She emphasized that her daughter and her daughter’s friend were not reckless party girls but victims who had encountered the wrong person.

Giles’ husband, Jan Cilliers, also said he was happy with the verdict, as it confirmed what he and the victims' families had suspected all along.

Deadly Night of Drugs and Assault

According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, both women had multiple drugs in their systems.

• Giles died from a combination of cocaine, fentanyl, GHB (a date-rape drug), and ketamine.

• Cabrales-Arzola died from multiple organ failure, with cocaine, ecstasy (MDMA), and other drugs found in her system.

Prosecutors argued that Pearce gave the women these drugs to assault them. The jury also heard testimony from other women who claimed they had been drugged and assaulted by Pearce in the past.

Cover-Up and Attempted Escape

Osborn, Pearce’s co-defendant, allegedly helped him dispose of the women. Prosecutors said the two men waited hours before dumping the victims at different hospitals.

Security footage showed them using a Toyota Prius with no license plates to transport the women.

Osborn testified that Pearce panicked when they first tried to drop Giles off at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, realizing there were too many people around. Instead, they drove to a less busy hospital in Culver City.

Text messages and internet searches revealed Pearce was looking for ways to flee. He even searched for “countries without extradition”, which prosecutors saw as proof of guilt.

Pearce Denies Everything

On the witness stand, Pearce denied drugging or assaulting the victims. He claimed that when he found them unconscious at his home, he thought they were just sleeping off a long night of partying.

He also denied ever saying, “Dead girls don’t talk,” a chilling statement that a prosecution witness claimed Pearce made.

Pearce’s lawyer said he plans to appeal the conviction. However, with multiple guilty verdicts against him, Pearce faces spending the rest of his life in prison.