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The "Hollywood Ripper" Faces Yet Another Murder Rap
Los Angeles Sheriff's Department
Michael Gargiulo, known as the "Hollywood Ripper," is off to Chicago to face charges for the 1993 murder of a teenager. However, this isn't his first run-in with the law, or his first murder rap: Gargiulo "is already being held for a series of other alleged crimes, including the 2001 stabbing" of Ashton Kutcher's onetime girlfriend, explains KTLA.18-year-old Tricia Pacaccio was stabbed to death near her Glenview, Illinois home the night of August 14th, 1993. She and Gargiulo, who is now 35, were classmates at Glenbrook South High School. Though questioned in the case, he was not charged, and subsequently moved to California.
In Los Angeles, Gargiulo has become entangled in a handful of crimes. In 2008, he was arrested "on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with a Santa Monica attack in which a woman fought off an intruder who stabbed her repeatedly after breaking into her home late at night."
It was DNA from that crime scene that connected Gargiulo to the Pacaccio murder back in Illinois; curiously, the suspect has always prided himself on being savvy about crime investigation. "Gargiulo thought of himself as an expert of sorts because he was an avid watcher of forensics and crime-related television shows," explains a profile of the possible serial killer.
In addition to facing charges for the murder of a Monterey Park woman, Gargiulo has also been charged with the 2001 killing of actor Ashton Kutcher's then-girlfriend, 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin.
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