By Alexander Wilson-
A serial killer Michael Gargiulo, nicknamed the “Hollywood Ripper”, has been sentenced to death for the murder of two women, one being the girlfriend of actor Ashton Kutcher.
Los Angeles superior court Judge Larry Fidler gave the 45-year-old the fatal sentence on Friday for the killings which took place two decades ago, following his arrest in 2008.
The sentencing had been delayed by procedural issues and the pandemic, which set the final hearing back by two years after a jury convicted Gargiulo and recommended his execution.
Gargiulo was found guilty of the murder of Ashley Ellerin, a 22-year-old fashion design student, in her Hollywood home in 2001 as she prepared to go out with Kutcher. At the trial, Kutcher told jurors he screwed up by being late to pick up Ellerin, who did not answer her door.
Prosecutors presented Gargiulo as a killer who charmed women in Los Angeles and surrounding areas, suggesting he was a friendly neighbor and handyman before breaking into their homes and stabbing them to death.
Gargiulo maintains his innocence.
Gargiulo was convicted in the murders of Ashley Ellerin, 22, and Maria Bruno, 32, in addition to the attempted murder of 26-year-old Michelle Murphy in 2008.
Kutcher had said during his testimony that he went to Ellerin’s home to check on her because she didn’t show up to their date. He said he called the police after realizing what had happen to Ellerin.
“Mr. Kutcher looked in the window and saw what he thought was spilled wine on the floor,” Deputy District Attorney Dan Akemon told the jury at the time of the trial, according to CNN affiliate KABC. “We believe now the evidence will show that was actually blood, and Ashley had already been murdered.” She had been stabbed 47 times.
Separately, Gargiulo faces another charge in the 1993 killing of an 18-year-old woman in Illinois after allegedly repeatedly stabbing her.
2Ashley Ellerin was just 22 when she was murdered (Image: REX/Shutterstock)
Vicious And Frightening
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler handed Gargiulo his death sentence Friday and denied his request for a new trial calling the attacks “completely vicious and frightening,” the court’s spokesperson said.
“Everywhere that Mr Gargiulo went, death and destruction followed him,” Judge Fidler told the hearing, as the victim’s family members wept at the news.
Mr Gargiulo stabbed Ashley Ellerin, 22, and Maria Bruno, 32 to death in their California homes in 2001 and 2005 respectively.
The case received global press attention due to the fact movie star Ashton Kutcher, then an up-and-coming actor, was dating Miss Ellerin at the time of her death.
The 43-year-old, now married to Mila Kunis, was set to go on a date with the victim on the night of her tragic death in February 2001.
The former Two and a Half Men star testified in court back in 2019, and revealed her was “freaking out” after he learned of the fashion design student’s passing the day after he had visited her residence for their date.
However, when he arrived two hours after their conversation, the actor recalled finding the door locked, and, after peering through the window saw “what I thought was a red wine spilled on the carpet”.
“I didn’t really think anything of it,” he said, adding that he “figured I screwed up” by showing up late, City News reported of his testimony in 2019.
Upon learning what had happened to his date, the star spoke with the police and admitted he was “freaking out” because he knew his fingerprints would be on the front door of her home.
Four years later, Mr Gargiulo went on to kill Maria Bruno, a 32-year-old mother of four young children, in her El Monte apartment in 2005.
The law caught up with the sick serial killer when another potential victim, Michelle Murphy managed to escape his attempt to murder her.
Los Angeles superior court Judge Larry Fidler gave the 45-year-old the fatal sentence on Friday for the killings which took place in the 00s following his arrest in 2008.
“Everywhere that Mr Gargiulo went, death and destruction followed him,” Judge Fidler told the hearing, as the victim’s family members wept at the news.
Mr Gargiulo stabbed Ashley Ellerin, 22, and Maria Bruno, 32 to death in their California homes in 2001 and 2005 respectively.
The case received global press attention due to the fact movie star Ashton Kutcher, then an up-and-coming actor, was dating Miss Ellerin at the time of her death.