Christy and Hilda's Last Dance | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] when people think of Los Angeles they think of the glitz the Glamour the
stardom but there's a dark side to Los Angeles my name is Barry Tellus and I'm a retired homicide detective
from the Los Angeles Police Department this is a dangerous dangerous town there are
predators conmen people who pretend to be someone they're not and those are the people who prey on the
innocent Christy Giles and Hilda Marcel cabales were two young women in their 20s there were new friends and then
together they're sort of getting to know each other and enjoy Olay and everything
it has to offer I'm Mary fjun and I'm a former prosecutor and defense attorney Hilda Marcel cabal just moved from
Mexico and she's loving in Los Angeles she was looking for the American dream I guess I was marcela's best friend with
think it was a dream for her to be there and being able to do what she loved being a architect and interior designer
Aloha my wife Christy was a model she was going out for shoots all the time and she traveled the world doing
that and having amazing experiences she was the most fun and interesting person I'd ever met she didn't live inside
society's box definitely not she was a very free spirit they're two gorgeous girls who
are not only pursuing their careers but also wanting to have fun at the same time and they do what a lot of kids do
their 20s they go out and they party Chris's plan for the evening was to go out with some friends and have a
fun night they went to go see one of their favorite DJs at this event in East LA seems like a weird place to have a
party well it's a warehouse and we have warehouse parties all over Los Angeles and they just have music drugs
alcohol and people and this is a target-rich environment for victims of predators they met a man who passed
himself off as a big shot Hollywood producer and that just clearly wasn't the case and it was just dumb luck that they
met him he doesn't care about other people the longer and longer I didn't hear back
asking her if she's okay the more wored I got we were just waiting for some news
any news and at that point like I'm in real Panic once they left that party that was
the last time their loved ones ever heard from them again [Music] [Music] Hilda Marcel Placencia a doctor in
Durango Mexico was used to handling medical emergencies but nothing prepared her for
the call she got about her eldest daughter and namesake Hilda Marcela cabales I receiv
the phone call in the middle of the night saying that she was so ill she was very bad she was uh intubated the
26-year-old architect was fighting for her life in the ICU at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Los
Angeles you are a doctor what was going on in your mind at the time what happened what what happened to her why
is she that bad [Music] another mother in Corner Alabama was also getting shattering news Dusty Gil's
daughter Christy was in the ER at a completely different Los Angeles Hospital the Southern California medical
center I was just told I'm very sorry to inform you miss JS but she was dropped off at our Hospital on the outside kind
of like a bag of garbage and um she didn't make it and I said what do you mean she
didn't make it they said it is now a police matter I hung up and I fell apart Christie who had just turned 24
was dead of a drug overdose but when detectives heard how she was dropped off they immediately suspected Foul Play
Hospital staff told investigators a black Prius without license plates pulled up here to the ER entrance two
men told the staff they found the woman quote passed out on the curb somewhere nearby and were trying to be good
samarit by bringing her to the hospital they left without giving their names or phone
numbers it was appalling to me Barry Tellus a former Los Angeles Police Department homicide detective and CBS
News consultant says nothing about that story made sense nobody just drops somebody off and say hey by the way we
were driving down the street we found this girl passed out on the sidewalk it was an unfathomable ending
to a life bursting with exuberance when Christy came into her room she was like a
tornado let's do some her personality was big it was loud you just couldn't help but love her for
it her big sister Misty Welden says life for christe was one big adventure there was nothing in the world
that she was afraid to do Christy went skydiving yeah how was that huh Christy rode camels in Morocco we rode donkeys
around the Grand Canyon when not out adventuring Christy was traveling the world as a high fashioned model for
Willamina the one-time Soccer Star traded in her cleats for a pair of heels at the age of
15 she ultimately made La her home chissy Giles I live in Venice California and I am an artist at 21 her life took a
dramatic turn I got a text message from her that said I did something don't tell
Mom I thought oh no what has she done and I got a text message that said I got married and I thought to
who to a South African born artist photographer and special effects editor 17 years her senior named Dean cier they
met through friends at an art gallery in La I understand that before all of this
you were not the marrying type um don't know where you heard that but it's true [Music]
once I was with her you know it was different Yan planned to pop the question just seven months after meeting
at The Burning Man Arts Festival in the Nevada desert but in the moment they figured why wait instead we just decided
to a we just got married right there Christy's Mom and Dad Leslie never expected to hear their daughter's name
in the same sentence as alope and burning man needless to say it did not go over well Chris I can't believe
you've done this your dad didn't even get to walk you down the aisle and she goes oh no no no no we got married but
