Cosmetics Heir on Trial for Rape Vanishes

Jan. 9, 2003 -- Life used to be good for 39-year-old Andrew Luster, who spent most of his time riding the waves outside his beachfront bungalow, enjoying the palm trees, the California surf and a generous trust fund.

But now Luster is the subject of a worldwide manhunt. The FBI and the Ventura County Sheriff's Department are pursuing the heir of cosmetics mogul Max Factor, who failed to appear at his rape trial Monday.

Since mid-December, Luster had been standing trial on charges of drugging and raping three women, incidents he videotaped. If convicted of all charges, he could face life in prison. During a holiday break from the trial, Luster disappeared.

Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks said his department knew Luster was a flight risk and tried to prevent his escape from the trial.

"We asked for a high bail, and the appellate court lowered it to $1 million," Brooks told ABCNEWS' Good Morning America. "That was a bad decision in hindsight."

Great-Granddad Was Makeup King

Luster is the great-grandson and heir of cosmetics tycoon Max Factor, and his net worth is estimated at over $30 million. Starting in the early days of Hollywood, Max Factor built a fortune when he invented the pancake makeup worn by all the stars.

With a multimillion-dollar inheritance, Luster didn't have to work. Instead, he surfed, hung out in nightclubs and seduced young women, who were drawn to his wealth and good looks.

The case against him began two and a half years ago, when a 21-year-old college student told authorities that Luster drugged and raped her after she met him at a bar. He is also charged with drugging and raping two other young women he met in the Santa Barbara area.

One woman, who authorities say was 17 when Luster filmed her as she was passed out in his bed, testified that she had no memory of the encounter.

"It was very disgusting to me," the now-23-year-old woman said of seeing the tape.

Though he currently faces 87 charges including rape, sodomy and poisoning, Luster had been free on bail, living under electronic supervision in his Muscle Shoals beach house.

No-Show in Court

But after he failed to appear in Ventura County courthouse Monday, the judge issued a warrant for his arrest. Authorities suspect that Luster jumped bail in an effort to avoid a possible life sentence. His lawyers dispute that Luster is a fugitive and suggest that he could have been abducted or involved in an accident.

Luster had been allowed to leave the house each day between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., and was last heard from Friday morning when he checked out.

"Friday night, Saturday, probation officers, as well as Deputy Sheriffs knocked on the door, tried to look in the windows, that kind ofstuff," Ventura County Assistant District Attorney Anthony Wold said. "And there was no evidence that anyone was inside the residence."

Brook says Luster could be anywhere in the world, but police are primarily looking at beach areas.

"We believe he has access to some money, enough access to be able to flee the area," Brooks said. "So we're pursuing it with the expectation that he has enough money to travel," he said.

Luster has been accused of using the so-called date rape drug GHB toknock women unconscious before assaulting them and recording it all onvideotape. Two of the 17 graphic tapes that were found by police in Luster's home had already been shown to the jury prior to Luster's disappearance.

Trial Continues Without Luster

The defense has maintained that the women only pretended to be asleep while consenting to film pornographic movies.

Even if Luster does not return, the trial will continue without him, and is expected to wrap up in the next few weeks.

The Ventura County Sheriff's department has asked the public to contact their department if they have information about Luster, who has brown hair, green eyes and stands 6 feet tall.

ABCNEWS' Brian Rooney in Los Angeles contributed to this report.