A Hollywood producer was sentenced to 146 years to life in prison for the overdose deaths of two women and for sexually assaulting seven others.
David Pearce, 43, was arrested in 2021 for the fentanyl-induced murders of Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, 26, and Christy Giles, 24, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
On Nov. 13, 2021, at approximately 3 a.m., Pearce and his roommate, Brandt Osborn, 46, had met Giles and Cabrales-Arzola at a warehouse party in East L.A. About two hours later, the women left with Pearce and Osborn and headed back to Pearce’s Beverly Hills apartment.
While there, Pearce provided the women with fentanyl and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), which later caused the women to fatally overdose. Within about 35 minutes of arriving at the apartment, one of the women, Cabrales-Arzola, called a rideshare service to pick her up, but neither she nor Giles left the apartment.
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David Pearce, 42, a resident of Los Angeles seen in this undated Getty Image photo. -
Hilda Marcela Cabrales (left) and Christy Giles (right) are seen in photos posted to their GoFundMe pages. -
David Brian Pearce, enters a Los Angeles Superior Court to appear on murder charges in connection with the death of Hilda Marcela Cabrales Arzola and Christy Giles for dumping their bodies on the street at local hospitals after drug overdose. Todays court case was continued to July 11, 2022. (Frederick M. Brown/Daily Mail.com via AP, Pool) -
Christy Giles is shown in an undated photo provided by her family on Nov. 16, 2021. -
Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola is shown in an undated photo posted on a GoFundMe page. -
David Brian Pearce, enters a Los Angeles Superior Court to appear on murder charges in connection with the death of Hilda Marcela Cabrales Arzola and Christy Giles for dumping their bodies on the street at local hospitals after drug overdose. Todays court case was continued to July 11, 2022. (Frederick M. Brown/Daily Mail.com via AP, Pool)
About 11 hours later, prosecutors said Giles was carried out of the apartment by Pearce. And around 90 minutes after that, Giles was carried out. Pearce dropped both women off at different hospitals.
Giles was already dead when she was left outside a Culver City hospital. Cabrales-Arzola was left at a West L.A. hospital, where she was resuscitated and spent 11 days in a coma before she died just one day short of her 27th birthday.
The two women befriended each other in 2019 and had gone out together the night they crossed paths with Pearce and Osborn.
Giles was an Alabama native who moved to L.A. to work as a model. Her cause of death was listed as multiple drug intoxication. Cocaine, fentanyl, gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, or GHB — a sedative — and ketamine were found in her system, records show.
Cabrales-Arzola was an interior designer who was visiting from Mexico. Her official cause of death was listed as organ failure, but a secondary cause was also multiple drug intoxication. Cocaine and MDMA were found in her system, records show.
Three men were arrested in connection with the women’s deaths — Pearce, Osborn and Michael Ansbach, who was 47 at the time.
After Pearce’s arrest, at least a dozen women came forward accusing him of sexual assault, saying he lured women to his apartment after a night of partying by pretending to be a well-connected Hollywood insider, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Many of the alleged victims said that after drinks at his apartment, they would awaken while he was assaulting them. The crimes took place between 2005 to 2021 and seven victims “testified at trial to Pearce’s sexual depravity and violent tendencies,” court documents said.
On Feb. 4, 2025, Pearce was found guilty by a jury of:
- Two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Giles and Cabrales-Arzola
- Three counts of forcible rape
- Two counts of sexual penetration by use of force
- One count of sodomy by use of force
- One count of rape of an unconscious woman in the sexual assaults of seven different victims
Prosecutors alleged that Pearce’s roommate, Osborn, was an accessory to the murders and that he helped destroy evidence, though the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the charges against him. A new trial for Osborn is expected to take place with a pretrial scheduled for Nov. 18.
The third man arrested, Ansbach, became a witness for the prosecution, testifying that he became very ill after taking the same batch of cocaine the women had taken.
Ansbach said that Pearce seemed more worried about taking care of himself when he asked for someone to take the two unconscious women to the hospital, The Times reported.
Pearce, who is a self-described nightlife promoter, maintained his innocence throughout the trial. He testified to taking a lot of drugs during that period and claimed that it wasn’t uncommon for people to pass out at his apartment while partying.
On Oct. 29, 2025, Pearce was sentenced to 146 years to life in prison for the deaths of Cabrales-Arzola and Giles and for the sexual assault of seven victims. He was also ordered to register as a lifetime sex offender.
“This sentence delivers long-awaited justice for Ms. Cabrales-Arzola, Ms. Giles, and the courageous sexual assault victims who came forward and testified,” said L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman. “Not only were the victims sexually assaulted, but the lives of Ms. Cabrales-Arzola and Ms. Giles were stolen in one of the most devastating ways — a fentanyl-induced sexual assault by Pearce. This case is a stark reminder of the devastation caused by fentanyl. Fentanyl poisoners who harm and exploit others will be held accountable. Every prosecution and sentence like this one moves us a step closer to deterring criminals from committing these crimes and protecting others from a similar fate.”