Dead Girls Don't Talk

Summary

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48 Hours – "Dead Girls Don't Talk"

CBS News • Released: June 22, 2026

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Episode Overview

“Dead Girls Don’t Talk” investigates the tragic deaths of aspiring model Christy Giles and architect Hilda Marcela Cabrales Arzola after a night out in Hollywood. The episode meticulously follows their last hours, the police investigation, and the subsequent murder trial of David Pierce and his roommate Brandt Osborne. CBS correspondents, detectives, family members, and survivors guide listeners through the heart-wrenching case, exploring justice, victimization, and the challenges in prosecuting crimes where the victims cannot speak for themselves.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Night & Immediate Aftermath

• Christy Giles and Hilda Cabrales Arzola went out to parties in LA; their last known activities were tracked digitally by Christy’s husband, Jan Cillier.
• After missing texts, Jan tracked Christy’s phone to an unfamiliar address, later to an ER ([01:10–01:23]).
  • Quote (Jan Cillier): “Around 5pm I saw her location had suddenly moved to an emergency room hospital. My level of panic is growing and growing.” ([01:23])
• Both women were dropped at separate ERs by two men in a black Prius, who left without identifying themselves ([03:40–05:15]).
  • Detective Jonathan Vanderly: “They were masked, disguised...never give their names, never leave their phone numbers, license plates, anything like that.” ([04:29], [05:15])
• Christy was deceased; Hilda was on life support. Their families were devastated, seeking answers and justice ([04:54–09:09]).

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2. The Victims’ Backgrounds

• Christy: Adventurous, international model, driven, married Jan after a whirlwind romance ([06:21–07:02]).
• Hilda: Highly educated architect, recently relocated from Mexico, described as outgoing and ambitious by her family ([07:16–07:36], [08:37]).
• Both remembered for their love of life, friends, and each other ([41:09–41:30]).

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3. Unraveling the Investigation

• Digital Clues: Jan creates a timeline from Christy’s last messages and location data ([09:31–10:32]).
  • Last message: "Let's go.", with Hilda responding to call an Uber — which waited but left empty ([10:13–10:50]).
  • Jan Cillier: “Just confirming my worst fears again — that they were there at that place against their will.” ([10:51])
• Police Focus on David Pierce & Brandt Osborne’s apartment at 8641 West Olympic Boulevard ([12:04]).
  • Detective Vanderly: “Immediately the lights go out” after police knock ([13:04]).
  • Interview inconsistencies and evidence of attempted cover-up: stripped beds, fresh laundry, safe with baggies ([14:32–14:40]).
  • Detective Vanderly: “He thought he beat us that night for sure. He was happy.” ([15:01])

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4. Pattern of Predation & Obstacles

• David Pierce’s history: Investigated but not prosecuted for prior sexual assaults ([15:19–15:59]), with a clear modus operandi ([15:59–16:39]):
  • Met women online/bars, bragged, drugged drinks, then committed assaults.
  • Detective Calvin Yu: “He has a pattern...first step is trying to find his victim...” ([15:59])
• Prosecution Challenges:
  • Recreational drug use by victims complicated the proof of non-consensual acts and responsibility ([17:01]).
  • Detective Vandely: “It just became what actually happened. And that was the difficulty of this case.” ([17:01])
• Breakthrough from Witnesses:
  • Security and text footage, downstairs neighbor heard prolonged moaning believed to be Hilda ([17:52–21:54]).
  • More women (ultimately 20) came forward with similar stories after the DA’s public request ([22:19–30:29]).
  • Jane Doe 2 (Jackie): “There’s a huge stigma that surrounds women that come forward with sexual assault.” ([30:24])

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5. Arrest, Strategy, and Trial

• Pierce, Osborne, and Michael Ansbach are arrested after a tight search and investigation ([23:10–23:17]).
• Detectives leverage interviews, secret recordings, and Ansbach’s eventual cooperation ([23:38–25:17]).
  • Ansbach claims Pierce said: “Dead girls don’t talk.” ([25:17])

Notable Quotes and Moments

• Prosecutor Catherine Mariano: “Defendant Pierce wanted them to die because dead girls don't talk.” ([03:06])
• Detective Calvin Yu: “So he got on the stand and he did his best to try to say everybody was wrong and he was right.” ([32:59])
• Jan Cillier: “Did I have an overwhelming urge to throw something really hard at their heads? Yeah.” ([34:30])

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6. Courtroom Drama & Testimonies

• Prosecution uses prior bad acts—testimony from Jane Does—to establish Pierce’s predatory pattern ([28:50–31:16]).
  • Defense Attorney Vaughl (on volume of cases): “How many do you believe? As a hundred.” — “Yes.” ([30:50–31:01])
• Ansbach’s and Jackie’s testimonies are central to piercing the defense narrative ([31:25–32:59]).
• Both Pierce and Osborne testify; Osborne paints himself as an “innocent bystander”, which Jan and prosecution contest ([33:54–34:06]).

