Andrew Stuart Luster (b. December 15, 1963) is the great-grandson of cosmetics giant Max Factor, Sr. and an heir to the Max Factor cosmetics fortune who was convicted of a series of rapes in 2003. For much of his life, he was supported by a $3.1 million trust fund as he traveled and surfed at various beaches.
In 1996, 1997 and 2000 Luster gave three women GHB, a known date rape drug, and raped them while they were unconscious. Luster was brought to trial in 2002. Soon afterward, police officers found videotapes of Luster raping the women in question, including one tape labeled "Shauna GHBing."
On January 6, 2003, the trial court found the appellant had voluntarily absented himself from the trial and declared him a fugitive. He was later convicted of 86 of 87 counts including multiple counts of rape. He was sentenced in absentia to 124 years in prison. On the same day, the trial court found that the appellant willfully absented himself from both the court and the state on January 4, 2003.
The California Court of Appeal refused the appeal his attorneys filed on his behalf,
During his flight, Luster found his way to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico where he lived under the assumed name David Carrera, surfing and partying. He was captured by bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman, his son Leland Chapman, Tim Chapman, and two TV crewmen in a noisy scuffle on June 18, 2003 and was then taken into custody by Mexican authorities. Chapman was subsequently arrested for deprivation of liberty, a charge that was ultimately dropped in August 2007. The next day, Luster was returned to the U.S., and was imprisoned.
After he vanished, a movie called A Date with Darkness: The Trial and Capture of Andrew Luster was made based on him and his victims. The film was supposed to end with a picture of the real Andrew Luster, asking the audience to notify authorities if they should see him. When Luster was finally captured, the film was still shooting. The ending was re-written to incorporate his capture.
On July 18, 2003 the domain name andrewluster.net was registered by his mother, Elizabeth Luster. The website claimed Luster's conviction was a miscarriage of justice and contained the following text:
"Disclaimer: This web site is created by a group of concerned citizens for judicial fairness. All content (with the exception of family photographs and biography) are supplied by followers of the Andrew Luster case. None of the facts uncovered, conjecture, logic, nor observations, are supplied by anyone in the Luster, nor Factor family. No liability, nor responsibility is to be imposed, nor inferred to these families."