GUILTY CA/IL - MICHAEL GARGIULO: The Hollywood Ripper

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DNA evidence has linked an air conditioning repairman to the stabbing deaths of three women, including a former girlfriend of actor Ashton Kutcher, police said Friday.

Michael Gargiulo, 32, of Santa Monica has been in custody since July for a separate knife attack and could face murder charges as soon as next week, police said.

Santa Monica police Lt. Darrell Lowe said DNA collected from a crime scene last spring helped link Gargiulo to the stabbing deaths of women from Los Angeles, suburban Chicago and Monterey Park.

One of the cases involves 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin, Kutcher's former girlfriend, who was found dead 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, told police he went to pick up the fashion student-model for a post-Grammy Awards party, but she did not answer the door. He checked a back window and spotted what he thought were red wine stains on the carpet and then left. Her body was discovered the
next day by a friend.

Kutcher's agent, Stephanie Simon, said the actor had no comment.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles police are using DNA evidence to track down another suspected serial killer in Southern California. A special police task force has linked the fatal shootings of 10 black women prostitutes and one black man in South Los Angeles to one assailant who has been killing since 1985. Police said they have no known suspect because the DNA does not match any sample in national crime databases.

One victim survived an attack in 1988, giving police the only description they have of the suspect: a black man in his 30s driving an orange Ford Pinto.

The last killing in the series occurred in January 2007 with the discovery of 25-year-old Janecia Peters' body. DNA tests showed she was killed by the same assailant as the others.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080830...s&printer=1;_ylt=Agg9kfqWG9O0OcuR7Xe9zbhH2ocA
 
I like this part:

Salerno (his lawyer) acknowledged Gargiulo will possibly be charged with murder for the three slayings. He said that Gargiulo lived near the four victims at the time of the attacks and a garment of his was found in one of the victims' homes. But, he said, that does not make Gargiulo guilty.

Maybe he was dating that one? Or maybe they both used the same laundromat? Yes, I'm sure that's it. :bang:
 
One victim survived an attack in 1988, giving police the only description they have of the suspect: a black man in his 30s driving an orange Ford Pinto.

A Pinto? How many of them were still around in '88? The newest of them would only have been 8 years old, but they should have been able to check dmv records to narrow it down a bit...:waitasec:
 
So pretty much this one serial killer has been loose for over 25 years in L.A.?
At least they caught the one.
 
Can you imagine that you went to pick up your girlfriend for a date and she didn't answer the door. You check a window and see red stains, and then go to the scheduled event and the next morning you find out your girl was murdered?

That has to be an awful thing for that guy to live with. Not because of his celeb or anything, but I feel very sorry for him. That's something will haunt you for life I'm sure.

One lousey freak murdering innocent women. Now he'll live out his days in prison where he'll be able to e-mail friends and family.:furious:
 
This is the same guy that killed 3 others (and maybe more?) in California. See this WS story: http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69895&highlight=gargiulo

He was high school age in 1993. Maybe if the cops had been more on top of it, other women would be alive. The family is quite angry and I don't blame them. The DNA has been available to them for years. I know they need "more" for a conviction, but I think they dropped the ball to begin with in 1993...

There are quite a few articles at the chicagotribune.com today. Here are 3 of them:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-us-womenstabbed,0,3250508.story

CHICAGO— A man charged in the stabbing deaths of two California women, including the onetime girlfriend of actor Ashton Kutcher, and with slashing another has been charged in the 1993 slaying of an teenage girl who lived in his suburban Chicago neighborhood, prosecutors said Thursday.

Michael Gargiulo, who has been in custody in California since 2008, is charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of 18-year-old Tricia Pacaccio, Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said at a news conference.



http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...ing-of-glenview-teen-20110706,0,5427082.story

The parents of a Glenview teen killed in 1993 lashed out at prosecutors today for waiting years after a DNA match in the case before finally charging a primary suspect with their daughter's murder.

Prosecutors have said the DNA in 2003 was not enough evidence to charge Michael Gargiulo, 35, with the murder of Tricia Pacaccio, a Glenbrook South High School graduate. An arrest warrant was filed against Gargiulo this week after two witnesses came forward.



http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...e-hard-work-and-luck-20110707,0,6061081.story

The man on the phone sounded friendly enough, and more importantly, willing to help with Cook County Sheriff Det. Lou Sala's case.

It was 2002 and since 2000 Sala had been assigned to investigate the killing of Tricia Pacaccio, a 18-year-old girl repeatedly stabbed outside her Glenview home in 1993.



PS...Cubby, please feel free to move this thread to the appropriate location. :)
 
This is the right place. I'm not moderating anymore :) but am happy to help where I can.
When there are official charges the mods can move it to currently awaiting trial. Just hit alert to request it be moved or send believe09 a pm with the link to this thread asking it be moved. She is the current moderator for this forum.

I'm glad an arrest has finally been made in this case. Disappointed it took so long.
 
Thanks!! I didn't know you weren't a mod.

I can't believe there wasn't a thread here already. I've seen the reports on this creep before. I hope they have all his crimes, but I have a bad feeling there are more. A true serial killer who started early.
 
Ashley Ellerin, left, Tricia Pacaccio, center, and Maria Bruno. The three young, beautiful woman all met the same tragic fate 15 years apart.

Last spring, "48 Hours Mystery" reported on the 1993 murder of a young woman named Tricia Pacaccio. Now, because of that broadcast, we can report that there is finally a breakthrough for a family that has been waiting nearly two decades for justice.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18559_162-57393690/michael-gargiulo-the-serial-killer-next-door/
 
victims_620x350.jpg


Ashley Ellerin, left, Tricia Pacaccio, center, and Maria Bruno. The three young, beautiful woman all met the same tragic fate 15 years apart.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18559_162-57393690/michael-gargiulo-the-serial-killer-next-door/
 
Michael Gargiulo: A Hollywood Ripper

michael-gargiulo.jpg


"My family and I lived 3 houses down from Mike and his family. He always was the odd one out from his family, who were all very nice people. He was just always angry, and taking it out on others, usually by bullying them."

And this: "My older brother remembers Michael...and remembers him as being quite angry and violent."

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/michael-gargiulo/7-who-is-michael-gargiulo.html
 
Michael Gargiulo Could Have Killed 10 Women, L.A. Police Say

On Wednesday, a Los Angeles detective told the Chicago Sun-Times that Gargiulo may have killed 10 women. Gargiulo has been in the Los Angeles County Jail since 2008, when he was charged in the 2001 and 2005 murders of two California women--including actor Ashton Kutcher's ex-girlfriend. He was also charged in a 2008 knife attack in which the victim survived--ultimately leading to his arrest.

Los Angeles County sheriff's homicide detective Mark Lillienfeld told the Sun-Times that Gargiulo referenced the murders of 10 women while in prison, which puts even more heat on Cook County for failing to charge him earlier.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/13/michael-gargiulo-could-ha_n_897055.html
 
By Tori Richards
Unfinished Business

Gargiulo was arrested for the Murphy attack on June 6, 2008. While sitting in jail, he plotted an escape, according to court files.

Ten days after his arrest, he snapped off the head of a plastic spoon that had been given him for a meal. He whittled the straight piece down to a point with his teeth and tried to unlock his handcuffs. This episode was videotaped.

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/michael-gargiulo/11-unfinished-business.html
 
Thanks mysteriew for posting that link. I was not aware of these cases previously . . . there might be hope that they could solve more cases between Calif. and Illinois if there was more known about this guy.

Thanks JeannieC for all the rest of the links.
 

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