Once Upon A Crime In Hollywood is a true crime podcast, hosted by Kelly Hyman. The series focuses on some of Hollywood's most compelling cases, with key experts and investigators involved in them.
In the series finale, David Pearce faces a jury for his alleged role in the deaths of Christy Giles and Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, and the alleged sexual assault of seven other women. We speak to the lead prosecutor of the case, L.A. County Deputy District Attorney Catherine Mariano; and James Queally from the L.A. Times to break down the trial.
6 Jan 2025
Girls Night Out – EP 04: Murder Trial
With David Pearce in custody for the deaths of Christy and Hilda, as well as seven additional sexual assault charges, the trial is set for January 6, 2025. We speak to experts in DNA testing, sexual assault investigations and criminal trials to discuss how the case will play out. Plus, the final word from the families of Christy and Hilda, as we look ahead to the trial and the impact the case has had on them.
To donate to the Road To Justice For Christy Lee Giles Family, go to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/76w4e-christy-giless-parents-expenses-to-court-dates
6 Jan 2025
Girls Night Out – EP 03: Dead Girls Can’t Talk
With David Pearce and Brandt Osborn charged for the deaths of Christy and Hilda, the investigation begins to reveal troubling details about Pearce’s past, and a string of very similar accusations dating back to 2007. A grand jury indicts Pearce for the murder charges, with seven additional women testifying about alleged sexual assaults by Pearce. Plus, we hear testimony from perhaps the most important witness in this case, Michael Ansbach, who was there the night Christy and Hilda died.
6 Jan 2025
Girls Night Out – EP 02: 8641 West Olympic Boulevard
The investigation into Christy and Hilda’s deaths starts to heat up. Christy’s husband Jan begins tracking down information about the location Christy was last known to be. Police visit the apartment of David Pearce, who denies any involvement in the womens’ deaths. As Jan attempts to retrace Christy’s steps, surveillance footage captures Pearce, Christy, and Hilda coming back to Pearce’s apartment that night. Pearce is eventually arrested and charged with the deaths of both women. His roommate, Brandt Osborne, is also charged with two counts of being an accessory after the fact. We discuss the details around what happened on that tragic night, and what we know so far about David Pearce.
6 Jan 2025
Girls Night Out – EP 01: Christy and Hilda
Girls night out in Los Angeles. 24-year-old Christy Giles and 26-year-old Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola head to a warehouse party in East L.A., where they meet David Pearce. Witnesses say Pearce offered them cocaine, and the group heads back to Pearce’s apartment. The next day, both women are dropped off at separate hospitals suffering from a drug overdose. As the families of both women deal with the devastating news, Christy’s husband, Jan notices her phone pinged to an unknown location. We speak to Jan and Christy’s parents about how the tragic day played out, as well as Hilda’s family, who were with her in hospital while she was in a coma. Plus, a renowned expert on drug-facilitated assault cases discusses the initial facts of the investigation.
15 Mar 2024
The Hollywood Ripper – EP 07: The Trial Pt. 2
The Hollywood Ripper trial shifts its focus to the two California murders - Ashley Ellerin and Maria Bruno. Ashton Kutcher, the most famous witness in the trial, takes the stand to detail the night he went to pick up Ellerin before she was found dead. Michael Gargiulo's defense team hammers Ellerin's former apartment manager about his version of events the night of her murder, and several of Ashley's friends speak about their interactions with Gargiulo and his apparent obsession with her. Neighbors of Maria Bruno also take the stand, as well as her estranged husband Irving Bruno, who is grilled by the defense about his actions the night of her murder. As the trial begins to wrap up, psychological experts are brought in to assess Gargiulo's state of mind, and the jury is finally left to make a decision on his guilt, sanity, and potential sentence for the three attacks.
15 Mar 2024
The Hollywood Ripper – EP 06: The Trial Pt. 1
The Hollywood Ripper trial begins nearly 28 years after the murder of Tricia Pacaccio. Michael Gargiulo is on trial for the murders of Ashley Ellerin and Maria Bruno, as well as the attempted murder of Michelle Murphy. Due to California law allowing "prior bad acts" evidence to be introduced, prosecutors also detail the murder of Tricia Pacaccio to show a pattern of behavior and the eerie similarities between each of the attacks. Michelle Murphy, the lone survivor, also testifies at the trial. We speak to detectives who worked on the case, plus former L.A. County Deputy District Attorney Joshua Ritter about key aspects of the trial, and the most impactful witnesses in the attack on Michelle Murphy, and the murder of Tricia Pacaccio.
