A Los Angeles jury recommended the death penalty Friday for a man dubbed "The Boy Next Door Killer" after he was found guilty of two murders and an attempted murder.
The victims of Michael Gargiulo, 43, included 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin, who was killed on a night in 2001 when she had plans with actor Ashton Kutcher.
He testified during the trial that he arrived late for his date with Ellerin, looked into her house when there was no answer at the door, and saw what he thought were wine stains before leaving.
Michael Gargiulo, right, listens along with his attorney Daniel Nardoni, left, as the death penalty sentence is announced during his trial in Los Angeles Superior Court for the killings of two women and the attempted murder of a third, on Friday, Oct. 18, 2019. (Mario TamaPool Photo via AP)
Gargiulo showed no reaction as the court clerk read the death sentence at the brief hearing. Jurors also could have recommended life in prison with no possibility of parole.
His attorney Daniel Nardoni said outside court that he was angered and disappointed by the decision.
"You don't kill people that are mentally ill," Nardoni said. "It's just a matter of humanity. There's a different kind of punishment for the mentally ill. It's called life without parole."
Michael Gargiulo, right, listens to his sentencing as his attorney Daniel Nardoni, left, looks on as the death penalty is announced during Gargiulo's trial in Los Angeles Superior Court for the killings of two women and the attempted murder of a third, on Friday, Oct. 18, 2019. (Mario TamaEPA via AP, Pool)
Defense attorneys and a psychologist said in court that Gargiulo has dissociative personality disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder.
Prosecutors, who did not talk to reporters after the hearing, called Gargiulo "The Boy Next Door Killer" because he lived near all the victims.
He also was convicted of the 2005 murder of 32-year-old Maria Bruno and the 2008 attempted murder of Michelle Murphy, who testified during the trial's penalty phase that she lived in fear for years after the attack.
Murphy fought when she was attacked in bed in her Santa Monica apartment. Authorities said Gargiulo cut himself and left a trail of blood that allowed prosecutors to tie him to the other cases, including a 1997 killing in Illinois for which he is still awaiting trial.
Murphy was also a key witness during the first phase of the trial.
"In the days, weeks and months after it happened, I barely even slept," Murphy testified. "I feared the nighttime and going to bed. I still slept with the lights on for a long time."
Gargiulo's attorneys contended that other men committed the murders of Bruno and Ellerin. They conceded their client had attacked Murphy but said he was in a "fugue state" because of his personality disorder and did not know where he was at the time.
All three women were attacked in their Southern California homes when Gargiulo lived nearby and watched his victims. Ellerin become an acquaintance before the attacks.
Ellerin's mother and other victims' family members also testified during the penalty phase.
When she learned about the death of her daughter, Cynthia Ellerin said, "I fell to my knees on the floor and started crawling around the bedroom on my hands and knees like an animal, screaming."
"I ache for her," Cynthia Ellerin said. "I ache to hold her. I ache to hear her voice, to hug her. But that's not going to happen."
Gargiulo's 16-year-old son also took the stand, asking jurors for mercy and telling them he needs a father who is alive.
After the jury's decision was read, Superior Court Judge Larry P. Fidler ordered Gargiulo to return for formal sentencing on Feb. 28, when he will also consider motions for a new trial or a reduced sentence.
California has not executed anyone since 2006, and Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this year halted executions for as long as he is in office.
Courts have been proceeding on the assumption that executions may one day resume.
The case received extra attention because of the connection of Kutcher, who was a 23-year-old rising star on "That '70s Show" when Ellerin was killed.
He testified in May that he feared he might become a suspect after going to Ellerin's home.
"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."
The defense asserted that Ellerin was killed by another man who was romantically linked to her and was jealous that she was about to go on a date with the actor.
Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton.
SHANGHAI (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised what the U.S. describes as unfair Chinese trade practices during his first full day of meetings in China on Thursday with local government officials in the financial hub of Shanghai.
Blinken met with the city's top official, Communist Party Secretary Chen Jining, and “raised concerns about (Chinese) trade policies and non-market economic practices," the State Department said in a statement.
It said he stressed that the United States seeks healthy economic competition with China and "a level playing field for U.S. workers and firms operating in China.”
“The two sides reaffirmed the importance of ties between the people of the United States and (China), including the expansion of exchanges between students, scholars, and business,” it said.
China's multibillion-dollar trade surplus with the U.S. along with accusations of intellectual property theft and other practices seen as discriminating against U.S. businesses in China have long been a source of friction in relations.
China, for its part, has objected strongly to U.S. accusations of human rights abuses and Washington's support for Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing considers its own territory and warns could be annexed by force.
Blinken also spoke with students and business leaders before flying to Beijing for what are expected to be contentious talks with national officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi and possibly President Xi Jinping.
Blinken arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday shortly before U.S. President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package that has several elements likely to anger Beijing, including $8 billion to counter China’s growing aggressiveness toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea. It also seeks to force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform.
China has railed against U.S. assistance to Taiwan and immediately condemned the aid as a dangerous provocation. It also strongly opposes efforts to force TikTok’s sale.
Still, the fact that Blinken made the trip — shortly after a conversation between Biden and Xi, a visit to China by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and a call between the U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs — is a sign the two sides are at least willing to discuss their differences.
“I think it’s important to underscore the value — in fact, the necessity — of direct engagement, of speaking to each other, laying out our differences, which are real, seeking to work through them,” Blinken told Chen.
“We have an obligation for our people, indeed an obligation to the world, to manage the relationship between our two countries responsibly,” he said. “That is the obligation we have, and one that we take very seriously.”
Chen agreed with that sentiment and said the recent Biden-Xi call had helped the “stable and healthy development of our two countries’ relationship.”
“Whether we choose cooperation or confrontation affects the well-being of both peoples, both countries, and the future of humanity,” he said.
Chen added that he hoped Blinken was able to get a “deep impression and understanding” of Shanghai, a city of skyscrapers, ports and more than 25 million people that is a magnet for commercially ambitious young people from China and abroad.
Most recently, the U.S. has raised concerns that potential overcapacity in Chinese industries — such as electric vehicles, steel and solar panels — might crowd out U.S. and other foreign manufacturers.
Shortly after arriving, Blinken attended a Chinese basketball playoff game between the local Shanghai Sharks and the Zhejiang Golden Bulls, with the home team losing in the last seconds in a 121-120 nailbiter.
With the U.S. presidential race heating up, it’s unclear what ramifications a victory for either Biden or former President Donald Trump might have for relations. But Trump could deepen a trade war he started during his first term. His tough rhetoric on China and isolationist approach to foreign policy could ramp up uncertainties.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, center, with NYU Shanghai Vice Chancellor Jeffrey Lehman, back right, talks to students at NYU Shanghai, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks to students at NYU Shanghai, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second left, U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, third left, and Scott Walker, left, Consul General at the U.S Consulate General in Shanghai, visit a waterfront area called The Bund, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, talks with U.S. tourists as he walks in a waterfront area called The Bund, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks with U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, center, with U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai Scott Walker, left, while attending a basketball game between the Shanghai Sharks and the Zhejiang Golden Bulls at the Shanghai Indoor Stadium, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks with U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, center, with U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai Scott Walker, right, while attending a basketball game between the Shanghai Sharks and the Zhejiang Golden Bulls at the Shanghai Indoor Stadium, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second left, and U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, far right, arrive at the Grand Halls to meet with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining on Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, shakes hans with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining as they meet at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, talks with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, center, watches U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, left, shake hands with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
