Post Mortem | Deceased Girls Don't Talk

0:00Hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co-founder of Angie, and one thing I've learned is that you buy a house, but you make it a home. Because with every fix, update, and renovation, it becomes a little more your own. So you need all your jobs done well. For nearly 30 years, Angie has helped millions of homeowners hire skilled pros for the projects that matter. From plumbing to electrical, roof repair to deck upgrades. So leave it to the pros who will get your jobs done well. Angie, the one you trust to find the ones you trust. Find a pro for your project at Angie.com. You're a pro at running your life, at committing to your workout, at showing up every day.

0:34At Bombas, we're pros too. Pros at making socks. Our sport assortment has specialized socks for whatever sport you're committed to. Running, hiking, golf, Pilates, and so much more. Made with sweat-wicking yarns, blister-fighting details, and targeted art support. Bombas Sport is pro-level socks from the pros of socks. For another pro, you. Go to bombas.com slash audio and use code audio for 20 % off your first purchase. That's bombas.com and use code audio.

1:07Welcome back to Postmortem. I'm CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti filling in today for Anne-Marie Green. And joining me is 48 Hours producer Michelle Fannucci to discuss our latest report on the murders of Christy Giles and Hilda Cabrales, two friends who went home with David Pierce after a night out in Los Angeles in 2021. Pierce and his roommate, Brant Osborne, took the women to two separate hospitals the following evening. Both women had elevated levels of fentanyl in their systems, and tragically, they both ultimately died of drug overdoses. Both Pierce and Osborne denied involvement in their deaths.

1:46At trial, Pierce was also charged with rape for seven Jane Does, and they testified about Pierce's pattern of violent sexual assault. Michelle, thank you for joining us. Thank you for having me. Before we get started, a reminder, if you haven't listened to the 48 Hours episode yet, you can find the full audio just below this episode in your podcast feed. So go take a listen, then come back here for our conversation. Michelle, you have been covering this case from the very beginning. Our first 48 Hours episode, I believe, aired nearly two years ago. This was before Pearson Osborne's trial. And I wonder, and I imagine a lot of listeners and viewers want to know the same, what has it from your perspective been like to watch this case develop over the years?

2:30This is a case that started just as a, you know, a headline of two women dropped at separate hospitals. We really didn't know if it was just a drug overdose case, a tragic drug overdose. But about six days into this, I met with Jan Sillier, who is Christy's husband. He looked at me in the eyes and he said, trust me, this is foul play. You know, I know my wife. I know something happened. He said, I know they were held against their will in that apartment. And he was right. But what was what was he like? What state of mind was he in? He was an absolute shock. I will never forget it. I mean, he was in that adrenaline of trying to figure this out.

3:23I remember when we sat on his couch, he had a group of friends and, you know, in the back kitchen. And he said, I have to have them stay with me at all times. I'm scared what I'll do with myself if they leave. And so it's the worst of the worst. And your heart breaks so much, especially when you spend so much time with these families. You know, I know, Michelle, you and I have talked about this and I've been reflecting on the ripple effect a tragedy like this can have with friends, family and an entire community. and to that point I have a connection to this case in a very loose way my husband briefly met Hilda at an event through mutual friends in the neighborhood I live in two neighbors that I could see outside my front door both knew these women one was close friends with Jan Sillier and through that friendship knew Christy the other neighbor used to live in Monterey Mexico and dated Hilda for several years.

4:24They broke up there. They both moved separately at different times to LA and reconnected as friends. And I first learned about this case in 2021, Thanksgiving. I had that neighbor over for Thanksgiving. He came here distraught at times, couldn't even get words out and told me about what happened, how just the day before Hilda was taken off of life support. I asked if they were comfortable with me bringing this story to 48 Hours, not so that I could report it, but just so that the story could get out there. And Judy Teigart, the executive producer, the amazing executive producer of 48, let me know it was already on their radar.

5:04And I can't tell you the relief that it brought to the family members of Hilda and Christy, knowing that there was this media attention being focused on trying to figure out what went wrong. And to that point, Christy and Hilda, they clearly had a lot of friends and family who didn't just care about them, but really advocated for them. And I've been thinking about Jan Sillier and the incredible detective work that he did. Were you impressed? Were you surprised by Jan's determination to find Christy? I was personally really touched. And I was also very impressed. He said, I would go to the ends of the earth for my wife.

