Back in May, Ashton Kutcher testified in the trial of Michael Gargiulo, a man alleged to have killed two women, one of whom was an acquaintance of the actor, and to have attempted to murder another. Some three months later, as per CNN, Gargiulo has been found guilty of all three charges.
The verdict came on Thursday after three days of deliberation, which ended with the jury turning on Gargiulo, who had been dubbed the “Hollywood Ripper.” Prosecutors had described him as a “serial, psychosexual thrill killer,” who stalked his victims, all of them young women who lived near him.
Gargiulo pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. The jury will next decide on whether or not to reject his plea. If they do, that opens up the possibility of the death penalty being employed.
Gargiulo’s two victims are Maria Bruno, 32, who was murdered in 2005, and Ashley Ellerin, 22, who he killed in 2001. Ellerin was Kutcher’s acquaintance, and the night of her murder he was scheduled to pick her up for a date. Kutcher kept this a public secret until 2015. During the trial, he elaborated on the already well-known story about him coming by her home and seeing what he assumed was a red wine stain on the carpet. He also worried that police would consider him a suspect, but they never did.
Gargiulo was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Michelle Murray, whom he attacked in her Santa Monica home in 2008. He still faces a muder charge involving the death of Tricia Pacaccio, 18, who was found stabbed to death in 1993.
(Via CNN)