we are full on having a wedding in Alabama the Newly Weds came to Alabama and Christy and her mom found the
perfect wedding dress to wear at a later date back in LA Christie started studying interior
design which led to a new friendship with Hilda Marcela Hilda Was An Architect from Mexico who had just moved
to LA to start her dream job in interior design do you remember when she said she
wanted to go to Los Angeles and how did you feel when she told you that I feel very happy for her but very sad for me
because we we are very close Louise cabales check in with his daughter every day she was in LA message uh H daughter
I miss you I miss you too father never told me daddy always tell me Father no one was surprised that the
Suma kumare graduate of the prestigious University in monter Mexico was thriving in
La Fernanda cantisani and Alan banor who call her Marcela or Marse were two of her closest friends in montere she
always gave her 100% in everything she did in her friendships with her family with her job with herself too she had
already lived in South Korea and traveled the world how many countries in all 22 countries 22 countries for such a
young girl she was very determined she also knew how to have a good time she loved to dance she loved to dress up
every single person that met her loved loved marel including her dog a w moroner
named Tomas Tomas she left him with Alan when she moved to LA but planned to call
for him when she got her bearings that call would never come just 4 months after moving to La
Hilda was in a com her life in the balance her frantic parents and sister Fernanda racing to
her side and I thought when we are there things will change she will she will wake up
[Music] [Music] this Hilda Marcella the vibrant young architect Who Loved Laughing With
Friends traveling the world with her sister oh you're in the balloon here yeah we are inside the balloon and
playing with her dog Tomas looked nothing like the Hilda Marcella her family saw when they
arrived at the hospital in Los Angeles my my heart broke in thousand pieces because I saw my my baby un
conscience I'm fighting for her life I said is this real Am I Dreaming I took her hand and I said
Mom's here with you you're not alone I was very shocked very impressed I never expected looking at her like
this like Christie 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 but her friends and family were sure that this early to
bed early to rise healthc conscious young woman would never have willingly taken such a toxic cocktail of drugs
when you heard overdose you immediately thought drugged yeah drugged I was sure someone did this to
her when you were told that the cause of death was an overdose did that add up to you
absolutely not definitely not something that she would have done to herself ever that's just not
her Chris 's autopsy showed she had cocaine Fentanyl and GHB known as the date rape drug in her
system in the hours and days after christe's death Yan was determined to get the truth I wanted to get to the
bottom of what exactly what happened that night Yan began putting the puzzle pieces together starting on the evening
of Friday November 12th 2021 the night of the warehouse party he made a timeline B based on what he knew
about christe's plans conversations with Christy's friends and the digital Trail
she left behind Yan who had gone to San Francisco to visit his dad says Christie spent the
early evening doing what she loved most she was enjoying a lovely sunset she took out cat for a walk on the beach
sand Panther s [Music] pan 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 Christy Hilda and a friend who does
not want to be identified had planned a girl's night out they kicked it off at the Soho House in West Hollywood then
moved on to a warehouse party after midnight where these photos were taken this cell phone video posted on
social media shows Hilda and christe dancing in the VIP section in a area which is more protected and safer to be
in by then Yan had gone to bed when he woke up the next morning it was now Saturday November 13th he saw that
christe had texted him I texted her back and sort of didn't hear anything from her at first he just assumed she was
sleeping in but after a few hours with no word he noticed something strange they shared locations on their phones
I saw that she was at a location that I didn't recognize her phone was located at
8641 West Olympic Boulevard so a little orange flag at the back of your head I still hadn't heard back from her and I
saw her location had suddenly moved to hospital I called the hospital they told me that she was in the emergency room
and at that point like I'm in raw Panic Yan raced to the airport to catch a flight back to
LA I call her parents let them know that something terrible had happened and that
she's in the emergency room and then her mom called the emergency room and called me back probably 5 minutes
later uh letting me know that christe had passed away in less than 24 hours your world
was turned upside down shattered Yan went straight to the hospital Christian Hilda's friend who had been at
the warehouse party with them but left early was already here she had been desperately trying to get in touch with
Hilda but could not reach her they were about to find out why she got a call from a different
hospital like 2 hours later saying that he'll did was just checked in then and then like obviously all our La
balls are going off in our heads when both girls are dropped off at two different hospitals 2 hours apart like
something terrible happened that [Music] night like and Yan believed whatever happened took place at that mysterious
address on Olympic Boulevard he put it on Instagram asking for help you blast out this address and very
