LOS ANGELES, CA – The husband of Christy Giles, one of two women drugged and left outside Los Angeles-area hospitals in 2021, is speaking out following the conviction of David Pearce, the man found guilty of their murders.
Jan Cilliers, who was married to Giles, described the verdict as deeply emotional, bringing both relief and sorrow. “It was a release of emotion,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it wasn’t a joyous event that we got the verdict we were looking for. This whole situation is just unbelievably sad.”
Pearce, a former Hollywood producer, was convicted of murdering Giles and Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, as well as sexually assaulting seven women between 2007 and 2020. He now faces a potential sentence of 148 years to life in prison.
The case gained widespread attention after the two women were last seen leaving a party in Los Angeles on November 13, 2021. They were later found at separate hospitals—Giles, 24, was pronounced dead outside Southern California Hospital in Culver City, while Cabrales-Arzola, 26, was discovered unconscious at Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles. She died two weeks later.
Toxicology reports revealed multiple drugs in their systems, leading investigators to believe the women overdosed at Pearce’s apartment before being abandoned. Pearce was arrested the following month along with two others, though only Pearce and Brandt Walter Osborn were charged. Pearce was tried for murder, while Osborn faced accessory charges.
Cilliers, who was out of town when his wife died, attended nearly every day of the trial and plans to testify at Pearce’s sentencing hearing on March 13. “I think that I will be back for the sentencing. I have plans to,” he said. “So I am going to definitely speak to the judge about what I’m looking for.”
When asked about Pearce’s future in prison, Cilliers said he has no interest in what happens next, as long as the convicted murderer remains behind bars. “I don’t care,” he said. “As long as he is put away, I’m happy.”
Pearce remains in custody as he awaits sentencing.
