A California man has been charged with 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 use of a drug and furnishing a controlled substance, according to court records obtained by CNN.
He is being represented by the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office, according to court records, and CNN has reached out to his attorney for comment Friday and overnight into Saturday.
DiGiorgio is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting the women between May 2019 and November 2021 at his 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 on when she died, but court records show the murder charge is related to a July 2020 offense.
“I extend my deepest sympathy to the victims, whose lives have been irrevocably changed and the life lost by the alleged brutal acts of the offender,” 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 DA’s office said.
He was arrested this week in Redondo Beach and is being held without bail, according to Los Angeles County booking records.
He was scheduled to be arraigned Friday and to enter a plea, but that hearing was continued until November 6, according to court records.
DiGiorgio was previously charged in 2020 with rape of a person “unconscious or asleep,” among other several offenses, but the case was dismissed for lack of a speedy trial, records show. He pleaded not guilty to those charges.
CNN has reached out to the DA’s office for additional information.
