Man charged in death of actor's ex-girlfriend
Michael Gargiulo faces murder charges in the 2001 death of Ashley Ellerin, Ashton Kutcher's ex-girlfriend, and the 2005 death of an El Monte woman. He faces an attempted murder charge in a burglary.
A 32-year-old Santa Monica man already accused of attempted murder was charged Thursday with two capital murders, including the 2001 slaying of the one-time girlfriend of actor Ashton Kutcher.
Michael T. Gargiulo, an air conditioner repairman, was arrested in June on suspicion of attempted murder during a burglary in Santa Monica, where the suspect broke into a woman's home late at night and repeatedly stabbed the woman, who fought him off.
DNA collected at the scene linked Gargiulo to the crime through a national database, officials said. His DNA had been gathered in a prior Illinois case.
Gargiulo is now charged in the stabbing death of 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin, Kutcher's former girlfriend, whose body was found in February 2001 in her Hollywood Hills home.
Kutcher, who starred in the television series "That '70s Show" and is married to actress Demi Moore, at the time told LAPD detectives that he went to pick up the model-actress for a post-Grammy Awards party, but she did not answer the door.
A friend found her the next day in her rented home on Pinehurst Road, with multiple stab wounds, authorities said. Ellerin was raised in Los Altos, about 45 minutes outside San Francisco, and graduated in 1996 from Los Altos High School.
Gargiulo also was charged today in the December 2005 stabbing death of Maria Bruno in an El Monte apartment between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.
"There is strong circumstantial evidence here," said Deputy Dist. Atty. Joe Markus, also noting all three attacks involved break-ins to women's homes in the middle of the night, with the attacker wielding a knife. Markus declined to say whether DNA from the suspect had been found at the crime scenes. But a law enforcement source said there is physical evidence in the cases.
In addition to murder and burglary charges, Gargiulo faces special circumstance allegations of lying in wait for his alleged victims. Gargiulo may face the death penalty because of those special circumstances.
Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the L.A. County District Attorney's office, said a decision would be made later whether to seek the death penalty in the cases.
Gargiulo's lawyer, Anthony Salerno, said his client entered a not guilty plea to the new homicide charges and adamantly denies any involvement in the crimes. Salerno said it was unclear what evidence prosecutors had against Gargiulo or whether DNA played a role in the new charges.
