A Southern California man is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting nine women — including one who died, prosecutors said.
Michael DiGiorgio, 50, was charged Friday with murder, three felony counts of rape by use of a drug and furnishing a controlled substance, two felony counts of sodomy by use of a drug, five felony counts of sexual penetration by use of a drug and other offenses, NBC News reported.
He was arrested Thursday by Redondo Beach police and remains in jail without bail, authorities said.
DiGiorgio was scheduled to be arraigned Friday and enter a plea, but that hearing was continued until Nov. 6, CNN reported.
He is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting his victims at his homes in Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach between May 2019 and November 2021, prosecutors said. Investigators said they believe more victims may come forward.
Authorities declined to name the woman who died or say 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,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.
“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, the DA’s office said.
He was previously charged in 2020 with rape of a person “unconscious or asleep,” and other offenses, but the case was dismissed for lack of a speedy trial, CNN reported.
DiGiorgio pleaded not guilty to those charges.
