Where Is Dawn DaLuise Now? Inside the Esthetician's Life After Being Falsely Accused of Plotting to Murder a Rival By Aya Al-Hakim

A decade ago, Dawn DaLuise was known as one of Hollywood’s most in‑demand estheticians. But in 2014, her life turned upside down when she was arrested and accused of plotting to kill a rival.

What followed was a case that drew national attention, a stunning revelation that she had been framed and an acquittal that came only after she spent 10 months behind bars.

In the years since, DaLuise has tried to rebuild while navigating serious health issues and legal battles. In 2024, she unexpectedly found herself back in the spotlight when a new Hollywood thriller — Skincare starring Elizabeth Banks — reignited public interest. Her story is now the subject of two episodes of ID’s The Curious Case Of…, the first of which aired on Jan. 26, 2026. The second will debut on Feb. 2.

Here’s everything to know about where Dawn DaLuise is now.

She was once a sought‑after esthetician in West Hollywood

Before her arrest, DaLuise was a staple in the West Hollywood beauty world. She ran the Dawn DaLuise Skin Refinery, where she offered her signature Galvanic Electrical Muscular Stimulation facial and a line of self‑branded products that earned mentions in Vogue, InStyle and Vanity Fair, according to Los Angeles Magazine.

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Her studio drew a steady stream of high‑profile clients, including Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Brad Pitt, Alicia Silverstone, Michelle Trachtenberg, Christina Ricci and Sarah Michelle Gellar, per her website.

She reported being stalked before her arrest

In 2013, DaLuise began receiving harassment from an anonymous stalker, she claimed to Los Angeles Magazine. She alleged that her tires were slashed, she received threatening text messages and, at one point, strangers began showing up at her townhouse late at night after someone posted a Craigslist ad falsely claiming she was seeking anonymous sex using her real name and address.

DaLuise reported what happened to police, but without solid evidence, no arrests were made, according to the outlet.

At first, DaLuise believed the harassment was coming from a nearby business owner, Gabriel Suarez. But it turned out that the people behind it were actually two clients — Nick Prugo and Edward Feinstein.

Prugo, a former member of the “Bling Ring,” had met Feinstein while serving time for celebrity burglaries. Both men were later charged with felony stalking and solicitation to commit rape, though the solicitation charge was dismissed. They ultimately pleaded guilty to misdemeanor stalking, per Los Angeles Magazine. They were sentenced to 350 hours of community service and three years of probation, per the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

“It is a cautionary tale. It taught me that not everybody is what they seem. I just don’t trust anyone now,” DaLuise told the outlet.

She was arrested in 2014 and was acquitted 10 months later

In March 2014, DaLuise was arrested and accused of trying to hire someone to kill a nearby business competitor. Prosecutors alleged that she asked former NFL player Chris Geile to target Suarez, who owned a new West Hollywood skincare studio that she thought was hurting her business. She was charged with two felony counts, including solicitation of murder.

DaLuise was jailed for 10 months pending her trial. During the trial, Geile testified that he was there emotionally for DaLuise, but that he never thought she was trying to solicit him to commit murder.

“As far as doing anything about it, no. She just came at me from a point of I don’t know what to do,” he said, per ABC7.

Ultimately, a jury found her not guilty in January 2015 after only 40 minutes of deliberation, according to the outlet.

DaLuise argued from the start that she was being framed by Feinstein. In a subsequent lawsuit against L.A. County Sheriff Jim McDonnell, she claimed that she was arrested after Feinstein had a conversation with a sheriff’s detective in which he said that “DaLuise had requested that he engage in the cyberstalking to make it look like a business competitor, Gabriel Suarez, was stalking her.”

After her acquittal, DaLuise told PEOPLE the experience had taken a severe toll.

“The miscarriage of justice is insane and overwhelming,” she said. “My life is decimated. [Authorities] shot first and asked questions later.”

The 2024 film Skincare was loosely based on DaLuise’s story

DaLuise returned to public attention in 2024 following the release of Skincare, a thriller starring Banks as an esthetician whose feud with a rival turns dangerous.

In August 2024, DaLuise told CNN she was surprised to see a storyline that echoed parts of her experience. DaLuise praised Banks’ performance as Hope Goodman, telling the outlet that she was “very happy and very surprised with who they chose … to portray me.”

However, she also said she was frustrated that no one involved in the film reached out to her, telling CNN she was “disappointed” not to have been consulted or compensated. Watching the movie, she said, also made her want to correct the record.

“It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride, and it was enjoyable, but it wasn’t fact‑based in any real way,” she told the outlet. “That movie was probably about 20% of my whole ordeal. The audience has no idea about the follow‑up — the incarceration and whatnot.”

Where is Dawn DaLuise now?

After she was acquitted and released from jail, DaLuise was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in June 2015.

Additionally, after she was acquitted, DaLuise filed two legal actions: her lawsuit against McDonnell and a tort claim against L.A. County.

In her tort claim, DaLuise alleged that while she was in jail, her reports of rectal bleeding were ignored and that the delay in treatment allowed her cancer to get worse. She argued that earlier medical care could have changed the outcome.

“We could’ve just gone in and removed the cancer,” she told PEOPLE. “But now it’s stage 2, and I need chemo, radiation, and surgery. Sometimes I feel like I’m not part of the land of the living. It’s a strange, no man’s land I occupy. It’s very sad and disheartening to me.”

DaLuise spent the year after her trial living at her ex-husband’s house, undergoing surgeries and treatments. She was cancer-free as of May 2018, per Los Angeles Magazine.

That same month, the L.A. County Claims Board recommended a settlement in her case against the county, but details about if the settlement was finalized haven’t been made public.

DaLuise continues to offer esthetician services — even doing so-called “Killer Facials,” a pun on the ordeal.

“It’s a play on the whole debacle. I’m just owning it,” she told Los Angeles Magazine.