Three men have been arrested in connection with the mysterious deaths of a model and her friend found dumped outside hospitals last month in Southern California, Los Angeles police confirmed to TheWrap Thursday.
One of the men, up-and-coming actor Brandt Osborn, was taken into custody on the set of “NCIS: Los Angeles” in Hollywood on Wednesday afternoon, near Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street, according to the New York Post. Osborn, 42, had reportedly been working as a background actor on the show and was not part of the regular cast. The LAPD Media Relations Division would not comment on whether a television shoot was taking place when police arrested Osborn.
Osborn was booked as an accessory to manslaughter, with bail set at $100,000, the LAPD said. The two other men had ties to the entertainment industry as well. They are identified as David Pearce, 37, who was charged with manslaughter and is being held on $1 million bail. The third man is Michael Ansbach, 47, a cinematographer whose credits on IMDb include the reality TV competition “Sleeping with Friends” and the television movie “BallzGirlz.” Ansbach was booked on suspicion of accessory to manslaughter, with bail set at $100,000.
The men’s arrests followed the November deaths of Christy Giles, a 24-year-old model and aspiring actress, and her friend Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, 26.
Giles’ husband, Jan Cilliers, told the New York Post his wife and Cabrales-Arzola met the men at a party in East Los Angeles and the group went back to Pearce’s apartment in West L.A.
Police said a black Toyota Prius without license plates left Giles at a hospital, and that the men inside the car were wearing masks.
“On November 13, 2021 masked men dropped off Cristy Giles at a Southern California Hospital in Culver City,” the LAPD said in statement Thursday. Giles was unconscious and later pronounced dead.
[Giles is shown in the below Instagram post]
A short time later, Cabrales-Arzola was left at Kaiser Permanente hospital in West Los Angeles, police said. She was unconscious and in very critical condition. She died on Nov. 24.
The toxicology report for Cabrales-Arzola said heroin was found in her system, KABC-TV reported. The women’s families told the TV station neither would have willingly taken drugs.
Police warned “there could be other victims.”
“It is believed that both women were given drugs and overdosed,” police said Thursday, adding that the group had gathered at a residence in the 8600 block of Olympic Boulevard before the women were taken away in the Prius.
LAPD’s West Bureau Homicide Detectives are investigating the case. The three suspects were tracked down and arrested with the assistance of the LAPD-FBI Fugitive Task Force.