5:47And that is what he did. When Jan was trying to get in touch with Christy, he was out of town. He couldn't get any responses. He wasn't getting responses through text. So he went and checked the location on his cell phone and saw that Christie was at an unfamiliar address. And this was very early in the morning. And of course, we learned that address was later the apartment of David Pierce. That location for Christie then changed hours later to an emergency room. So Jan delivered all of that information to investigators. I was speaking with Detective Jonathan Vander Lee, who told me without that information, connecting the dots would have been so much harder could have taken days, if not longer, to pinpoint what exactly had happened.

6:31Absolutely. And this was a case where, oh, looks like they were partying, they were doing drugs. Very easy to write this case off. So early on, Jan posted on social media about the case, looking for information. And he received messages from women who had bad experiences with Mr. Pierce, who were sexual assault victims themselves, and he had encouraged them to go forward to police. In the hour we talk about how police learned that while Chrissy and Hilda were in the apartment, Pierce's downstairs neighbor heard someone moaning in pain on and off for six hours. Now, neither Pierce Osborne nor their friend Michael Ansbach, who was also in the apartment at the time called for help.

7:19Ansbach, we need to point out, he was charged. Those charges were eventually dropped due to insufficient evidence. That downstairs neighbor, though, also didn't call for help, which initially I had the question why. But during our reporting, we found out that there was more to this story. Can you explain? The woman who lived there was about to call the 911 and her husband said, no, no, you don't want to mess with David Pierce. Just let it go. And she ended up not calling, unfortunately. And that just shows how this man sort of instills a sense of fear that, you know, people do not want to mess with him.

7:59You know, David Pierce was maintaining very early on and really throughout that he was just trying to help Christy and Hilda. But I think about those six hours. And I know it's so difficult to think about where you had, and I think we later learned it was believed to be Hilda that was moaning in pain for so long. Those aren't the actions of someone that's trying to help them. And there's another layer to this because we weren't able to get to all of this in the show, but the men first attempted to drop Christy off. Remember, Christy was the first person that was taken to a hospital. They went to one that was closest to their home, to Cedars, which is about an eight minute drive, they went to the back entrance of the hospital.

8:38They were told that they needed to go to the front entrance. But David Pierce, according to Osborne's testimony, didn't want to do that. So instead, they drove to a completely different hospital, Southern California Hospital, 20 minutes south of their home. Does that sound like the behavior of people that are trying to provide swift help? No, no. I mean, none of none of his actions add up. They didn't leave their names at the hospitals. They were disguised, you know, no license plates on the cars, all of that. I want to shift gears and dig into really the main update in this hour, which is the trial.

9:16Detectives told me, and we always knew this, that it would be a tough case to prosecute because there was evidence that Chrisanne Hilda voluntarily took recreational drugs that night. And ultimately, that's why the DA asked other women to come forward to share their experiences with Pierce. Michelle, you attended the trial. You heard several of those Jane Does testify. What was that like for you? First of all, it was one of the most fascinating trials I have ever sat in. There were 12 women in total, seven Jane Does who had allegations of rape by Mr. Pierce. And the other the others sexual assault experiences, they stacked those women up one by one by one by one, all 12 of them with the same similar eerie stories.

10:10I met this man. He promised me a career. He was a Hollywood producer. He gives me a drink. It tastes a little salty. All of a sudden, I can't remember anything. And the next memory, I wake up and there's someone on top of me. You know, it's story after story after story. And then the prosecution brings in Christian Hilda's story. It was a really powerful way to prove this man's pattern and how he preys off of power and control. They really created an M.O., a way of consistent behavior, this pattern that ultimately led to the deaths of Christiane Hilda. Absolutely. I have kind of a two-part question for you because we spoke with Jackie to the jury.

11:05She was known as Jane Doe No. 2. She was brave enough to share her story with us as well. but our interview with her was postponed a few times because there was still that fear. You were in communication with Jackie during this process. What was that fear? She was scared of David Pierce ever seeing the light of day, you know, if there was a mistrial or something like that. She, you know, described him to me as a very dangerous person and that's what he does. He intimidates people. He scares them so that they are silent. She told me once Once I hear that guilty, we will talk. But until then, she was too scared to do the interview, which I totally respected.

11:49And Jackie is a real inspiration herself. She came to L.A. to go to law school and she was looking for an apartment. And that's how she came across David Pierce through a Craigslist ad. And he had her come to the apartment, offered her a drink. She takes the drink and then she's blacked out. And her next memory, she wakes up and she fights this man off of her. This is how bad she was drugged was that she couldn't even feel her legs. So she's crawling down his apartment stairs screaming and runs to her car and stays in her car long enough to sober up. She truly fought for her life. This forever changed her life, forever haunted her.