quickly you get responses yeah what are the those responses that there's somebody that lives at this location
that is a very unsavory person um that there's a lot of stuff out on the internet about him his name was David
Pierce Hilda and Christie were believed to have met him for the first time at the warehouse party David Pierce flew
under the radar for a long time but his past was about to catch up with him as he faces serious charges says former
prosecutor Mary fanti so at best a man at worst a criminal a sexual predator a drug dealer
a murderer a murderer learn more about how Yan uncovered clues in the deaths of his
wife Christie and her friend Hilda at 48 [Music] hours.com as Hilda Marcella lay in a
hospital bed fighting for her life in La Dusty and Leslie Giles were preparing to bury their daughter christe in
Alabama half her ashes would go to Yan to scatter in the places they loved Dusty placed the rest in an N
inside a butterfly box and gently wrapped it in the wedding dress she never had the chance to
wear it was important cuz I know how happy she she was when she found it she swirled like a princess literally
in it within hours of Christy's death detectives on the case were following Clues from Christy herself her pinging
phone had led them straight to the apartment of this man David Pierce 8641 West Olympic Boulevard please drive
over there oh my God there's the car boom there's the car same car tell says police believed it was the
same black Prius with no license plates that Dro chrisy off at the hospital and it's like okay I think we have our man
they retraced the movements of the women that night which would become the basis
of a police affidavit when they comb through those pictures from the party at the warehouse there was David pierce
with Hilda partying it up in the VIP section it sounds like VIP access gave David Pierce instant credibility
absolutely it's all part of the manipulation he must be a good guy he's in the VIP
section it was likely all part of a plan to meet women a plan that included drugs
says the retired detective based on the witnesses statements and the police investigation David Pierce comes with a
bag of cocaine an ounce estimated and David Pierce came here to share it with whoever he could
meet according to Tellus cocaine is a hot ticket at these parties at least on that night even for Hilda and Christie
the police recovered this text exchange between the two women starting at 4:21 a.m. while still at the warehouse party
do you want Coke asks Hilda yes replies christe Hilda texted back I'm in the kitchen let's do a line according to the
police affidavit a witness observe peers provide what looked like cocaine to Giles and cabales who consumed
it police say half an hour later this surveillance video obtained by 48 Hours shows Hilda and Christy leaving with
David Pierce and two other men his roommate brand Osborne and their friend photographer Michael ansbach they all
get into Osborne's car at 5:11 a.m. according to the police affidavit surveillance video which has
not been released because of the ongoing investigation shows Osborne's car arriving here in front of the apartment
according to the affidavit several people got out of the vehicle and headed to the entrance of the
residence 19 minutes later at 5:30 a.m. christe sends from inside Pierce's Apartment A wide-eyed emoji text to
Hilda saying let's go Hilda replies I'll call an Uber 10 minutes away 13 minutes later according to the
affidavit a car believed to be the Uber pulls up after waiting 5 minutes it drives
away without christe and without Hilda how did you process that I mean it's just confirming my worst fears again
that they were there at that place against their will they didn't want to be there they wanted to
[Music] leave Mary fanti a former Federal prosecutor and defense attorney and CBS
News consultant has reviewed the police affidavit and court documents she says this text is an important piece of
evidence something or someone stopped them in their tracks because they never got out and they never
left no one knows exactly what went on inside that apartment for the next 13 hours but according to the affidavit a
neighbor heard someone in pain and moaning on and off during the hours of 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for reasons not
known the neighbor did not call police she's clearly in a distressed state that everyone seems to just be ignoring and
when I say everyone not just Pierce or Osborne but there's a third individual that appears to have been at that
apartment at least for part or all of the night and that's Michael ANS book whatever happened inside the apartment
was hidden from public view not so outside the apartment another key piece piece of evidence images captured on
security cameras but the cameras are in the adjacent building right next door pointing right in this direction being
able to C although Tellis has not seen the video the police affidavit describes it in detail at 4:19 in the afternoon 11
hours after they'd arrived at the apartment Pierce and Osborne are caught on camera carrying christe down the back
stairs it shows Pierce exit the door the back door looks in both directions making sure the coast is clear making
sure there's not going to be any witnesses that sees me carrying this body to my
car both men get into the Prius according to the affidavit the men are captured on security cameras trying to
disguise themselves you see them putting on a hat a mask and a hoodie and then they drive away and they drive to a
hospital Southern California medical center shortly after according to police ansbach leaves the residents carrying
bags of unknown items Pierce and Osborne return to the apartment to get Hilda they carry her partially clad body out
to the Prius and again they leave they don't go to the same hospital they go to a different hospital Kaiser Permanente
