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)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A $12 billion passenger bullet train linking Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area was dubbed the first true high-speed rail line in the nation on Monday, with the private company building it predicting millions of ticket-buyers will be boarding trains by 2028.

“People have been dreaming of high-speed rail in America for decades,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg before taking a stage with union representatives and company officials at the future site of a terminal to be built just south of the Las Vegas Strip. “It’s really happening this time."

Buttigieg cited Biden administration support for the project that he said will bring thousands of union jobs, boost local economies and cut traffic and air pollution.

Brightline West, whose sister company already operates a fast train between Miami and Orlando in Florida, aims to lay 218 miles (351 kilometers) of new track almost all in the median of Interstate 15 between Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga, California. It would link there with a commuter rail connection to downtown Los Angeles. A station also is planned in San Bernardino County’s Victorville area.

Company officials say the goal is to have trains exceeding speeds of 186 mph (300 kph) — comparable to Japan’s Shinkansen bullet trains — operating in time for the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

“I believe we’ll look back at today and say, ’This was the birth of an industry of high-speed rail,'” Brightline Holdings founder Wes Edens said Monday.

The company aims to link U.S. cities that are too near each other for air travel to make sense and too far for people to drive.

Las Vegas has no Amtrak service. The idea of a bullet train to Los Angeles dates back decades under various names including DesertXpress. Brightline West acquired the project in 2019, and company and public officials say it has all required right-of-way and environmental approvals, along with labor agreements.

Brightline received Biden administration backing including a $3 billion grant from federal infrastructure funds and recent approval to sell another $2.5 billion in tax-exempt bonds. The company won federal authorization in 2020 to sell $1 billion in similar bonds.

Brightline West says electric-powered trains will cut the four-hour trip across the Mojave Desert to a little more than two hours. It projects 11 million one-way passengers per year, with fares that Edens said will be comparable to airline ticket costs. The trains will offer rest rooms, Wi-Fi, food and beverage sales and the option to check luggage.

Officials hope the train line will relieve congestion on I-15, where drivers often sit in miles of crawling traffic while returning home to Southern California from a Las Vegas weekend. An average of more than 44,000 automobiles per day crossed the California-Nevada state line on I-15 in 2023, according to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority data.

Florida-based Brightline Holdings' Miami-line debuted in 2018 and expanded service to Orlando International Airport last September with trains reaching speeds up to 125 mph (200 kph). It offers 16 round-trips per day with one-way tickets for the 235-mile (378-kilometer) distance costing about $80.

Other fast trains in the U.S. include Amtrak’s Acela, which can top 150 mph (241 kph) between Boston and Washington, D.C. But fast train connections for other U.S. cities have been floated, including Dallas to Houston; Atlanta to Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago to St. Louis; and Seattle to Portland, Oregon. Most have faced delays.

In California, a proposed 500-mile (805-kilometer) rail line linking Los Angeles and San Francisco was approved by voters in 2008, but has been beset by rising costs and routing disputes. A 2022 business plan by the California High-Speed Rail Authority projected the cost had more than tripled to $105 billion.

The Las Vegas strip is shown behind the groundbreaking sight of a high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles on Monday, April 22, 2024, in Las Vegas. A $12 billion high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area has started construction. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

CORRECTS TO SEN. CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., speaks at the groundbreaking for a high-speed passenger rail on Monday, April 22, 2024, in Las Vegas. A $12 billion high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area has started construction. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

Kids play in confetti at the groundbreaking ceremony for a high-speed railway on Monday, April 22, 2024, in Las Vegas. A $12 billion high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area has started construction. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil) (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg speaks at the groundbreaking for a high-speed passenger rail on Monday, April 22, 2024, in Las Vegas. A $12 billion high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area has started construction. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

A plane takes off behind a groundbreaking for a high-speed passenger rail on Monday, April 22, 2024, in Las Vegas. A $12 billion high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area has started construction. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., speaks at the groundbreaking for a high-speed passenger rail on Monday, April 22, 2024, in Las Vegas. A $12 billion high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area has started construction. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., left, and Sen. Jacky Rosend, D-Nev., right, speak at the groundbreaking for a high-speed passenger rail on Monday, April 22, 2024, in Las Vegas. A $12 billion high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area has started construction. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo leaves the stage at a groundbreaking for a high-speed passenger rail on Monday, April 22, 2024, in Las Vegas. A $12 billion high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area has started construction. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, center, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, right, drive rail spikes into a symbolic rail, on Monday, April 22, 2024, in Las Vegas. A $12 billion high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area has started construction. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

FILE - This photo taken Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, shows the site of a proposed station for a high-speed rail line to Las Vegas, background, at the end of the Dale Evans Parkway exit from Interstate 15, on the far outskirts of the Mojave Desert city of Victorville, Calif. Brightline West and U.S. transportation secretary and other officials projecting that millions of ticket-buyers will be boarding trains by 2028. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

FILE - This photo Jan. 25, 2012, photo shows the site of a proposed station for a high-speed rail line to Las Vegas, foreground, with Interstate 15 in the background, on the far outskirts of Victorville, Calif., the Mojave Desert city on the route from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Brightline West and U.S. transportation secretary and other officials projecting that millions of ticket-buyers will be boarding trains by 2028. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

This Jan. 25, 2012, photo shows the site of a proposed station for the high-speed rail line to Las Vegas at the end of the Dale Evans Parkway exit from Interstate 15, on the far outskirts of the Mojave Desert city of Victorville, Calif. Brightline West and U.S. transportation secretary and other officials projecting that millions of ticket-buyers will be boarding trains by 2028. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

FILE - A Brightline train is shown at a station in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Jan. 11, 2018. A fast-tracked plan to build a high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area is set to mark the start of construction. Brightline West and U.S. transportation secretary and other officials projecting that millions of ticket-buyers will be boarding trains by 2028. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)