The Ranch star Ashton Kutcher had an old girlfriend who was tragically murdered, and now her identity has been revealed.
According to the Daily Mail, back in 2001 Kutcher was dating 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin, a fashion student from Los Altos, California.
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Sadly, that same year Ellerin was found dead in her home by a roommate. Authorities determined that she had been stabbed 47 times, with at least 12 of the wounds being fatal.
Prosecutors say Michael Gargiulo, dubbed the “Hollywood Ripper” targeted young women in Illinois and the L.A. area, killing two women, one of whom died on a night she was supposed to go on a date with actor Ashton Kutcher. https://t.co/zN5TleGzEq
โ WJZ | CBS Baltimore (@wjz) May 2, 2019
Her murder remained a mystery until 2008, when 42-year-old Michael “the Hollywood Ripper” Gargiulo was arrested for allegedly attacking a woman named Michelle Murphy, who fought him off and survived after being stabbed 17 times.
DNA samples taken from Gargiulo ended up connecting him to three murders: 32-year-old Maria Bruno, who was found dead in 2005; 18-year-old Tricia Pacaccio, who was killed in 1993; and Ellerin.
Today is the start of the murder trial of Michael Gargiulo, charged with 2 counts of murder, 1 count of attempted murder. The LA DA is seeking the death penalty. Gargiulo is also charged with the murder of a girl when he lived in Chicago in the early 90s. @CourthouseNews pic.twitter.com/CIMVs6kCoV
โ Nathan Solis (@tarantulaarms) May 2, 2019
Gargiulo in now on trial โ more than 10 years after his arrest โ and has pleaded “not guilty by reason of insanity.”
Cathy Russon โ an executive trial producer at Law & Crime Network โ tweeted that “Gargiulo is charged [with] the 1993 murder of Tricia Pacaccio in Illinois,” and that “he will likely be extradited back to Illinois after this.
“This trial is for the southern California murders of Ashley Ellerin, Maria Bruno & attempted murder of Michelle Murph,” she adds.
Notably, Kutcher is expected to take the stand during the trial, as he is cited as a potential witness due to the fact that he and Ellerin were supposed to go on a date the night that she was killed.
#HollywoodRipper – Pros opening: In 2001 Gargiulo met Ashley Ellerin. Actor #AshtonKutcher went to Ellerin’s home to pick her up for a date in February 2001. She didn’t answer the door. Her roommate found her the next day, stabbed to death. Ellerin was stabbed 47 times. pic.twitter.com/ABX0hGzTs0
โ Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) May 2, 2019
At this time, Kutcher does not appear to have issued a statement on his purported participation in the trial.