| Michael Gargiulo |
Mugshot |
| Born |
Michael Thomas Gargiulo
February 15, 1976 (age 38)[1] |
| Other names |
Hollywood Ripper
Chiller Killer |
| Known for |
Alleged serial killings |
|
Criminal charge |
Murder[2] |
Michael Thomas Gargiulo (born February 15, 1976)[3] is an American alleged serial killerwho may have killed as many as ten women.
Description of alleged crimes[edit]
Gargiulo is accused of stabbing three women to death and attempting to murder a fourth.
He is a native of Northfield Township, Illinois,[lease clarify" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia
lease_clarify">clarification needed], where he allegedly stabbed his neighbor, 18-year-old Tricia Pacaccio, to death at her home on August 14, 1993.[4][5] She was stabbed 12 times. Gargiulo moved to Los Angeles in 1998, allegedly to escape scrutiny from police in Illinois.[6]
Gargiulo is accused of three stabbings in Southern California between 2001 and 2008. On February 21, 2001, he allegedly stabbed Ashley Ellerin to death in her home in Hollywood. She was stabbed 35 times. Ellerin was dating Ashton Kutcher at the time and they had planned to go to a post-Grammy Awards party the night she was killed.[7] He allegedly stabbed his neighbor, Maria Bruno, to death at her home in of El Monte, California, on December 1, 2005.[2] She was stabbed 17 times. He is charged with the attempted murder of his neighbor, Michelle Murphy, in her home in Santa Monica on April 28, 2008.[8] She fought off the attack, and blood matching Gargiulo's DNA was found at the scene.[9]
Arrest and prosecution[edit]
Gargiulo was arrested by the Santa Monica Police Department on June 6, 2008.[10]Although Gargiulo is charged in the two California murders as well as the Pacaccio murder in Chicaco, police have not linked him to any other murders.[11] Gargiulo allegedly told authorities in the Los Angeles County Jail that just because 10 women were killed — and his DNA was present — doesn’t mean he murdered anyone, leading investigators to believe that there are more victims.[12]
Media in Los Angeles dubbed Gargiulo the "Hollywood Ripper" as well as the "Chiller Killer."[13][10]
As of November 2013, he is being held at Los Angeles County Jail awaiting a capital murder trial.[14][15] He is representing himself.[16]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Gargiulo
