Ashton Kutcher to testify in a Serial Killer Case (and no, Charlie Sheen is not involved)
Hollywood celebrities are notorious for their involvement in a wide variety of crimes, large and small, ranging from shoplifting (Winona Ryder) to murder (Phil Spector). And yet despite the town's obsession with serial killers, it is a rare instance for an actor to be involved in a case involving a string of homicides. It wouldn't surprise most people if a major celebrity were accused of murdering a number of people - one suspects that even Dakota Fanning probably has a series of assistants and publicists buried in her backyard - but Hollywood stars and serial killers rarely mix outside of the occasional Anthony Hopkins film.
However, an upcoming trial involving an accused serial killer involves one of Hollywood's most famous names: Ashton Kutcher. The current star of "Two and a Half Men," compulsive Twitterer and trophy husband of Demi Moore may be called to testify at the trial of Michael Gargiulo, an air conditioning repairman accused of murdering possibly ten young women over the past decade, including Ashley Ellerin, who was dating Kutcher at the time of her murder in 2001.
At the time of Ellerin's murder, Kutcher's girlfriend was a student, aspiring actress and part-time stripper, the de rigueur career choice for a twenty-two year old living in Hollywood. Kutcher did not realize that he stumbled on the murder scene when he came to her house to pick her up for a Grammy Awards party after standing her up for a dinner date. When she did not answer the door, Kutcher looked in the window, saw blood stains which he mistook as red wine, and assumed that she had spilled it in a rage over Kutcher missing their date. Ellerin had in fact been stabbed thirty-five times and her lifeless body was just outside the view of the window.
It is somewhat surprising that the murder of Ashton Kutcher's girlfriend never became national news, despite the sensational link to a Hollywood celebrity. Although Kutcher may not have been implicated at all in the crime, even though the first suspect police consider when a person is murdered is usually the spouse or significant other, the mere Hollywood connection seems sufficient to distinguish it from other murders. At the time Kutcher was starring in "That '70s Show" on television and had leading roles in several dubious film successes such as "Dude, Where's My Car?" Yet it took until the arrest of Michael Gargiulo for Kutcher's involvement in the case to gain significant media attention.
DNA evidence linked Gargiulo to several murders in the Los Angeles and Chicago areas, and his DNA was found at up to ten crime scenes, although Gargiulo denies this large number of murders. He was arrested in 2008 for breaking into the home of a Santa Monica woman and stabbing her. Since that arrest, Gargiulo was linked to the murder of Ashley Ellerin.
Ashton Kutcher will likely be called to testify at the trial of Michael Gargiulo, and will have to recount seeing the blood stains that he mistook as red wine. Despite Kutcher's prankster reputation, one significant enough to justify him replacing Charlie Sheen on "Two and a Half Men," his Hollywood antics and goofball reputation seem extremely unlikely to be used to impeach him as a credible witness; his testimony will be completely straightforward and largely incidental to the case against Gargiulo. Yet there will even be a touch of Kutcher's dimwit persona in his testimony; it is not hard to see the typical Kutcher character mistaking blood for red wine or vice versa, only this scenario to be played for comedy instead of tragedy.
For Ashley Ellerin and the other alleged victims of Michael Gargiulo, their families and even those peripheral to the case such as Ashton Kutcher, there is no comedy to these particular events. And when Kutcher testifies to what he saw that night in 2001, the trial will make this celebrity connection to a serial killer far more notorious than it was back in 2001. After all, there wasn't Twitter back then.
About the Author
Jeremy Ross brings details on the involvement of world famous Hollywood star Ashton Kutcher in Michael Gargiulo's criminal case, which involves the murder of his former girlfriend Ashley Ellerin in 2001. Criminal Defense Lawyers and Criminal Defense Attorney have been anticipating the trail.
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