New twist in deaths of model Christy Giles & pal as suspect battles to stay out of jail after slapped with rape charge
A NEW twist in the case of the deaths of model Christy Giles and her friend, sees the suspect battling a new rape charge.
Actor David Pearce, 39, who is currently being held on suspicion of manslaughter, has now asked a judge to reduce his $3.4 million bail and let him free.
Pearce who was arrested with the deaths of Christy and her interior designer friend Hilda Marcela Cabrales Arzola, was charged with sexually assaulting four other women.
In court documents filed this week, his attorney argued that prosecutors filed “old” rape allegations against Pearce in order to keep him in jail while gathering information about the case, the reported.
Defense attorney Jacob Glucksman has asked the judge to decrease the bail to $100,000 and added that his client is willing to wear a GPS ankle monitor.
He wrote: “This case attracted media attention because of the very unfortunate death of two women who appeared to have died of drug overdoses in or around November 2021.
“The descendants died after apparently being in contact with the Defendant. The Court should note, however, that Mr. Pearce is not charged with any offenses related to this unfortunate incident.
“The People appear to have "dusted off" old files against Mr.Pearce and, in turn, filed very serious offenses against him that carry the possibility of life in prison in an effort to keep Mr.Pearce detained while they continue to investigate the deaths of the women.
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“The defense does not argue that the People cannot do this, however, the bail should be commensurate to the alleged offenses and not issues that, at this point, are pure speculation and media fodder.”
Glucksman added that Pearce would not be able to afford the $3.4 million bail as he works as a freelancer and lives paycheck to paycheck.
He also said that keeping his client in jail during Covid times is dangerous as he has pre-existing health conditions.
Pearce is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2010, raping another woman in 2019, and raping two more women in February and October of last year, according to a news release from the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office.
Pearce's roommate Brandt Osborn, 42, and Mike Ansbach, 47, were also arrested in December by Los Angeles police in connection with the deaths of the two women.
They were later released after making $100,000 bail.
Christy, 24, was left dead outside a Culver City hospital on November 13, while Hilda, 26, was abandoned outside another West LA hospital two hours later and passed away two weeks later after she was declared brain dead.
The women are suspected to have died from drug overdoses, with Hilda’s toxicology report allegedly finding heroin in her system.
They were on a night out when they left a warehouse party in East LA with three men to go to an afterparty in the Hollywood Hills - but never made it there.
Their last known location was the apartment that Pearce rented in Beverly Hills.
Pearce is set to present his motion in court on Monday.
