A serial rapist who lured women into his orbit by lying that he was a Hollywood producer has been sentenced to 146 years in prison for fatally drugging a model and her architect friend.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Eleanor Hunter handed the sentence on Wednesday after Pearce was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Christy Giles and Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola. He was also found guilty of the sexual assaults — including three counts of forcible rape, two counts of sexual penetration with force and one count each of rape of an unconscious victim and forced sodomy — of seven other victims from 2007 to 2021.
The two deceased women, who overdosed on fentanyl, met David Pearce at a warehouse party in East Los Angeles in 2021 before he drugged them at his Beverly Hills apartment. Giles was deceased when she was dropped off at the hospital, while Cabrales-Arzola died eleven days later. An investigation initiated after their deaths discovered that Pearce had raped several women across more than a decade.
“This sentence delivers long-awaited justice for Cabrales-Arzola, Giles, and the courageous sexual assault victims who came forward and testified,” L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement. “Not only were the victims sexually assaulted, but the lives of Cabrales-Arzola and Giles were stolen in one of the most devastating ways — a fentanyl-induced sexual assault by Pearce.”
Pearce has denied the allegations.
Seven women testified of sex crimes committed by Pearce, who described himself as an as an “entertainment professional,” though it doesn’t appear he has any production credits.
Earlier this year, a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict against Brant Osborn, who was charged with two counts of accessory to murder after the fact. He was alleged to have accompanied Pearce back to his apartment, where he drugged the women. He’s expected to be retried.
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