A Hollywood producer sentenced Wednesday for the deaths of two women who were drugged and dumped at Los Angeles hospitals was also previously accused by a deceased police officer of rape.
Lauren Craven, 25, of La Mesa, California, was one of seven women who said David Pearce raped them, the New York Post reported. The revelation came in court as Pearce received a 146-year prison sentence for the 2021 deaths of model Christy Giles, 24, and Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, 26.
Craven was struck and killed by a vehicle last week as she tried to help people trapped in an overturned car on a freeway.
Los Angeles County prosecutors revealed the information about Craven’s allegations as a judge handed down Pearce’s sentence.
Craven died just two weeks after her 25th birthday. She was returning to La Mesa from the San Diego Central Jail when she came upon a collision on Interstate 8, according to the La Mesa Police Department.
“After exiting her vehicle to assist, she was tragically struck and killed by another motorist,” the police department said in a Facebook post. “Officer Craven’s actions in her final moments exemplified her unwavering dedication to service and the safety of others — a reflection of how she lived every day.”
Craven had been identified only as “Jane Doe No. 5” during Pearce’s trial, the Post reported. Pearce faced charges not only for the fatal druggings but also in connection with seven rape victims — spanning from 2007 to 2021 — who came forward after his arrest, according to prosecutors.
On Nov. 13, 2021, Giles and Cabrales-Arzola met Pearce, along with Brandt Osborne and Michael Ansbach, at a warehouse party in East Los Angeles, police said. They later returned to Pearce’s nearby home, where he provided GHB — commonly known as a “date rape drug” — and fentanyl to the group.
Several hours later, the women were captured on surveillance video being dropped off at separate hospitals by masked men driving a car with no license plates, according to prosecutors.
Giles was pronounced dead after staff members found her body outside Southern California Hospital in Culver City. Cabrales-Arzola was resuscitated after being dropped off 2 miles away at Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Hospital, where she died 11 days later.
