Long before he got engaged to Mila Kunis, even before his marriage to Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher was seeing Ashley Ellerin, a 22-year-old student, stripper, and aspiring model. They were unofficially together (she had “tons of boyfriends,” according to an LAPD officer) until the night of February 21, 2001, when she was found stabbed to death in a pool of her own blood.

Earlier that day, Ellerin had tried to make a date with 23-year-old Kutcher, then best known for playing Kelso on That ’70s Show, but he declined. Instead, she hung out with her father and later called her landlord, Mark Durbin, asking him to help repair a light fixture in her apartment. They ended up having sex, and according to the Daily Mail, Durbin said they were in a “blossoming” relationship (she also dated Vin Diesel at one point). When he left, Ellerin called Kutcher, “to ask if she should come to his friend’s house to watch [the Grammys].” He once again turned down her offer, but agreed to meet her at night, which he did, around 10:45 p.m. Or at least he tried to.

Kutcher drove to her apartment at 10:45 p.m. in the hope of smoothing over what he thought was a looming argument, and found that the lights were on in her apartment and her car was parked outside. After knocking on the door and calling out to her with no answer, Kutcher said he looked through a window into the apartment and saw what he thought was red wine pooled on the floor. Kutcher…thought she was angry at him for not making the earlier date and left. (Via)

It wasn’t red wine; it was blood. In the hours between her phone call to Kutcher and his arrival at her apartment, Ellerin had been stabbed an unimaginable 35 times while she was getting ready for her night out, her curling iron later found by her body.

He slashed Ms. Ellerin’s throat so violently [he] nearly decapitated her. After she was murdered her body was left [in a] demeaning pose that was sexual in nature. (Via)

The “he” in question? That would be Illinois-native Michael Gargiulo, an air-conditioning repairman who’s been accused of murdering not only Ellerin, but also two other women, including Maria Bruno. He allegedly “quite literally butchered [Bruno’s] body – stabbing her multiple times, slitting her throat, slicing off her breasts, and staging her for family members and police to find.”

Where is the so-called Chiller Killer now? In 2008, he attempted to knife another woman, “tiny but spirited” Michelle Murphy, but she survived the attack. He was eventually caught thanks to DNA he left behind at the crime scene, Murphy’s home, and he’s now awaiting trial.

Ashton Kutcher is preparing to take to the witness stand to testify against the man charged with the grisly murder of the actor’s then-girlfriend. Michael Thomas Gargiulo stands accused of murdering three women, including…22-year-old Ashley Ellerin, on February 21, 2001. The prosecutors call Garigulo “a serial, psycho-sexual thrill killer who engages in the systematic slaughter of beautiful women because he takes sexual pleasure from manipulating, stabbing and killing his victims.” (Via)

Kutcher is due in court to testify “within the next few months.” For much more on the case, check out this LA Weekly article from a few years ago.

Via Daily Mail

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