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7. Verdict & Aftermath

• Jury delivers a verdict ([37:41–38:39]):
  • David Pierce: Guilty of first-degree murder for both Christy and Hilda, plus all sexual assaults.
    • Detective Calvin Yu: “I don’t think I breathed at all until I heard a guilty on every single one.” ([38:25])
    • Jane Doe 2 (Jackie): “We showed the jury what kind of man this is.” ([38:39])
  • Brandt Osborne: Mistrial due to jury deadlock ([38:54–39:00]).
    • Prosecutor Mariano expresses disappointment, but the families remain convinced of his complicity.
• Systemic failures and family grief:
  • Grief compounded by media narratives and defense attacks on victim reputations ([34:18–34:40]).
  • Dusty Giles (Christie’s mother): “Pierce is a sick, slimy lizard that sits and prays and sneaks, and his bite is deadly.” ([35:50])
  • Importance of digital footprints: Dusty urges families to “share locations” ([40:16]).

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Prosecutor Catherine Mariano ([03:06]): “Defendant Pierce wanted them to die...because dead girls don’t talk.”
• Jane Doe 2 (Jackie) ([25:17]): “We are the voice of both Kristi and Hilda. Because they can't talk.”
• Hilda’s mother, Hilda Marcela Plasencia ([21:54]): “She was suffering and nobody, nobody help her.”
• Detective Calvin Yu ([31:01]): “Yes...I would definitely say so. How many do you believe? As a hundred.”
• Jan Cillier ([37:12]): “There’s no justice for Christy. There’s only preventing him from doing it again.”

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Significant Timestamps

• [00:09] – Opening: The deaths and investigation introduced
• [01:10–01:23] – Jan Cillier tracks Christy’s phone to the ER
• [03:06] – Prosecutor’s chilling summary: “Dead girls don’t talk.”
• [10:13–10:50] – The final texts and the missed Uber
• [15:19–16:39] – Pierce’s MO for sexual assault outlined
• [22:19] – Call for more victims to step forward
• [23:47–25:17] – Secret recording and the phrase: “Dead girls don’t talk.”
• [28:50–31:16] – Jane Doe testimony, scale of accusations
• [37:41–38:39] – Guilty verdict delivered

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Conclusion

“Dead Girls Don’t Talk” is a sobering account of predation and delayed justice, underscoring the formidable barriers survivors and families face in holding predators accountable. The episode memorializes Christy and Hilda not just as victims, but as vibrant, ambitious young women. It also highlights the courage of survivors—living and dead—whose truths finally forced a reckoning. As the case reaches its verdict, families stress the importance of looking out for one another and of sharing digital footprints, ensuring that, when tragedy strikes, “dead girls” do have a voice.

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Reflections on Justice & Remembrance

• Jan Cillier ([37:12]): “There’s no justice for Christy. There’s only preventing him from doing it again. I think that’s the only justice we can get.”
• Dusty Giles (Christie’s mother) ([40:16]): “Please, within your own families, share locations. You never know when you’re gonna not be able to get in touch with somebody.”
• Jane Doe 2 (Jackie) ([40:50]): “I see beauty...strong, independent women...free spirits, women that were coming to LA to pursue their dreams.”
• Fernanda (Christie’s sister) ([41:30]): “As someone who had a lot of dreams, ambitions, very intelligent, funny. She was happy to be alive.”

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This summary captures the key narrative and emotional beats of the episode while preserving the voices and dignity of those involved.

Transcript

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

Powerful opening statements in the Hollywood overdose murder trial. David Pierce and Brandt Osborne on trial

[Narrator / Reporter]

for the deaths of two women, model Christie Giles and her architect friend Hilda Cabralis.

[Fernanda (Christie's sister)]

This trial will not change what happened and will not bring my sister back or Christy.

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

Christie's plan for the evening was to go out with some friends and have a fun night.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

Aloha.

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

My name is Jan Celia and Christy was my wife. Christy loved to spread joy and laughter wherever she went. Hilda Marcelo just moved from Mexico. She seemed very lovely and they were becoming fast friends.

[Fernanda (Christie's sister)]

My sister did enjoy going out to parties. She liked dancing and the music. I remember seeing her Instagram. She was posting stories of that night.

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

She sent me a couple of text messages. Her last text message to me was around 1 or 2am and throughout the day I was trying to text her and there was no response.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

You're tracking Chrissy's phone?

[Luis (Hilda's father)]

Yeah.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

Is this an address that you recognize?

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

It's not an address. I know. Around 5pm I saw her location had suddenly moved to an emergency room hospital. My level of panic is growing and growing. I just knew that I had to try and get to the bottom of what happened.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

You blast out this address and very quickly you get responses.

