() – A California man was accused of drugging and sexually assaulting nine women, including one woman who died from the drugs, prosecutors said Friday.
Michael DiGiorgio, 50, faces multiple charges, including murder, rape by drug use and delivery of a controlled substance, according to court records obtained by .
He is being represented by the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office, according to the court recordsand reached out to his attorney for comment on Friday and Saturday.
DiGiorgio is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting the women between May 2019 and November 2021 at their homes in Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach, prosecutors said, and investigators believe more victims may come forward.
Authorities have not named the woman who died or provided information about when she died, but court records show the murder charge is related to a crime from July 2020.
“I extend my deepest sympathy to the victims, whose lives were irrevocably changed and whose lives were lost by the alleged brutal acts of the shooter,” Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said in a news release. “Our office is committed to holding him accountable for the pain and trauma he has inflicted.”
DiGiorgio faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted as charged, the District Attorney’s Office said.
He was arrested this week in Redondo Beach and is being held without bail, according to Los Angeles County records.
He was scheduled to be arraigned Friday and enter a plea, but that hearing was postponed until Nov. 6, according to court records.
DiGiorgio was previously charged in 2020 with rape of an “unconscious or sleeping” person, among several other crimes, but the case was dismissed for lack of a speedy trial, records show. He pleaded not guilty to those charges.
has reached out to the District Attorney’s Office for additional information.
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