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Murder charges filed in deaths of model Christy Giles, architect Hilda Marcela Cabrales Arzola


Murder charges have been filed in the overdose deaths of a Los Angeles model and architect whose bodies were dumped outside separate hospitals last year.

Model Christy Giles, 24, and architect Hilda Marcela Cabrales Arzola, 26, were out partying Nov. 12 when the evening took a deadly turn and ended with masked men leaving them at hospitals the following morning.

Giles died the same day she was dropped at the hospital of multiple drug intoxication, the Los Angeles County medical examiner-coroner ruled. Arzola died Nov. 24 of multiple organ failure and multiple drug intoxication. Both deaths were ruled homicides, according to the medical examiner-coroner.

On Tuesday, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced charges against two men who were arrested in December in connection with the case.

Christy Giles.@christygilesx via Instagram

David Brian Pearce, 40, of Beverly Hills, was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of sale/transport/furnish a controlled substance.

Following his December arrest, he was charged in a separate case with several counts of sexual assault against seven victims spanning a 13-year period, the district attorney’s office said in a news release. Court records show he pleaded not guilty to those charges.

NBC News has reached out to an attorney for Pearce for comment. Records show Pearce has remained in jail since his December arrest of him. Bail is set at $3.4 million.

His attorney, Jacob Glicksman, told the Los Angeles Times he intends to plead not guilty at his arraignment and said his client “adamantly and strongly denies any connection to these women’s unfortunate deaths.”

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Brandt Walter Osborn, 42, was charged with two counts of accessory after the fact in connection with Giles’ and Arzola’s deaths. It’s not clear if he is in custody yet and lawyer information for him was not immediately available.

Osborn is an actor who appeared in several low-budget productions, the Los Angeles Times reported.

A third man, Michael Ansbach, was arrested in December. The release does not mention him.

It’s not clear what led to the charges, which came nearly eight months after the women’s deaths.

NBC News has reached out to the district attorney’s office for comment on what prompted the charges and why Ansbach is not charged in the case.

Pearce and Osborn’s arraignments are scheduled for July 11.

“I recognize that these charges are a small consolation to the friends and family members of Ms. Arzola and Ms. Giles,” Gascón said.

“I’m sure that they want to know what happened to their loved ones and why. Today we are one step closer in the search for that truth,” he continued. “And although we know nothing can bring these daughters and friends back to us, I promise that my office will do everything in its power to hold those that harmed them accountable.”

The Los Angeles Police Department previously said the women “were given drugs and overdosed” at a home on Olympic Boulevard. Later, three masked men dropped the women off at the hospitals in a black Toyota Prius without license plates. Authorities later identified those men as Pearce, Ansbach and Osborn.

Following their arrests, the district attorneys office sent the case back to detectives for further investigation. Osborn and Ansbach were released but Pearce remained jailed on the sexual assault charges.

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Gascón on Tuesday called for other potential survivors to step forward with any information against Osborn and Pearce. Police previously said they believed that other victims could have been drugged by one or more of the men.

“My office and our Bureau of Victims Services stand ready to listen, assist and support you. You are not alone,” Gascón said in the release.

The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.


www.nbcnews.com

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