Man dubbed 'Boy Next Door Killer' of 2 murders

A jury on Thursday found an aspiring actor who prosecutors called "The Boy Next Door Killer" guilty of fatally stabbing two Los Angeles-area women, one of whom was killed the night she was planning to meet actor Ashton Kutcher for drinks.

The jury also found Michael Gargiulo guilty of the attempted murder of a woman who fought back and sent him fleeing, leading to his arrest in all three cases and a fourth for which he's awaiting trial in Illinois.

Gargiulo, 43, was convicted in the murder of 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin in her Hollywood home in 2001 on a night when she was about to meet Kutcher, who testified at the trial. Her father was in court for the verdict.

Michael Gargiulo, left, with his attorney Daniel Nardoni, listens as his guilty verdicts on all counts are read in Los Angeles Superior Court Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019. A jury found Gargiulo guilty of fatally stabbing two women and attempting to kill a third in their Southern California homes. Gargiulo, is also awaiting trial for a similar killing in Illinois in 1993. (Al SeibLos Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

Gargiulo also was convicted of the 2005 murder of 32-year old Maria Bruno in her El Monte home, and with the 2008 attempted murder of Michelle Murphy in a stabbing attack in her Santa Monica apartment.

Jurors who deliberated for three days also found Gargiulo guilty of several special-circumstance allegations, including lying in wait and multiple murders, which make him eligible for the death penalty or life in prison with no possibility of parole.

A final phase of the trial is set to start Tuesday, when jurors will determine whether Gargiulo was sane at the time of the killings.

Michael Gargiulo, and his attorney Daniel Nardoni, listen as his guilty verdicts on all counts are read in Los Angeles Superior Court Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019. A jury found Gargiulo guilty of fatally stabbing two women and attempting to kill a third in their Southern California homes. Gargiulo, is also awaiting trial for a similar killing in Illinois in 1993. (Al SeibLos Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

Gargiulo sat in court in a lavender dress shirt and slacks with eight sheriff's deputies standing behind him. He showed no reaction when the verdict was read.

His attorneys declined comment outside court. Prosecutors and victims' family members did not speak to reporters.

A native of the Chicago area who moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990s, Gargiulo had acting aspirations and worked as an air conditioning repair man and Hollywood nightclub bouncer at the time of the attacks.

Michael Gargiulo listens as his guilty verdicts on all counts are read in Los Angeles Superior Court Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019. A jury found Gargiulo guilty of fatally stabbing two women and attempting to kill a third in their Southern California homes. Gargiulo, is also awaiting trial for a similar killing in Illinois in 1993. (Al SeibLos Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

With little physical evidence tying him to the scenes of two murders, prosecutors urged jurors to look at the cases connectively, citing uncannily similar patterns in home-invasion attacks that were all in places near his residence at the time. While some media outlets referred to him as "The Hollywood Ripper," prosecutors dubbed him the "Boy Next Door Killer."

Allowed to cite evidence from the Illinois case, they said all four attacks were the work of a skilled serial killer who studied the lives, homes and habits of victims that he stabbed quickly, powerfully and repeatedly with a knife that he knew how to use, and studied ways to cover his tracks.

"Those similarities point to one man, one killer: Michael Gargiulo," Deputy District Attorney Garrett Dameron said during closing arguments.

Michael Gargiulo listens as his guilty verdicts on all counts are read in Los Angeles Superior Court Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019. A jury found Gargiulo guilty of fatally stabbing two women and attempting to kill a third in their Southern California homes. Gargiulo, is also awaiting trial for a similar killing in Illinois in 1993. (Al SeibLos Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

The defense relied heavily on the lack of forensic or eyewitness evidence putting Gargiulo at the scenes of the killings. A shoe-covering bootie with Bruno's blood and Gargiulo's DNA was found near her apartment in a complex where they both lived.

"It's incomprehensible to me that you can make a case against someone when you can't even prove where they were," defense attorney Dale Rubin said during closing arguments.

Gargiulo's attorneys suggested that both women were killed by the last men who saw them alive: Bruno by her estranged husband, Ellerin by her apartment manager, with whom she'd had a sexual relationship.

Michael Gargiulo, right, and his attorney Daniel Nardoni listen as Gargiulo's guilty verdicts on all counts are read in Los Angeles Superior Court Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019. A jury found Gargiulo guilty of fatally stabbing two women and attempting to kill a third in their Southern California homes. Gargiulo, is also awaiting trial for a similar killing in Illinois in 1993. (Al SeibLos Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

Gargiulo's attorney Daniel Nardoni suggested the apartment manager was driven to a jealous rage because of Ellerin's upcoming date with Kutcher.

Kutcher, who in 2001 was a rising star of "That '70s Show," testified early in the trial that he and Ellerin were just getting to know each other and had made plans to go out together for drinks. He said he arrived at her Hollywood home very late and assumed she had gone out without him when he got no answer at the door.