15 Mar 2024
The Hollywood Ripper – EP 05: Survivor
With no suspects in Maria Bruno's murder, L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy Detective Mark Lillienfeld continues the search. Michael Gargiulo marries, then moves to Santa Monica, California, with his wife. Across the alleyway, 26-year-old Michelle Murphy lived in an apartment nearby. One night, Murphy woke up with a man on top of her, stabbing her repeatedly with a knife. She manages to kick off the attacker, who cuts himself in the struggle and flees the apartment. When police arrive, they find blood at the crime scene that matches Michael Gargiulo, and he's eventually arrested for the attack. When L.A. County Sheriff's detectives who were investigating Maria Bruno's murder find out, they search Gargiulo's old apartment in El Monte and find a key piece of evidence. With Gargiulo now in custody, CBS 48 Hours airs a special about Tricia Pacaccio's murder in Cook County, which leads to a break in the case. We speak with CBS correspondent Maureen Maher about the special, plus former Santa Monica Police lieutenant Darrell Lowe about the attack on Michelle Murphy, and Mark Lillienfeld details the search of Gargiulo's El Monte apartment and a controversial undercover operation conducted while Gargiulo was in custody.
15 Mar 2024
The Hollywood Ripper – EP 04: The Blue Bootie
After Cook County's State's Attorney chose not to prosecute, Michael Gargiulo is once again a free man. He moves into an apartment in El Monte, California with his girlfriend, where a 32-year-old woman named Maria Bruno moves in across the complex. Less than two weeks after she moves in, Maria Bruno is killed. Her estranged husband, Irving, finds her stabbed, mutilated, and left for dead in her own bed, just hours after the two had been out the night prior. In a chilling 911 call, Irving describes the scene to police. Mark Lillienfeld, a detective with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, is assigned to the case. We speak to Det. Lillienfeld about the crime scene, witness statements from people who lived in the apartment, and a crucial piece of evidence left at the crime scene: a blue medical bootie with drops of blood on it.
1 Mar 2024
The Hollywood Ripper – EP 03: Casual Contact
Cook County detectives are looking for Michael Gargiulo in California, and connect with L.A.P.D. homicide detective Tom Small to help locate him. Armed with a search warrant, detectives track him to an apartment listed under his girlfriend's name, and arrest him. They submit his DNA for testing and get a match with the DNA collected from Tricia Pacaccio's fingernail clippings. When the Cook County State's Attorney's office is presented with the evidence, they decide not to charge Gargiulo due to the possibility of the DNA being obtained by "casual contact". We speak with DNA expert Kristen Mittelman and former L.A. County prosecutor Joshua Ritter on the decision by Cook County's State's Attorney not to prosecute Gargiulo. Plus, Tom Small tells us how the Pacaccio family reacted to the news.
1 Mar 2024
The Hollywood Ripper – EP 02: The Furnace Guy
Seven years after Tricia Pacaccio's murder, Cook County's Sheriff's Office were now treating it as a cold case. A new investigative team submitted Tricia's fingernail clippings taken from the crime scene as DNA evidence, hoping to get a match. Meanwhile, Michael Gargiulo had moved to Hollywood, where he met 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin, who lived a few blocks from his house. After introducing himself as an air conditioning repair man, "Mike" would eventually start showing up at some of Ellerin's parties uninvited. Ashley was living a glamorous Hollywood lifestyle, partying with some famous actors like Vin Diesel and Ashton Kutcher. The night of February 21, 2001, she had plans to meet Kutcher for drinks after the Grammy Awards, but she never made it there. We speak with Detective Tom Small of the L.A.P.D., who investigated the case, and began searching for a man who was only known by Ashley's friends as "Mike the furnace guy".
