A Southern California man is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting nine women, one of whom died, prosecutors said.
Michael DiGiorgio, 50, has been charged with murder, three felony counts of rape by use of a drug in connection to events that the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office say happened at his homes in Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach.
The alleged attacks happened from May 2019 through November 2021, the DA said Friday.
Officials are investigating if other women were attacked.
DiGiorgio was also charged with two felony counts of sodomy by use of a drug, five felony counts of sexual penetration by use of a drug, one felony count of oral copulation by use of a drug, one felony count of forcible rape, two felony counts of forcible sexual penetration, one felony count of rape of an unconscious person and two felony counts of furnishing a controlled substance.
Prosecutors said that while furnishing a controlled substance, DiGiorgio caused great bodily injury.
He was arrested Thursday morning by Redondo Beach police and remains in jail, NBC Los Angeles reported.
He was expected to be arraigned Friday at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center. It’s not immediately clear if he has a lawyer. If convicted, he faces maximum sentence of life in prison.
“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 statement. “Our office is committed to holding him accountable for the pain and trauma he has inflicted.”
