Earlier this month, it was revealed that actor Ashton Kutcher was expected to testify in the upcoming trial of Michael Gargiulo, an alleged serial killer better known as the “Hollywood Ripper.” He stands accused of brutally murdering at least three women and is currently on trial in Los Angeles for charges relating to two of these cases. One of these is that of 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin, whom prosecutors are arguing was stabbed to death by Gargiulo on February 21st, 2001 — moments after confirming her date with Kutcher.
The story of how Kutcher went by Ellerin’s home to pick her up and saw what he assumed was a red wine stain on the carpet is well known by now. As the actor explained in his testimony on Wednesday, however, he found himself “freaking out” at the time when he realized that he’d unknowingly discovered a crime scene — and left his fingerprints nearby:
The next day, Kutcher testified, he was approached by police, who told him that Ellerin’s body had been found by her roommate. Kutcher said that at the time, he was “freaking out” that police would view him as a suspect because he had tried to open the door to Ellerin’s apartment, leaving his fingerprints on the door. The police, however, assured him that he was not a suspect.
Kutcher had assumed the blood he saw on the floor was actually “red wine spilled on the carpet” since, as he explained further, Ellerin had recently hosted a house party that “was like a college party.” In other words, it was a rather riotous and messy affair that probably left a few spilled drink stains on the carpet. As a result, he didn’t find the red stain too “alarming” and “didn’t think much about it.”
(Via Rolling Stone)
