Serial killer 'Hollywood Ripper' who murdered Ashton Kutcher's ex-girlfriend sentenced to death

New Delhi: American murderer Michael Gargiulo dubbed 'Hollywood Ripper' was sentenced to death on Friday (July 16) for the killings of two women in the 2000s. The killer had been caught by the cops after one of his potential victims Michelle Murphy jolted herself free and ran away from him. After this, the police were able to track him down.

According to a BBC report, Murphy was visibly emotional during the judgement and told the court, that "spending the night alone creates a world of fear" in her till date.

The trial had gained popularity around the world as one of the victims Ashley Ellerin was dating the Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher at the time of her murder. Incidentally, on the night of her murder, she was supposed to go on a date with the actor. 

Since he had knocked on her door on the night of the murder, he was asked to testify at the trial. As per reports, he told the court that he had looked in her window and noticed blood stains on the floor. The next day, the victim's roommate found her with 47 stab wounds.

Michael Gargiulo had killed his second victim Maria Bruno in 2005, butchering her in her sleep. After facing a conviction in 2019, he was sentenced to death for his crimes on Friday. At his trial, Judge Larry Paul Fidler said: "In this case, everywhere that Mr Gargiulo went, death and destruction followed" as quoted by a BBC report.