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

Yeah.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

What are those responses?

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

That there's somebody that lives at this location that is a very unsavory person.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

David Pierce.

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

Yeah. He passed himself off as a big shot Hollywood producer, but he was a con man with an alleged history of sexual assaul.

[Fernanda (Christie's sister)]

It wasn't clear what happened. We just knew she overdosed. And to me my reaction was who did this to her?

[Interviewer / Journalist]

So when you heard overdose, you immediately thought drugged?

[Fernanda (Christie's sister)]

Yeah, drugged, yeah.

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

Definitely not something that she would have done to herself ever. That's just not her.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

Got a call at home. A parent overdose Christy. She was deceased. Hilda was still on life support at that time.

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

I give as much information as I can to the detectives.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

Jan had put a number of things out on social media and it spread like wildfire. People recognized this guy right away and they were urged to call us.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Authorities say seven more women have come forward claiming Pierce sexually assaulted them as well. J do number one.

[Prosecutor Catherine Mariano]

J Doe number two. Jane Doe number three.

[Hilda Marcela Plasencia (Hilda's mother)]

Number four. Number five.

[Prosecutor Catherine Mariano]

Number six.

[Hilda Marcela Plasencia (Hilda's mother)]

Number seven.

[Jane Doe 2 (Jackie)]

Being a Jane Doe Doe. We are the voice of both Kristi and Hilda. Because they can't talk.

[Prosecutor Catherine Mariano]

Defendant Pierce wanted them to die. He wanted them to die because dead girls don't talk.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Jonathan Vigliani reports. Dead girls don't talk.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

For a fresh case, it's all on you. There's no no one else is going to solve this thing for you. It's you and your partner. That's it.

[Narrator / Reporter]

And in November 2021, Detective Jonathan Vanderly and Detective Calvin Yu had to figure out why a lifeless woman was left at this emergency room. This video from Southern California Hospital shows staff pulling a woman out of a black Prius and helping her onto a stretcher while two men look on. When the stretcher moves into the er, it becomes clear the car has no license plates. Detective Vanderly would later learn that the two men told the staff they found the woman, quote, passed out on the curb somewhere nearby and they were trying to be good Samaritans. They left without giving their names or phone numbers.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

They were masked, disguised.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

This must be adding up to something that sounds very sketchy to you.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

Very sketchy. But then you still have to figure out if an actual crime occurred.

[Narrator / Reporter]

The woman was Christie Giles and her mother, Dusty, will never forget the call that came from the hospital telling her her 24 year old daughter was dead from a drug overdose.

[Dusty (Christie's mother)]

And I said, what do you mean she didn't make it? And then I hung up and I fell apart.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Two hours later, at a hospital just two miles away, a second woman was left at another emergency room by the same two men, also in a black Prius and wearing masks.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

They never give their names, never leave their phone numbers, license plates, anything like that.

[Narrator / Reporter]

That was Hilda Marcela Cabralis. The 26 year old architect was still alive in the ICU and fighting for her life. And in Durango, Mexico, her mother, Hilda Marcela Plasencia, was getting the news about her eldest daughter and namesake.

[Hilda Marcela Plasencia (Hilda's mother)]

She was very bad. She was intubated.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

You are a doctor. What was going on in your mind at the time?

[Hilda Marcela Plasencia (Hilda's mother)]

What happened? What happened to her? Why is she that bad?

[Narrator / Reporter]

And in the earliest hours of the investigation, there were only questions. How could this happen to Kristi? It was an unimaginable ending to a life bursting with exuberance. Let's do some downer. Christy was an adventurer traveling the world as a high fashion model. For Wilhelmina. She ultimately made LA her home.

[Chrissy Giles (Christie)]

I'm Chrissy Giles.

[Jane Doe 2 (Jackie)]

I live in Venice, California and I am an artist.

[Narrator / Reporter]

At 21, her life took a dramatic turn. She met Jan Cillier, a South African born artist, photographer and special effects editor. Seventeen years her senior. They'd been together seven months when the couple went to Burning man, an arts festival in the Nevada desert, where impulsively, they took a big leap.

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

We just decided to elope. We just got Married right there. We said to each other that, you know, life's very short. So we kind of really just proposed to each other, and the next day we got married.

[Narrator / Reporter]

After they got married, Christy started studying interior design in Los Angeles, which led to a new friendship with Hilda Marsella. Hilda had just moved there to start her dream job, recalls her father, Luis.

[Luis (Hilda's father)]

I feel very happy for her, but very sad for me because we are very close.

[Narrator / Reporter]

No one was surprised that the cum laude graduate of the prestigious university in Monterrey, Mexico, was thriving in la, especially her sister Fernanda.