12:39She did a lot of work in therapy and she is a remarkable woman who's become an attorney who wants to help other victims. And she is you know, you will see her on the episode. She stares right at the camera and she's brave and speaks for Christy. She speaks for Hilda. She speaks for herself and she speaks for all the women who've been silenced by Mr. Pierce and who've been harmed by Mr. Pierce. I think about the power dynamic. His apartment, David Pierce's apartment, was the place where he was in power. But then during the trial, that power shifts. You have the Jane Doe's, people like Jackie Jane Doe, number two, now in power.

13:22And what struck me was the image that emerged of David Pierce, at least him now after being in jail for several months or years, and how much he changed. Very much not the producer he pretended to be, this younger looking guy with his dark hair. What we saw was a man with gray hair, wearing glasses, who looked at times defeated. Yeah, the women who testified sometimes had a hard time pointing him out because they couldn't recognize him. Yeah, I could understand. And so different than what the prosecutor pointed out in his photos, that quote unquote Zoolander face, that duck face that he put on in his photos.

14:09He just was stripped down. The real David Pierce was sitting there in court.

14:23At DSW, we ask the important questions like, what shoes are you going to wear? Whether you're prepping for wedding season, festival season, or just planning the ultimate vacay, the right shoes can make or break an RSVP. So own the moment. You've got big plans and we've got just the shoes. At the perfect price, of course. Get ready to get ready with Designer Shoe Warehouse. Head to your DSW store or DSW.com today. and let us surprise you. Parle-tu Francais? Hablas Español? Parle Italiano? If you've used Babbel, you would. Babbel's conversation-based technique teaches you useful words and phrases to get you speaking quickly about the things you actually talk about in the real world.

15:03With lessons handcrafted by over 200 language experts and voiced by real native speakers, Babbel is like having a private tutor in your pocket. Start speaking with Babbel today. Get up to 55 % off your Babbel subscription right now at babbel.com slash listen. Spelled B-A-B-B-E-L dot com slash listen. Rules and restrictions may apply.

15:25Welcome back. So, Michelle, another key moment at trial was when Pierce took the stand himself. And now this was against the advice of his defense attorney. I'm wondering what insight you had into that decision and also for you what it was like to see him testify, to see him take the stand. I mean, I only wish cameras were in the courtroom because that was a show. in itself. And originally he asked the judge to give a narrative, testify through a narrative, meaning he wanted to control what he was putting out there. He didn't want to be cross-examined like everybody else has to be. So he was trying to control, he wanted to come out with his own monologue to set everything up.

16:07Yeah. That seems highly unusual. Everything about this man is unusual. And the judge said, no, this isn't the David Pierce show. So then he said, well, then I'm not going to testify then. And then he changed his mind at the last minute and he's up there. And my God, it was something I've never seen before. Basically, he said that all the women, they all wanted him. Everything was consensual. And even one Jane Doe, the Jane Doe that we interviewed, he says, I've never even met that woman in my life. just straight out lying. Straight out lied about that night they came home to his home. I didn't give them drugs.

16:52I didn't give I was walking my puppy while they were in my house. I mean, it was all wild. And there was no remorse. There was no sense of like, I'm so sorry. Nothing. Yeah. This grand image in his head of what transpired. The prosecution and the cops say that all the evidence the state provided contradicts his story. Yeah, this didn't make it into the show, but it was something that when I heard, I struggled to understand initially because Detective Jonathan Vander Lee told me that before the arrest, as they were still trying to get enough evidence to bring Pierce in, he was already taking steps.

17:32it appeared to flee. He was talking to women in Ukraine on dating apps. At trial, the prosecution was able to show some pretty damning Google searches. Michelle, can you take me through this? LAPD detective sent me over the Google searches. So I have them right here. We have international money transfers, best places in the world to disappear, best places to meet girls in kiev ukraine uh strip clubs exotic massages and sex in kiev brothels in kiev nightlife in kiev one-way flights apartments in kiev how can you track someone by their passport number and um lastly penis enlargement okay uh let me let me stop you there, everything else you have described up until that point describes a man looking to flee and still with a one-track mind.

18:32He is wanted in connection with the murders of two women and alleged sexual assault. And he is looking for sex in another country and ways of fleeing and outwitting authority. Yeah, I know. I just, I can't stop even thinking about it. When you went up on stand and explained, why were you looking for apartments in Ukraine? What was his answer to this? He said he was going to make a documentary on the Ukraine war like Sean Penn did. So this plays into his whole, I'm a movie producer thing. What's wrong with this explanation? Well, the Ukraine war had not started at the time of those Google searches.