why not bring them at the same time to the same Hospital who knows they're trying to conceal their actions they're
trying to keep the police at Bay and they don't want it hit the radar and they do the same thing they
drop the body they tell the same story and then they take off without leaving their name their phone number or
anything to identify themselves with and Hilda what is her State at this point Hilda was still alive they got her to
the hospital and she was declared what we call brain dead how did you process that when you
heard that news the worst day of my life after almost 2 weeks on life support it
was time for Hilda Marcel's family to say goodbye Hough what were your final moments with your
daughter there were so hard you know and I just was asking God to not let her suffer
more I remember telling her that you can leave and just thanking her for being my
sister I told her babbe when I pass away I will see you again and I gave you a big hug a
kiss the family decided to donate Hilda Marcel's organs her mom remembers the medical staff lining the Halls as the
family accompanied Hilda to the O the medical team was clapping to honor her to say thank you
for giving life to others Hilda Marcella cabales was pronounced dead one day before her 27th
birthday back in montere Mexico her friends gathered to remember her all dressed in white at her favorite Park we
brought her favorite thing to drink and her favorite cake at first we were crying but at some
point we put her favorite music on and we just started dancing and we we were laughing and hugging and it was
beautiful I felt like she was there 3 weeks after Hilda's death a break in the case police have arrested
three men in connection with the deaths of a model and her friend lastar David Pierce 39 brand Osborne 42 and Michael
ansbach 47 were arrested in connection to Hilda and chrisy deaths but not officially charged Osborne on the left
and ansbach were eventually released but not Pierce he was held on four unrelated
sexual assault charges new tonight A Beverly Hills man has been charged with sexually assaulting four different women
when this case hit the media more victims showed up I know that guy he did this to me the prosecution is alleging
in cases dating back to 2010 that Pierce lured four different Jane do to his apartment and gave all but one a special
drink causing them to get dizzy or black out the allegations include forcible rape sexual penetration with a foreign
object having sex with someone who's unconscious Erica Bergman who also goes by Erica Poe is not one of the Jane Do's
but she says she was so traumatized by Pierce she tried to warn other women about him on a Blog called the dirty as
far back as 2013 she discovered she had a lot of company there's a lot of commonalities
in our stories Erica says she met Pierce at a low point in her life she was getting a divorce and money was
tight initially she says she was taken in by him he would talk a lot about celebrities that he knew and introduced
himself as a producer for Paramount Pictures so he was really large than life kind of personality but she says it
didn't take long for her to realize that pierce who often introduced himself as Dave from Paramount Pictures lied he
never worked at the movie studio David Pierce is a very bad person Erica believes that one night he drugged her
she slept till 400 p.m. the next day and woke up feeling strange and groggy and Dave is bouncing around the room kind of
laughing and Giddy and he started to tell me how while I was passed out he had assaulted me while I was sleeping
sexually assaulted me and the things that he had done to me and it was incredibly
degrading Erica says she wanted to leave but felt trapped she says he threatened
to send compromising pictures to her estranged husband whom she was battling in divorce court she reluctantly stayed
but says the violence only got worse he slam my head onto the the marble floor and the sound in my ears was like an egg
cracking and I can't get that sound out of my ears Erica says she was too scared
to press charges but soon left for good then it all came rushing back when she heard about christe and Hilda my first
gut instinct was that this was not an accident that he had his name all over it in May of 2022 the prosecution added
three more accounts of sexual assault against David Pierce we've added three additional sexual assault charges with
three additional victims and there was more 40-year-old David Pierce has been charged with murder in connection with
the women's deaths after a 7-month investigation the da had enough evidence to indict David
Pierce on two counts of murder claiming David Pierce gave chrisy and Hilda lethal amounts of fentanyl a deadly
synthetic opioid druged dealers often mix with other drugs unbeknown to the user it took months before David Pierce
was charged with murder what was your reaction I mean definitely a relief but also very
sad the police did not find any fentanyl lace drugs in Pearson Osborne's apartment just drug paraphernalia but
Osborne who has been charged as an accessory to murder after the fact may have unwittingly explained why according
to the police affidavit Osborne told co-workers if cops had found the drugs hidden underneath the cash inside the
car they would have been in big trouble not finding fentanyl Ace drugs creates a big challenge for the
prosecution says fan they're going to have to prove that David Pierce gave the girls these drugs and he knew at the
time that it could harmed them and he did so with conscious disregard so they're going to have to prove that
David Pierce intended to kill these young women and that's not an easy threshold to
overcome especially in light of witness statements that the women were doing drugs willingly cocaine at the warehouse