[Fernanda (Christie's sister)]

She was always making a lot of friends. Talkative, outgoing, just having a good time and meeting people that they also like. The music that they are also enjoying. Dancing.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Dancing, as this video shows, is what the two friends were doing that night. Kristi's husband, Jan, was out of town visiting his father. He knew she and Hilda had planned a girls night out, starting at Soho House and then on to a warehouse party after midnight to see a favorite dj. A friend who was with them said they did ketamine, a popular club drug. But by the next day, Jan was on his way home, knowing Christy was gone.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

In less than 24 hours, your world was turned upside down.

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

Shattered. Yeah.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Hilda's father and mother rushed to be by her side. When they arrived, they found their daughter on life support.

[Luis (Hilda's father)]

My heart broke a thousand pieces because I saw my baby unconscious. I'm fighting for her life.

[Hilda Marcela Plasencia (Hilda's mother)]

I said, is this real? Am I dreaming? I took her hand and I said, mom's here with you. You're not alone.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Christy's autopsy revealed that in addition to ketamine, she had cocaine, fentanyl, and ghb, known as the date rape drug in her system.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

Are these drugs that Christy would take willingly?

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

I mean, that combination of drugs sounds deadly to me. So, like, no.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Jan needed answers. So he began to build a timeline based on the digital trail Kristi left behind. Information gathered from her messages and phone, which he was able to track.

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

I wanted to get to the bottom of exactly what happened that night.

[Narrator / Reporter]

He already knew what she'd been doing before she went out for the evening.

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

She was enjoying a lovely sunset. She took our cat for a walk on the beach.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Sand panther. Sand panther. Oh, Whoa.

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

Those were the last pictures she sent me of herself. And she said, I wish you were here, and I will forever wish that I was there, too.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Jan was able to track Christy's phone to a residence located at 8641 West Olympic Boulevard. At 5:30am Kristi sends Hilda a wide eye emoji and says, let's go. Hilda replies, I'll call an Uber 10 minutes away.

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

The fact that they're both in the same house text messaging each other they need to leave is very worrying.

[Narrator / Reporter]

That was the last text message that Christy or Hilda ever sent. That Uber arrived, waited for five minutes and drove away empty.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

How did you process that?

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

I mean, it's just confirming my worst fears again that they were there at that place against their will.

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[Interviewer / Journalist]

What's going on in your mind from that detective standpoint? When you're about to arrive at a

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

scene, you don't want to form an opinion prior to getting there, but you are kind of mulling over the evidence. You're thinking about it. You're thinking about what questions you want to ask.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Acting on information Supplied by Yan, LAPD Detective Jonathan Vanderly and his partner headed here to 8641 West Olympic Boulevard A little after midnight on November 14th, only a few hours after getting that call from the second hospital.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

And this is where the Uber that Christian Hilda called that night would have

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

waited right out front.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

Yep, 10 minutes between life and death.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

That's all it takes.

[Narrator / Reporter]

It was the home of 39 year old David Pierce. Police would learn Kristi and Hilda had met him for the first time at that warehouse party. Police also discovered Pierce had a registration for a black Prius and found it parked behind the building. It matched the car seen at both hospitals down to the black rims. Pierce lived on the second floor with a roommate, Brandt Osborne, 42.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

There was a light on in the upstairs where the two men live. So I just went up, knocked on the door. Immediately the lights go out.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

You identify yourself?

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

Yes, completely. L.A.P.D. open the door and then just complete silence.

[Narrator / Reporter]

After about 15 minutes, he says, Pierce and Osborne came out. Pierce denied owning a Prius.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

So I immediately get a lie. Do you leave? No, I interview Mr. Osborne

[Narrator / Reporter]

at first, he says Osbourne denied seeing Christy and Hilda at all.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

He changes the stories numerous times. At first there's no girls had been at that Location, whatsoever. I tell him on the interview.

[Detective Calvin Yu]

I listen.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

I know you're lying. It's extremely obvious. You're very nervous.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Vanderlee says Osborne eventually admitted the women had been at their apartment, but said he'd been asleep and when he woke up, realized Kristi and Hilda were in distress. He said he and Pierce chose to go to two separate hospitals because, quote, we didn't know how it would look. Pierce, police say, did later admit he owned the Prius, but lied again, saying his license plates had been stolen. Vanderlee says he saw those plates on the ground by the vehicle. Then the men agreed to let detectives inside.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

Two beds had been stripped. There was a washing machine that had been recently used. It was still wet.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

Is there anything else that stands out to you?

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

There was a safe in his room with baggies, which is indicative of narcotics. They said they're for crafts, for arts and crafts.

[Narrator / Reporter]

By now, Vanderly says he knew Pierson Osborne had dropped Hilda and Kristi off and believed Pierce had drugged them. But he didn't have enough evidence to make an arrest.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

He thought he beat us that night for sure. He was happy.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

He smiled and said goodbye. Yeah, thanks, detectives.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

Yep.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

But that wasn't where it ended for you.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

No, not by a long shot.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Vanderly knew he needed more evidence and turned to his colleague, Detective Calvin Yu.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

You hear the name David Pierce. What goes on in your mind?

