Hollywood Producer Sentenced to 146 years in Overdose Deaths to Appeal Conviction
LOS ANGELES – David Pearce, 43, sentenced to 146 years in prison for the rape and overdose deaths of two women, will appeal the verdict, his attorney announced Thursday. Pearce was convicted in February of first-degree murder and multiple counts of rape stemming from incidents in November 2021.
Prosecutors argued Pearce provided Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola and Christy Giles with fentanyl-laced drugs after meeting them at a party in Beverly Hills and bringing them back to his apartment. Giles,24,died upon arrival at a hospital,while Cabrales-Arzola,26,died 11 days later.Pearce was also found guilty of seven sexual assaults occurring between 2007 and 2021.
Criminal defense attorney ronda Dixon, representing Pearce, stated the appeal will be based on multiple factors, including what she described as inadequate counsel Pearce received from previous members of his legal team. “regrettably, he didn’t get the help he needed until it was too late,” Dixon told NewsNation’s “Banfield.”
Dixon challenged the prosecution’s claim that Pearce “dumped” the women at hospitals, citing surveillance video that she says shows he did not leave abruptly. She acknowledged the negative perception surrounding Pearce’s use of a vehicle without license plates but did not offer a defense for that detail.
“He probably didn’t participate in their death, but he panicked when they died and pretty much didn’t know what to do,” Dixon saeid.
Brant Osborn, 46, accused of being an accessory in the case, is scheduled for a retrial after a previous jury failed to reach a verdict.