and earlier in the evening as well friends told police Christy and Hilda both had taken cocaine and ketamine a
popular club drug how does this work in the defense's favor because fentanyl is a problem in this country and people are
dying from fentanyl that they take recreationally because they believe that they're only taking cocaine if you're
the defense that's the point you want to continue to drive home is how do you hold these two men responsible for an
epidemic that's really plaguing the entire country that does not mean it will be an
easy defense says Josh Ritter the former Los Angeles assistant DA is advising Yan
on legal issues and is now a practicing defense attorney the problems that they're going to have though is how do
you get around how those girls were treated afterwards and how do you get around the history that this man has and
how do you get around the fact that christe had the so-called date rape drug GHB in her system is GHB is the date
rape drug something these women would have taken knowingly absolutely not that is a drug that's usually used by sexual
predators guys that want to take advantage of women and don't want them to remember or know about
it Hilda and Christie were still coherent at at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday morning when they exchanged that text
about calling an Uber the text punctuated with a white-eyed Emoji something happened inside those 10
minutes between them calling the Uber and the Uber leaving that incapacitated them according to the timeline in the
affidavit christe remained in that apartment for the next 11 hours Hilda for 13 with one of them according to a
neighbor moaning and groaning in pain most of the day these two women could still be alive
had David Pierce or Mr Osborne called 911 three digits on a phone that could have changed everything
[Music] if found guilty of all charges against him David Pierce could face 128 years to
life in prison what is David Pierce currently charged with David Pierce is charged with 11 counts seven counts of
drugging and sexually assaulting forcibly raping Andor sodomizing several women two counts of murder and two
counts of providing uh a controlled substance that being fentanyl in a bold decision the state
will combine the sexual assault and murder charges in one trial why include sexual assault charges
in a murder case if you look at this case in its totality mean this is David Pierce's Mo he lur women back to his
apartment he provides them with a drink and then they start to feel dizzy or they black out and he sexually assaults
them while christe and Hilda's autopsy stated there was no physical or sexual trauma
nurses who treated Hilda noted slight bleeding in her vagina and a review of her sexual assault examination found a
small abrasion I know this is a difficult conversation do you think Hilda and Christie were potentially raped that
night of course I believe that that's the reason they why they druged them Josh Ritter believes the testimony of
the women who were allegedly drugged and raped by Pierce will help dur see a dangerous pattern of behavior their
testimon is going to be huge one woman perhaps the defense can poke holes and that two women it begins to sound like
is this really a coincidence or not but three or four women or more and you realize you're dealing with a with a
monster it turns out David Pierce had been on the police radar for years according to the police affidavit he was
arrested in 2014 for sexual assault along with an additional rape case but these cases are often difficult to prove
and were ultimately rejected by the District Attorney's Office something christe's sister Misty
finds unforgivable to know that he had been arrested and had been released is just appalling to me
[Music] it's really sad that two beautiful girls had to die in order for him to be in jail right
now David Pierce has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him Walter osor brand Osborne who is charged as an
accessory to murder after the fact has also pleaded not guilty and is out on bail we caught up with him outside of
court do you have any comments I have no comment I'm innocent Pierce's lawyer also had no
comment but at the time of the incident Pierce told detectives at the end of the
day I didn't do anything wrong I just tried to make the situation you know right so far the prosecution has
declined to charge Michael ansbach 48 Hours has learned that he's cooperating with prosecutors and will likely testify
against his two friends but until the case goes to trial Dusty and Leslie Giles thanks to a social
media campaign will be at every court hearing Never Letting David Pierce forget that chrisy was more than just a
name on a court docket she was a real person she was a daughter a sister a grand
daughter she was her daddy's best friend I miss my daughter well we love you in Mexico Hilda Marcella's friends
and family cherish the momentos she left behind a lock of hair it's part of her a
diploma so she wasn't just smart she was the top of her class she was the top of the
top a dog named Tomas who now lives with a lot the love we have for Mar it's going to Tomas he reminds us about her
so much and he has become my emotional support my emotional Fortress I would be very
lost so yeah there is always and will always be a whole and nothing can feel it she loved
to live and I think that's the way we can honor her living our lives in the best
way Hilda and Christie's families hope the deaths of these young friends will not be in
vain she's here this is a tragedy but maybe this was the way to stop them that's the only Justice we can
[Music] get I was startled awake I started screaming a 55-hour rain of Terror I did Tire up and he was hurry
Mom and I said please I'll do anything please don't kill me 48 hours Saturday on CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus

After a night out, two women were dumped outside hospitals by masked men. Were the men good Samaritans or did they play a role in the women’s deaths? "48 Hours" contributor Jonathan Vigliotti reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

CASE UPDATE: On Feb. 4, 2025, David Pearce was found guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of Christy Giles and Hilda Marcela Cabrales. Jurors also found Pearce guilty of seven counts of sexual assault for prior charges. The case against Brandt Osborn was declared a mistrial by the judge after jurors were deadlocked on a verdict.

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

Brief Summary

Christy Giles and Hilda Cabales were murdered after a night out, leading to an investigation into David Pierce's predatory actions.

Key points

The Dark Side of LA. Barry Tellus reveals the hidden dangers of Los Angeles, a city known for its glamour.
The Night of the Party. Christy and Hilda attend a warehouse party, unaware of the danger that awaits them.
A Mother's Nightmare. Hilda's mother receives devastating news about her daughter in the ICU.
A Shocking Discovery. Christy Giles is found dead, leading to a police investigation into foul play.
The Mystery Unfolds. Yan begins to piece together the events leading to Christy's tragic death.
Hilda's Remembrance. Friends gathered in white to celebrate Hilda's life with music and laughter.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

She was the most fun and interesting person I'd ever met.

Christy's husband reflects on her vibrant personality.

1:37WatchApr 22, 2023

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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