[Detective Calvin Yu]

Well, the first thing is, who did he sexually assault this time?

[Narrator / Reporter]

Detective Yu had investigated Pierce in 2020 for sexually assaulting a 19 year old.

[Detective Calvin Yu]

She was raped while she was unconscious.

[Narrator / Reporter]

The victim said Pierce had given her drugs to knock her out during a date, but the investigation had stalled and wasn't prosecuted at the time. Detective Yu knew Pierce had other prior charges, including another rape charge from 2014 that was also not prosecuted.

[Detective Calvin Yu]

He has a pattern. His first step is trying to find his victim. So that could be through a dating app, through online listings, or meeting them at bars or events. When he picks his victim, he goes to step two, which is bragging about himself.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Pierce relies on lies, detectives say, to set his trap.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

He'd introduce himself as a producer, doctor, all these different things. He's none of these things. I think he might have been an intern at the time or something at a production company.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

An intern?

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

Yeah.

[Narrator / Reporter]

They say his next step is to drug his victims and incapacitate them, often with a drink.

[Detective Calvin Yu]

After they take this drink, he goes to step four, which is the sexual assault.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Police would learn both Kristi and Hilda showed signs of sexual assault, but they Feared they would face challenges making the case.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

How difficult is it to prove a crime took place when the victims were recreationally using drugs?

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

This makes the case extremely hard. I told Jan early on that this was going to be a near impossible case to prove. Yeah, at first it's whodunit. It just became what actually happened. And that's what was the difficulty of this case.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Detective Jonathan Vanderly says the pressure was on to locate any evidence of what happened after Kristi and Hilda met David Pierce that night.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

Video starts expiring these DVRs. It's a constant. You got to get this evidence before it disappears.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Police did have some luck, starting with this footage from outside that warehouse party, which they say shows the women leaving with Pierce, Osbourne and a friend of theirs, 47 year old Michael Onsbach, on their way to Pierce's apartment. Police also uncovered this text exchange from moments earlier when the women were still inside that party. Do you want coke? Asks Hilda. Yes, replies Kristi. Hilda texted back, I'm in the kitchen. Let's do a line. Witnesses say Pierce supplied that cocaine, which Jan says was not a common choice for Kristi.

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

Maybe it was late at night and she wanted to get less tired. It's not something she would do regularly.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Police determined the group arrived at Pierce's apartment a little after 5am the women aren't seen again until 11 hours later, when at 4:30 in the afternoon, a security camera recorded this grainy image showing Pierce with Kristi over his shoulder at the top of the stairs. Police say Osbourne is carrying her bag. 35 minutes later at the hospital, Pierce, wearing a black sweatshirt, helps take Kristi's body out of the car. Osbourne looks on. A full hour and a half later, this dark image shows the men leaving the apartment again with Hilda. Police say Pierce is carrying her and Osbourne has her boots and coat. Half an hour later, the Prius arrives at that second hospital where the men take Hilda out of the car together. It had been more than 13 hours since Kristi texted Hilda, let's go. For two weeks, Hilda was on life support. With no hope of regaining consciousness, her family gathered to say their goodbyes.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

Hilda, what were your final moments with your daughter?

[Hilda Marcela Plasencia (Hilda's mother)]

They were so hard, you know, and I just was asking God to not let her suffer more.

[Fernanda (Christie's sister)]

I remember telling her that you can leave and just thanking her for being my sister.

[Luis (Hilda's father)]

I told her, maybe when I pass away I will see you again

[Commercial Announcer]

and

[Luis (Hilda's father)]

I give you a big hug, a kiss.

[Narrator / Reporter]

The family decided to donate Hilda's organs. Her mom remembers the medical staff lining the halls as the family accompanied Hilda to the or.

[Hilda Marcela Plasencia (Hilda's mother)]

The medical team was clapping to honor her, to say thank you for giving life to others.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Like Christy. Hilda had suffered a drug overdose. Toxicology reports would later reveal that she had cocaine, mdma, or Ecstasy and elevated levels of fentanyl in her system. Police would also learn that while the women were in that apartment, the downstairs neighbor heard someone in pain and moaning on and off for six hours. Police believe that was Hilda. Neither Pierce nor Osborne nor Ansbach called for help.

[Hilda Marcela Plasencia (Hilda's mother)]

It makes me get angry because she was suffering and nobody, nobody help her.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

How hard is it to prove this narrative when the victims can't even testify on their own behalf?

[Detective Calvin Yu]

If we were just investigating Kristi and Hilda's alone, very difficult.