19:18So that's what I'm saying. That's why when he went on stand, it was just like everything got debunked. You know, something else that didn't make it into this hour, but I think helps shed some light on Pierce's character is that when police first searched his home, they found, and this is their description to us, a shrine to Ron Jeremy. For those who don't know Ron Jeremy, he's a former porn actor who was indicted in over 30 counts of sexual assault. Well, Michelle, you were able to learn more about who Pierce was by talking to his family. What did they say? Yeah, that was a sad conversation. I spoke with his sister, Alison Pierce, who has nothing to do with the family now and blames David Pierce for destroying the fabric of her family.

20:08And she says that Ron Jeremy was worshipped in their household. So he idolized Ron Jeremy. Allison, of course, didn't like any of that. And she plans to give an impact statement. She wants everyone to know that he is, in a sense, a villain. And she feels terrible for what happened to Christian Hilda and what he's done to so many people. The fallout from this tragedy far and wide impacting so many people. Pierce's defense attorney, Jeff Valls, he argued that because Christian Hilda were using drugs before meeting Pierce that night, there was no case for murder. But we interviewed him. And during our interview, I pressed him on his true feelings on Pierce.

20:57I want to play a clip that didn't make it into the show because I think it highlights how Vol was really thinking. Separate yourself from the defense attorney. You're a father. Put yourself in that setting as you are. Would you be saying the same thing right now? Taking the role of attorney-otomy? No. No. Now, if I'm the average person looking at this case, looking at 48 hours, looking at some articles in the paper, you're probably going to think that it's about time they got this guy. That will be the part of me that's not the lawyer. That says a lot. I was really surprised he said that to you.

21:48It was sort of a humanizing moment for a defense attorney. I agree. I was surprised too. You were in the room with me and I don't know if this was your impression as this was unfolding. I felt like Val was waiting for me to give him permission to say those things that he wanted to separate himself from his client. He was struggling to balance his two hats, the hat as the defense attorney and the hat as a father having to digest the allegations and what he later described as a mountain of evidence against his client. Yeah. Yeah. No, he he he was doing the best to be the best defense attorney. And I think he did succeed in that.

22:34But he was wrestling with a moral and ethical dilemma, it felt like. And that was David Pierce. He described him as a very difficult client. What did he mean by that? Difficult. I mean, yes, difficult. He stole the jury list. He stole his documents. He was trying to create a mistrial and say that he knew the jury. How do we know that he stole those documents? How did this come out? Well, we don't know exactly how he got his hands on them, but the judge addressed in court that he was taking court documents. And he was warned twice, I believe, throughout the trial to stop this behavior. God, if I'm putting myself in his defense attorney's shoes, this is the worst case scenario.

23:24And I think we should point out that Vol, as we make it very clear in the episode, he was sixth in a long line of other defense attorneys that didn't last. Exactly. So let's go to the conclusion of this trial. It was February 4th, 2025, two days of deliberations. The jury found Pierce guilty of the first degree murder of both Hilda and Christy and guilty of sexually assaulting the seven Jane Does. How did he react when the verdict was read, Michelle? We have him on camera. Of course, he has his mask on, but he's slowly shaking his head like no, no, no, no, no real emotional response besides his head shaking.

24:05The jury was deadlocked when it came to Brant Osborne. This is Pierce's roommate who helped transport Hilda and Christy to the hospital. He was charged with accessory after the fact. In his case, there was a hung jury and a mistrial was declared. Can you tell me if you know what's next for both cases now? So the latest is Pierce fired his attorney and plans to file a motion for a new trial. The state has not announced their decision regarding Brant Osborne. You have sat with this tragedy for so many years now. You, I feel like, have come to truly learn who Christy and Hilda were, their friends, their families.

24:52Yeah, you know, I can't stress enough how much myself and I know our whole team truly cares about Christy, Hilda, the victims and their families. We've gotten to know them so well. And I am mostly so inspired and amazed at all the 12 women who testified and came forward bringing justice to two women who went out to have fun one night and came in the hands of a very dangerous man, David Pierce. and they fought for those women. And in doing so, they fought for their own stories. So well said, Michelle. And I can't thank you enough for taking the time today to chat with us. Really, thank you for joining us.

25:47Thank you, Jonathan. It's been such an honor to work with you on this one. Same here. If you like this series, Postmortem, please rate and review 48 Hours on Apple Podcasts and follow 48 Hours wherever you get your podcasts. You can also listen ad-free with a 48 hours plus subscription on Apple Podcasts. Thanks again for listening.