Producer convicted in overdose deaths of 2 women will appeal: Attorney

Editor’s Note: This story contains discussions of rape or sexual assault that may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can find help and discreet resources on the National Sexual Assault Hotline website or by calling 1-800-656-4673.

(NewsNation) — The would-be Hollywood producer sentenced this week to 146 years in prison for a series of rapes and the overdose deaths of two women will appeal, his attorney says.

David Pearce, 43, learned his fate Wednesday following a jury conviction in February on first-degree murder and rape charges. Prosecutors say Pearce gave fentanyl-laced drugs to Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola and Christy Giles after meeting the women at a November 2021 party and bringing them to his Beverly Hills apartment.

When the women overdosed, authorities say, he effectively dumped them at separate hospitals. Giles, 24, was dead on arrival, while 26-year-old Cabrales-Arzola died 11 days later.

Pearce was also convicted of seven sexual assaults that occurred from 2007 to 2021.

Criminal defense attorney Ronda Dixon, who is representing Pearce, said she’ll appeal the case based on several factors, including bad advice her client got from other members of his legal team.

“Unfortunately, he didn’t get the help he needed until it was too late,” Dixon told “Banfield” on Thursday.

She challenges the narrative that Pearce “dumped” the two women who overdosed, arguing that surveillance video shows her client did not abruptly leave the hospitals. As to why Pearce used a vehicle that did not have license plates, the attorney did not challenge the bad optics.

“He probably didn’t participate in their death, but he panicked when they died and pretty much didn’t know what to do,” Dixon said.

An accused accessory in the murder case, 46-year-old Brant Osborn, is expected to be retried after a jury could not reach a verdict.