[Narrator / Reporter]

But the district attorney at the time went public, asking other women who knew Pierce to call in so police could better understand what he did to Hilda and Kristi.

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

If you feel comfortable moving forward so

[Narrator / Reporter]

that we can evaluate your case in

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

charge of, we're here for you.

[Detective Calvin Yu]

We started getting a lot of calls.

[Narrator / Reporter]

As police continued building their case, Jan received a call that Pierce and Osborne were on the move. He recorded this video of the men loading up a moving van the day after Hilda died. Police say Pierce had also changed his phone number, and it took them a week to locate him again.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

So the pressure is on. You gotta get this guy.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

I gotta come up with something quick. Yes.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Police have arrested three men in connection

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

with the deaths of a model and her friend. Last month,

[Narrator / Reporter]

on December 15, 2021, David Pierce, Brandt Osborne and Michael Landsbach were arrested in connection with Hilda and Christie's deaths. The detectives still knew next to nothing about what had happened inside that apartment. Vanderlee says they decided to take a gamble and bring the men in.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

This is the only way we're going to get the info we need.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Once the men were in custody, police conducted interviews with them one by one.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

Kind of played with the rotation, and it worked out exceedingly well.

[Narrator / Reporter]

They secretly recorded Pierce and Osbourne while Ansbach was talking to police.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

Pierce says, I hope Ansbach's not up there telling him, I gave them drugs and wine.

[Narrator / Reporter]

When it was his turn, Pierce denied giving the women drugs.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

He was told it was like a

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

very bad batch of fentanyl that was living around.

[Narrator / Reporter]

This was suspicious because information that the women had likely died from fentanyl was. Had not been released.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

I knew these girls died from fentanyl, but nobody else knew.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Two months after his arrest, Ansbach reached out to police with details of what he says he witnessed that night. He says Pierce had offered the women a ride to an after party and then said he needed to make a quick stop at his house. Ansbach says Pierce was very insistent they stay and have a drink and after the women talked about leaving, Pierce gave all three of them so called special cocaine. Ansbach says he, Kristi and Hilda got sick immediately and when he woke up hours later he saw Kristi without any signs of life. Ansbach says he told Pierce to take Kristi and Hilda to the hospital and says Pierce then said repeatedly, dead girls don't talk.

[Jane Doe 2 (Jackie)]

I wouldn't say survivor. I'm a fighter, that's what I am.

[Narrator / Reporter]

But police had at least one woman who could talk about David Pierce at his upcoming trial.

[Jane Doe 2 (Jackie)]

He asked me if I wanted a drink but it tasted really funny and then I don't remember the next several hours after that.

[Professor Greg Jackson (Podcast Host)]

History that Doesn't Suck is a legit, hard hitting American history podcast told through entertaining stories. As we approach America's 250th anniversary, now might be the time to go back and learn how we got here. With more than 200 episodes, you can binge your way decade by decade, defending defining event to defining event from the founding into the 20th century. Join me, Professor Greg Jackson for History that Doesn't Suck an Odyssey Podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Narrator / Reporter]

January 9, 2025 Opening arguments begin in the trial of David Pierce, charged with felony murder and Bran Osborne, charged with accessory after the fact.

[Prosecutor Catherine Mariano]

The evidence will show that the defendant knowingly gave Hilda and Chrissy GHB and Fennel, knowing that it was dangerous to their lives, knowing that it could kill them. But he just didn't care. Defendant Osborne helped him get rid of any evidence to implicate defendant Pierce in the deaths of Chrissy and Hilda.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Prosecutor Catherine Mariano has marshaled the forensic evidence to make her case. The toxicology results that found fentanyl in both women and the date rape drug GHB and Christie. Also Pierce's DNA discovered on Christie's body and under Hilda's fingernails.

[Prosecutor Catherine Mariano]

This is no accident, this is no mistake.

[Narrator / Reporter]

But in order to prove felony murder, she must show that Pierce incapacitated Kristi and Hilda to rape them. Without their testimony. She needs to establish he had a history of doing this to other women, putting drugs in their drinks and then sexually assaulting them.

[Prosecutor Catherine Mariano]

He didn't care whether they lived or died. All he cared about was taking advantage of them.

[Defense Attorney Jeff Vaughl]

Here's where there's a problem.

[Narrator / Reporter]

But defense attorney Jeff vaugh says the fact that Kristi and Hilda were using drugs before meeting Pierce that night means there is no case for murder.

[Defense Attorney Jeff Vaughl]

These young ladies unfortunately ingested fentanyl and they died. It's a shame, but Mr. Pierce didn't kill him.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Vol is sixth in a long line of lawyers who have represented David Pierce in this case. He knows his client is problematic.

[Defense Attorney Jeff Vaughl]

He's very demanding. He's very sure of himself. What David Pierce wants, David Pierce gets.