1 Mar 2024
The Hollywood Ripper – EP 01: Murder in Cook County
The Hollywood Ripper story begins in Glenview, Illinois - an unincorporated suburb of Cook County, where 18-year old Tricia Pacaccio was just finishing high school. Tricia attended a road rally with her friends, one of the last times they would get to see each other before leaving for college. When she returned home, she was attacked at her side doorstep and stabbed over a dozen times. Her father found her body the next day, and the Cook County Sheriff's Office began to investigate. After years of finding no leads, a new investigative team began to zero in on one of Tricia's neighbors - Michael Gargiulo - who grew up with Tricia's brother Doug. Even after finding himself in trouble with the law, police couldn't convince Gargiulo to provide any information about Tricia's murder, or what he may have known about it. Eventually, he moves to Hollywood, California, where another woman was murdered just blocks away from his house.
1 May 2023
The Ronni Chasen Story – EP 06: New Documents Revealed
With Ronni Chasen's investigation officially closed, Beverly Hills Police would be challenged over the next several years to release over 200 pages of semi-redacted documents relating to the investigation. Those documents, reviewed by the Hollywood Reporter, show conflicting information about the evidence implicating Harold Smith, and call into question some of the police department's public statements over the course of the Chasen investigation. In the final episode of our six-part series, we discuss what the documents reveal, and the most significant unanswered questions remaining about Ronni Chasen's murder.
15 Apr 2023
The Ronni Chasen Story – EP 05: Missing Pieces
With Beverly Hills Police all but wrapping up the investigation into Ronni Chasen's murder, media speculation continued about other possible theories, including a murder-for-hire and a rumored gambling debt involving Ronni's brother, Larry Cohen. The rest of Ronni's family drew the spotlight when a copy of her will was published by TMZ, putting scrutiny on who was a beneficiary of Ronni's death, and who wasn't. In Episode 5, we discuss some of the theories surrounding Ronni's family, what insight could be gained from her will, as well as the much-anticipated release of Ronni's autopsy report.
15 Apr 2023
The Ronni Chasen Story – EP 04: Case Closed?
The media frenzy continued in the aftermath of Harold Smith's fatal interaction with police at the Harvey Apartments. Beverly Hills Police requested the gun Harold Smith used to commit suicide to be turned over to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Crime Labratory for further testing. After announcing they had a "preliminary ballistics match" to the weapon that killed Ronni Chasen, Beverly Hills Police officially closed the case. In Episode 4, we discuss questions about the ballistics analysis in the case, bold statements made by the Beverly Hills Police Department, and how investigators determined Ronni Chasen was killed in a 'robbery gone bad'.
15 Apr 2023
The Ronni Chasen Story – EP 03: The Suspect
The person of interest in Ronni Chasen's homicide, now identified as Harold Martin Smith, had a decorated criminal history, including armed robberies, and had spent considerable time in prison. In Episode 3, we discuss what we know about Harold Smith, his past, and how statements from Smith's neighbors at the Harvey Apartments ultimately shaped the narrative around his involvement in Ronni Chasen's murder.
15 Apr 2023
The Ronni Chasen Story – EP 02: A Wide-Open Investigation
In their first update to the public, Beverly Hills Police called Ronni Chasen's murder a wide-open investigation and began serving search warrants at Chasen's apartment and business to collect evidence. Four days after her murder, the case made America's Most Wanted, leading to an anonymous tip that would eventually pinpoint 43-year-old Harold Smith as a 'person of interest' in the investigation. In Episode 2, we discuss the first stages of a homicide investigation and how early media reports impacted the narrative around the case, plus a shocking turn of events when police approached Smith at the now-famous Harvey Apartments.
15 Apr 2023
The Ronni Chasen Story – EP 01: Gunned Down in Beverly Hills
In the first episode of our six-part series, we examine the night Ronni Chasen was murdered in Beverly Hills. We discuss her life and career leading up to her final appearance on the red carpet, and what we know about her last moments before her tragic death. Using crime scene photos and witness accounts, we revisit the location where Ronni's car crashed into a light pole on Whittier Drive, and dissect the preliminary details available to the police and media at the time. Who would want to kill Ronni Chasen, and what stands out about a crime of this nature happening in the heart of Beverly Hills?
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
17,498,526
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
3.3 / 5
44 ratings
Spotify
4.4 / 5
7 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 39 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
9
Social presence
0
YouTube
93
Engagement
82
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