In 2015, people were stunned to hear about how Ashton Kutcher found a young woman stabbed to death in 2001. The story had some further unexpected twists, including how he’d been dating 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin, who had been stabbed to death by an alleged serial killer, and Kutcher didn’t even realize that she’d been murdered. Instead, the actor believed that he looked into Ellerin’s window and was looking at spilled wine, rather than her pooled blood, and he also thought she didn’t answer the door out of anger over him cancelling a previously scheduled date.
Well, the trial of Michael Gargiulo, the so-called “Hollywood Ripper” or “Chiller Killer” who’s been accused of murdering not only Ellerin but at least two other women, is finally about to begin, and Kutcher is expected to be a star witness, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Courts spokesperson who spoke with E! Online. Ellerin was stabbed almost 47 times in her home while she prepared to for her date with Kutcher, who previously told police would include parties that were related to that evening’s Grammy Awards. Her roommate later discovered the body, and her murder went unsolved for several years until detectives linked the case to the murder of Maria Bruno, who (as the Daily Mail previously reported) Gargiulo has been accused of “quite literally butcher[ing],” including “slicing off her breasts.”
E! Online has more on how detectives linked these cases to the attempted 2008 murder of Michelle Murphy:
It was the attack on Murphy that led investigators to Gargiulo. During the attack, Gargiulo allegedly broke into Murphy’s home where she slept peacefully, before climbing on top of her and stabbing her multiple times. Fortunately, Michelle was able to kick the perpetrator off of her, causing him to cut himself. The blood that spilled from the wound was later found on the scene by the detectives.
Since his arrest, Gargiulo has continued to maintain he’s not guilty of any of these alleged crimes, despite the DNA evidence that he apparently left behind in Murphy’s home. At the time of his arrest, he worked as an air-conditioning repairmen and also reportedly lived near all three of his alleged victims. Fox News reports that Kutcher is said to be a “crucial witness” in an extensive trial that began on Thursday and is expected to run for at least six months.