[Prosecutor Catherine Mariano]

He pushes her onto the bed.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Mariano has her own version of who David Pierce is, Based on the accounts of the women who talk to investigators and chose to be Anonymous.

[Prosecutor Catherine Mariano]

Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe number 2, Jane Doe number 3, number 4, 5 or 6, number 7.

[Jane Doe 2 (Jackie)]

It was important for me to come forward and, you know, get any information I could regarding this vile man.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Jackie is Jane doe number two. No cameras were allowed in the courtroom for any of the testimony, but she agreed to talk with us about her experience with Pierce. In 2010, when she was a 24 year old law student looking for a room to rent, she testified about her meeting with Pierce at his apartment on west Olympic boulevard, where he gave her a tour and offered a drink.

[Jane Doe 2 (Jackie)]

I started to spin and, you know, I just became, like, disoriented.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

You drink this drink, you start to feel dizzy. I'm sure confused. What happens next.

[Jane Doe 2 (Jackie)]

So the next thing I know, he was basically trying, I would say trying to rape me. So I started fighting him back.

[Narrator / Reporter]

According to Jackie, he continued to assault her.

[Jane Doe 2 (Jackie)]

He threw me onto the floor. He punched me in the face.

[Narrator / Reporter]

When she tried to take her phone out, he grabbed her arm so hard, the phone flew and smashed into the wall. Unsteady on her feet and unable to call for help, she did everything she could to escape.

[Jane Doe 2 (Jackie)]

I had to crawl down the stairs. I was so disoriented and crawled down west Olympic boulevard to my car, screaming for help.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Though seriously injured and traumatized, she did not report it.

[Jane Doe 2 (Jackie)]

There's a huge stigma that surrounds women that come forward with sexual assault.

[Narrator / Reporter]

But when she heard about Kristi and Hilda, she decided to act. In all, 20 women came forward. Pierce was charged with seven sexual assaults. Detective Calvin yu thinks that's just a fraction of those who suffered at the hands of David Pierce.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

Are there more Jane does out there?

[Detective Calvin Yu]

Yes, I would definitely say so. How many do you believe as a hundred.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

A hundred? That's incredible. And that's just based on the people that you have spoken with directly?

[Detective Calvin Yu]

Yes.

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

I'm just so grateful that they Came forward. And I can't even imagine how the level of bravery that you have to have in order to testify to a room of strangers that you were so intimately violated.

[Narrator / Reporter]

And as the women testified, one by one, defense attorney Vaughl could see what was happening. The prosecution strategy was working.

[Defense Attorney Jeff Vaughl]

The victims coming to court, testifying, some who broke down in tears, all gave the same testimony. And I am watching the jury. They're looking at him and the expression on the jurors faces are like, how could you?

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

How could you do this?

[Narrator / Reporter]

After the Jane does testified, the prosecution called Pierce's friend Michael Ansbach, who was in the apartment that night and later arrested along with Pierce and Osbourne. Ansbach took this video of Kristi and Hilda minutes after Pierce gave them wine and cocaine at the apartment.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

Christy's lying on the couch. It looks like she's on her way to becoming unconscious.

[Narrator / Reporter]

In his testimony, Ansbach again said he also used the same cocaine, got violently ill, and then passed out. When he woke up, he said Pierce asked him to check on Christy, and when he did, Ansbach said it looked like she was not breathing. Hilda, he said, was in Pearce's bedroom. According to Ansbach, this is when Piers told him, dead girls don't talk. Like pierce and Osborne, Ansbach never called for help. His charges were later dropped. On day 11, and against the advice of his attorney, David Pierce, who pleaded not guilty, was sworn in and testified.

[Detective Calvin Yu]

So he got on the stand and he did his best to try to say everybody was wrong and he was right.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

He was apparently the only one telling the truth at the entire trial.

[Narrator / Reporter]

On the 12th day, Pierce's roommate, Brandt Osborne, who also pleaded not guilty, takes the stand.

[Detective Jonathan Vanderly]

So Osborne's role was to help get rid of the bodies. First and foremost, he helped carry the girls. At first, he helped formulate the plan in terms of what they're going to tell the security guards.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Osborne testified he was dumbfounded by Pierce's behavior and was emotional, crying more than once on the stand, saying he played no part in a cover up because he didn't have a complete picture of what was really going on. Jan, for one, was not buying it.

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

He's basically claiming to be an innocent bystander in the situation and that he's also a victim in the situation. But there are facts that prove that he helped David Pierce covered up.

[Narrator / Reporter]

The question is whether the jury will believe either man. After three weeks, the trial took a toll on Christy's family.

[Dusty (Christie's mother)]

We sat and had to hold our mouth closed while they battered and I feel like they destroyed my daughter's reputation.

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

It was definitely difficult being in the same room as them. Did I have an overwhelming urge to throw something really hard at their heads? Yeah.

