‘Hollywood Ripper’ case: Michael Gargiulo guilty of two murders, including woman due to go on date with Ashton Kutcher

Kutcher testified in the case
Olivia Tobin16 August 2019

A man dubbed the “Hollywood Ripper” has been found guilty of murdering two young women, including a woman who arranged to go on date with actor Ashton Kutcher on the night she was killed.

Aspiring actor Michael Gargiulo was found guilty of an attempted murder as well as the two killings, which were carried out during a seven-year-span of violence.

The 43-year-old was convicted for the murder of 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin in her Hollywood home in 2001 on a night she was about to meet Kutcher, who testified in the trial.

Gargiulo also was convicted of the 2005 murder of 32-year old Maria Bruno in her El Monte home, and with the 2008 attempted murder of Michelle Murphy in a stabbing attack in her Santa Monica apartment.

Michael Gargiulo listens to the guilty verdict
EPA

The verdict came after an anxious three-day wait while jurors deliberated. As well as the murder charges, Gargiulo was also found guilty of several special-circumstance allegations, including lying in wait and multiple murders, which make him eligible for the death penalty or life in prison with no possibility of parole.

The brutal nature of Gargiulo’s attacks and the fact that they were all carried out with a knife led to the "Hollywood Ripper" description in the media.

Several special-circumstance allegations, including lying in wait and multiple murders, which make him eligible for the death penalty or life in prison with no possibility of parole.

The 43-year-old looked on as the verdict was announced
AFP/Getty Images
Rex Features

Kutcher, who in 2001 was a rising star, testified early in the trial that he and Miss Ellerin were just getting to know each other and had made plans to go out together for drinks.

He said he arrived at her Hollywood home very late and assumed she had gone out without him when he got no answer at the door.

"I remember the next day, after I heard about what happened, I went to the detectives and said, 'My fingerprints are on the door,"' Kutcher testified. "I was freaking out."

Gargiulo is also accused of another murder in the state of Illinois many years before - in 1993, when he allegedly attacked 18-year-old Tricia Pacaccio, the older sister of a friend.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in