'Hollywood Ripper' Sentenced To Death For Killing, Mutilating Women

Defendant Michael Gargiulo listens as actor Ashton Kutcher testifies in Los Angeles on May 29, 2019, in the trial of People v Michael Thomas Gargiulo, also known as 'The Hollywood Ripper.'

A man dubbed the "Hollywood Ripper" was sentenced to death Friday for killing and mutilating two California women, including one who died hours before she was set to go on a date with Ashton Kutcher.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry P. Fidler handed down the sentence to 45-year-old Michael Thomas Gargiulo, whom prosecutors also called "The Boy Next Door Killer" because he lived near the victims he stalked then attacked in their homes, the Associated Press reported.

"Everywhere that Mr. Gargiulo went, death and destruction followed him," Judge Fidler said at the Friday hearing, where the victims’ family members were also present.

The sentencing was delayed by procedural issues and the pandemic. In 2019, a jury convicted Gargiulo and recommended his execution for the slaying of 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin and 32-year-old Maria Bruno and the attempted murder of Michelle Murphy, then-26.

When he testified at Gargiulo's trial, Kutcher said that he was late to pick up Ellerin, a fashion design student, from her Hollywood home on Feb. 22, 2001. When she did not answer her door, he looked inside and saw bloodstains that he initially thought were spilled wine.

Ellerin was found dead the next day with 47 stab wounds.

After Ellerin, Gargiulo killed Bruno, a mother of four, in her home in El Monte, east of Los Angeles, on Dec. 1, 2005. Her breasts were cut off and her implants were removed.

In 2008, he attacked Murphy in her Santa Monica apartment. She fought off Gargiulo, who fled the scene but left a trail of blood. This led to his arrest and links to the deaths of Ellerin and Bruno. Murphy was the key witness at Gargiulo’s trial.

Gargiulo is a former air conditioner and heater repairman, bouncer and aspiring actor. Prosecutors said he would gain access to women's homes by posing as a friendly neighbor or handyman, CNN reported.

When he spoke before his sentencing, Gargiulo denied being involved in the slayings and blamed his lawyers for not allowing him to testify during his trial.

"I’m going to death row wrongfully and unjustfully," Gargiulo said. "I did want to testify and my fundamental choice was blocked."

Although he was handed the death sentence, it remains to be seen if it will be carried out. California has not executed anyone since 2006, and Gov. Gavin Newsom has halted executions for as long as he is in office.

Gargiulo is now expected to be extradited to Illinois for the 1993 killing of Tricia Pacaccio in his Illinois hometown.