[Narrator / Reporter]

In closing, prosecutor Mariano hits back at the defense. Just because Christy and Hilda did drugs on their own that night doesn't make them responsible for their own deaths. David Pierce took care of that, Mariano argued.

[Prosecutor Catherine Mariano]

He didn't care about violating them in the most awful way. He didn't care that by drugging Christy and Hilda that they could die.

[Narrator / Reporter]

And she repeats the words of Ansbach attributed to David Pierce, the words that rang in the ears of everyone who loved Christy and Hilda.

[Prosecutor Catherine Mariano]

He wanted them to die because dead girls don't talk.

[Defense Attorney Jeff Vaughl]

Good afternoon, everybody.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Attorneys for Osborne and Pierce told jurors there simply was not enough direct evidence linking them to the crime and that there's a strong case for reasonable doubt. Now it's up to the jury to draw its own conclusion about Brand, Osborne and David Pierce. Justy Giles made her decision a long time ago.

[Dusty (Christie's mother)]

Pierce is a sick, slimy lizard that sits and prays and sneaks, and his bite is deadly.

[Chrissy Giles (Christie)]

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[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

As we're sitting here waiting on the verdict for the case, I just want to. I'm here for her till the end.

[Narrator / Reporter]

For Christy's family, it's been a long and wrenching road to get here for you.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

What does justice for Christy look like?

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

I mean, there's no justice for Christy. There's only preventing him from doing it again. I think that's the only justice we can get.

[Narrator / Reporter]

And for Hilda's mother, who could not travel to be in court. The last three years without her daughter have been its own trial.

[Hilda Marcela Plasencia (Hilda's mother)]

Nothing can bring her back again. But the hole she lives in our lives will be always there.

[Narrator / Reporter]

February 4, 2025. After two days of deliberations, the jury is back.

[P]

Matter of the people of the state of California versus David Bryan Pierce. We, the jury, in the above entitled action, find the defendant, David Brian Pierce, guilty of the crime of first degree murder upon Christy Giles.

[Narrator / Reporter]

David Pierce, guilty.

[Detective Calvin Yu]

We get that guilty on the first one and sigh of relief.

[P]

Guilty of the crime of first degree murder upon Hilda Marcela Cabrais Arzola.

[Detective Calvin Yu]

Hilda comes up guilty again. Another sigh of relief.

[Narrator / Reporter]

And then guilty of all the sexual assaults of seven Jane Does.

[Detective Calvin Yu]

I don't think I breathed at all until I heard a guilty on every single one.

[Prosecutor Catherine Mariano]

A lot of relief, not just for my sake, but definitely for all of the victims.

[Dusty (Christie's mother)]

Jane does finally had their day in court and were believed.

[Jane Doe 2 (Jackie)]

I felt this huge weight release off me. It was almost like a euphoric feeling. We showed the jury what kind of man this is.

[Narrator / Reporter]

But the jury is deadlocked when it comes to Brandt Osborne. A mistrial is declared.

[Prosecutor Catherine Mariano]

I was surprised, definitely disappointed at the hung jury. I thought the trial made clear that he had definitely a hand in their desk.

[Dusty (Christie's mother)]

What is there to question? He was aware of Christie's and Hilda's condition. He's a grown man that stands on his own two feet. He withheld medical help from Hilda and Kristi until they were dead.

[Hilda Marcela Plasencia (Hilda's mother)]

I'm not happy. They perfectly could save her life and they chose to not do it. For me, that's not justice. At least in that part, I am

[Dusty (Christie's mother)]

here standing for me and Hilda's mom, Marcella.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Now there's an unbreakable bond between the mothers who must live without their daughters.

[Dusty (Christie's mother)]

Our daughters individually, we're like soul sisters. Both of them lost their souls at the hand of the same man. Same way. And that will be forever entwined.

[Narrator / Reporter]

And before she leaves the courthouse, there is a final plea from Dusty.

[Dusty (Christie's mother)]

As much as it hurts to lose my baby girl, her body was able to tell the story. And her sharing her location, technology told us where she was, how long she was. So please, within your own families, share locations. You never know when you're gonna not be able to get in touch with somebody.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

When you look at photos of Kristi and Hilda, what do you see?

[Jane Doe 2 (Jackie)]

I see beauty. I see myself when I was 24. I will remember them as strong, independent women. I will remember them as beautiful souls, free spirits. Women that were coming to LA to pursue their dreams.

[Narrator / Reporter]

Two young women who loved their families. Sand panther sandpaper their animals and their lives.

[Jan Cillier (Christie's husband)]

I want to remember her as the bright, beautiful soul that she was.

[Interviewer / Journalist]

Fernanda, how do you hope your big sister is remembered?

[Fernanda (Christie's sister)]

As someone who had a lot of dreams, ambitions, very intelligent, funny. She was happy to be alive.