Actor Ashton Kutcher is expected to testify in a trial for a man who reportedly killed his ex-girlfriend Ashley Ellerin in 2001.
Known as "The Hollywood Ripper," Michael Gargiulo is accused of attacking Ellerin and three other women in "blitz-like knife attacks," according to deputy district attorney Daniel Akemon. He reportedly stalked his targets before ambushing them. Only one of the women survived Gargiulo's attack.
In a statement, Kutcher offered more details about the night of the murder. He was supposed to pick Ellerin up for a date but his calls went unanswered. When he showed up at her house, he again got no response at the door. He peered in one of the windows and saw what he thought was spilled red wine. It turned out to be Ellerin's blood.
On the night of the 2001 killing, Kutcher went to Ellerin's home to pick her up for a party but left after she didn't answer the door. Ellerin's body was found the next morning outside her bathroom. She had been stabbed more than 47 times, prosecutors said.
Kutcher has avoided talking publicly about the case but he is expected to be called as a witness during the trial. Investigators believe the killing started eight years earlier. They say in 1993, Gargiulo killed his neighbor while living in Illinois. The body of 17-year-old Tricia Pacaccio was found on her backdoor steps by her father. (CBS News)
The suspect's other alleged victims are 32-year-old Maria Bruno, a mother of four who lived in his apartment complex and 26-year-old Michelle Murphy, whom he reportedly attacked in 2008.
The trial is expected to last six months, and, by the end, prosecutors are hoping that Gargiulo will receive the death penalty.
This isn't the only time Kutcher has faced tragedy. Another ex-girlfriend of his, actress Brittany Murphy, died suddenly in 2009 at the age of 32. The reason is still a mystery.
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