David Brian Pearce, man arrested on suspicion of drugging model Christy Giles and her friend, appears in Los Angeles Superior Court for a hearing on separate sexual assault charges
- David Pearce, 39, appeared before a judge in Los Angeles on Thursday
- He is being held in connection with the deaths of two women last month – Christy Giles, 24, and her friend Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, 26
- Giles, an aspiring actress and model, was found dead outside a hospital on Nov. 13 and Cabrales-Arzola’s family turned her life support off two weeks later
- Both women had been seen partying with Pearce at an East Los Angeles nightclub in the early hours of November 13
- He was subsequently charged with sexually assaulting four women in alleged attacks dating back as far as 2010
- On Thursday he was ordered to appear before the judge on January 12, and is being held in jail on a $3.4 million bond
A Californian man accused of involvement in the death of an aspiring actress and model and her Mexican architect friend appeared in court in Los Angeles on Thursday.
David Pearce, a 39-year-old film producer and party promoter, was arrested on December 17 on suspicion of manslaughter, after the deaths of the two women.
Christy Giles, 24, and her friend Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, a 26-year-old Mexican architect, were last seen at an East Los Angeles warehouse party with Pearce and his friends, in the early hours of November 13.
Giles’s body was dumped later on November 13 outside a Los Angeles hospital; Cabrales-Arzola was still alive when she was abandoned, but she died two weeks later.
After Pearce’s arrest he was charged with sexually assaulting four women from 2010-20.
On Thursday his arraignment on those charges were postponed, while he tries to hire a lawyer, and he was ordered to return to court on January 12, to be arraigned.
David Pearce, 39, is seen in court on Thursday in Los Angeles
Charges are yet to be filed in the case of Giles and Cabrales-Arzola.
He is being held on a $3.4 million bail.
Catherine Mariano, deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County, said on Thursday that she could not say whether charges would be filed in the case of Giles and Cabrales-Arzola, or when.
Prosecutors have ‘asked for further investigation’ she said.
‘That’s currently an ongoing investigation so I can’t say too much about that, but that investigation is absolutely still ongoing.’
Pearce, during Thursday’s hearing, kept his eyes to the ground and tried to avoid eye-contact with the cameras.
He is charged with two counts of forcible rape, one count of raping an unconscious or asleep person, and one count of sexual penetration for a foreign object.
The alleged incidents involved four women and occurred between 2010 and 2020, according to the criminal complaint.
Prosecutors are yet to decide what sentencing they will seek in the sexual assault case.
‘Our office has not determined what sentence it will seek in this (Pearce) case,’ said Greg Risling, LA County District Attorney Office spokesman.
He told The New York Post: ‘We will make that determination after all the admissible evidence is presented in court and our prosecutors have had the opportunity to consider the mitigating and aggravating circumstances.’
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