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Ashley Ellerin’s killer Michael Gargiulo, who goes by “The Hollywood Ripper,” has been sentenced to death after a longstanding trial. Ashton Kutcher's ex-girlfriend, Ashley Ellerin, was murdered by Gargiulo nearly two decades ago alongside two other women.
On July 7th, 2011, the killer was convicted for the 2008 murder of Tricia Pacaccio, Maria Bruno and Ashley Ellerin. The murderer was held back at the Los Angeles County Jail until the beginning of his pre-trial hearing in 2017.
After several delays, Gargiulo’s trial began on May 2nd, 2019, with Ashton Kutcher’s testimony. The killer pleaded guilty to all charges on August 15th, 2019 with his penalty beginning in October of the same year. The court also declared that the murderer would not have any chance of parole.
The “Chiller Killer” was reportedly set to face 25 years in prison, but on October 2019, the jury proposed a death sentence for Gargiulo. Following repeated delays, the murderer finally faced a death sentence at the latest hearing of the case.
Judge Larry P. Fidler said that the 45-year-old has committed “vicious and frightening” crimes:
“Everywhere that Mr. Gargiulo went, death and destruction followed him.”
The killer will reportedly face extradition to Illinois for the murder of his first victim, Tricia Pacaccio, in 1993.
Who was Ashton Kutcher's former-girlfriend, Ashley Ellerin?
Ashley Ellerin was a fashion design student at the Los Angeles Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. She was also a part-time stripper in Las Vegas. On February 21st, 2001, Ashley Ellerin was brutally murdered inside her Los Angeles apartment.
Gargiulo allegedly struck Ellerin 47 times, brutally stabbing her to death. She was only 22 years old at the time of her death. She came under the limelight after sparking dating rumors with actor Ashton Kutcher.
The couple reportedly met in late 2000 through mutual friends and started dating in 2001. Ashley Ellerin’s unfortunate murder took place right before she was about to leave as Ashton Kutcher’s date for a Grammy afterparty.
The latter reportedly arrived at Ellerin’s apartment to pick her up only to find the dreadful murder scene. As part of his 2019 testimony, Kutcher shared his horrifying experience from the night:
“I knocked on the door. There was no answer. Knocked again. And once again, no answer. At this point I pretty well assumed she had left for the night, and that I was late, and she was upset.”
He further mentioned that before leaving the apartment, he looked out for Ashley Ellerin and noticed a “stain” on the floor:
“I saw that I thought was red wine on the carpet. But that wasn’t alarming because I went to her house party [days before] and it was like a college party. I didn’t think much about it.”
Kutcher also shared that he was “freaking out” after the news of Ashley Ellerin’s murder broke the next day and detectives found his fingerprints on the doorknob. The “stain” mentioned by Kutcher was later investigated to be Ellerin’s blood.
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