"I remember the next day, after I heard about what happened, I went to the detectives and said, 'My fingerprints are on the door,'" Kutcher testified. "I was freaking out."

FILE - In this May 2, 2109 file photo Michael Gargiulo appears in Los Angeles Superior Court for opening statements on his trial on murder charges, in Los Angeles. Jurors have reached a verdict Thursday, Aug. 15, in the case of Gargiulo, who is charged with fatally stabbing two women in their Southern California homes and attempting to kill a third. (Al SeibLos Angeles Times via AP, Pool, File)

The first and most important witness in the case was Murphy, a fitness buff who fought off the much larger Gargiulo in 2008 and caused him to cut himself, leaving a trail of blood as he fled. That evidence against him was so overwhelming that defense attorneys conceded it was him, though they argued his mental state was such that he did not know what he was doing.

In the prosecution's closing argument, Dameron praised Murphy, whose resistance against Gargiulo led to his arrest.

"Michelle Murphy, because of her strength and courage, allowed investigators to work backwards," Dameron said. "This case begins and ends with Michelle Murphy."

Judge Larry P. Fidler presides as Michael Gargiulo, not shown, listens as his guilty verdicts on all counts are read in Los Angeles Superior Court Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019. Gargiulo was charged with the murder of 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin in her Hollywood home in 2001 — on a night when she was supposed to have drinks with Ashton Kutcher, who testified at the trial. (Al SeibLos Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

Michael Gargiulo, left, and his attorney Daniel Nardoni look at the jury and listen as guilty verdicts on all counts are read in Los Angeles Superior Court Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019. A jury found Gargiulo guilty of fatally stabbing two women and attempting to kill a third in their Southern California homes. Gargiulo, is also awaiting trial for a similar killing in Illinois in 1993. (Al SeibLos Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

FILE - In this May 2, 2019 file photo Michael Gargiulo, right, appears with his defense attorney Daniel Nardoni in Los Angeles Superior Court for opening statements on his trial on murder charges in Los Angeles. Jurors have reached a verdict Thursday, Aug. 15, in the case of Gargiulo who is charged with fatally stabbing two women in their Southern California homes and attempting to kill a third. (Al SeibLos Angeles Times via AP, Pool, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia has moved some troops onto an airbase in Niger where a small number of U.S. forces remain, but Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he doesn't see it as a significant issue. Most American troops left that base in the nation's capital, Niamey, a U.S. official said.

The arrival of Russian trainers in the West African country about three weeks ago came in the wake of Niger’s decision to order out all U.S. troops. The order dealt a blow to U.S. military operations in the Sahel, a vast region south of the Sahara desert where groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group operate.

The Pentagon has said the U.S. troops will depart but has not provided a timeline.

When Russian troops arrived last month, it was unclear where they were staying. The Niamey base, Austin said late Thursday, is located at the capital city's Diori Hamani International Airport, and “the Russians are in a separate compound and don’t have access to U.S. forces or access to our equipment.”

He said the U.S. will continue to watch the situation but he doesn't see it as a significant force protection issue.

A U.S. official said the Russian forces are on the other side of the Niamey facility, known as Airbase 101, and that other international forces — such as the Germans and Italians — also reside. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss troop movements. It's unclear how many U.S. troops remain at the Niamey base.

The Russian presence on the base comes as tensions remain high between Washington and Moscow over the ongoing U.S. support for Ukraine's military.

About 1,000 U.S. troops are still in Niger, but the bulk of them moved to what's called Airbase 201 near Agadez, some 920 kilometers (550 miles) away from the capital, not long after mutinous soldiers ousted the country’s democratically elected president last July.

A few months later, the ruling junta asked French forces to leave and turned to the Russian mercenary group Wagner for security assistance.

In October, Washington officially designated the military takeover as a coup, which triggered U.S. laws restricting the military support and aid that it can provide to Niger. Since then, diplomatic efforts to restore ties with Niger have been unsuccessful.

Until recently, Washington considered Niger a key partner and ally in a region swept by coups in recent years, investing millions of dollars in the Agadez base, which has been critical to U.S. counterterrorism operations in the Sahel. The U.S. also has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in training Niger’s military since it began operations there in 2013.

The Pentagon also has said the U.S. will relocate most of the approximately 100 forces it has deployed in neighboring Chad for now. Chad is also considering whether to continue its security agreement with the U.S.

Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters that the departure from Chad "is a temporary step as part of the ongoing review of our security cooperation, which will resume after Chad’s May 6th presidential election.”

FILE - Supporters of Niger's ruling junta gather for a protest called to fight for the country's freedom and push back against foreign interference, in Niamey, Niger, Aug. 3, 2023. Russia has moved some troops onto an airbase in Niger where a small number of U.S. forces remain after most American troops left the base in Niamey, the nation's capital, a U.S. official said Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)