'Hollywood Ripper' Michael Gargiulo 'liked to watch death' after inflicting pain

Tom Small will never forget the moment he found Ashley Ellerin's body in his rented bungalow in Hollywood.

On the night of February 21, 2001, the 22-year-old had just gotten out of the shower and was about to get ready for a night out. He stabbed her to death.

The California resident was not found until the next morning by her roommate, who had just returned to her residence. Ellerin's body was outside the bathroom entrance.

“I never forgot the brutality,” Small, a retired homicide detective, told Fox News Digital. “I've seen a lot of homicides over the years. All kinds. None of them are pretty. But this one stood out. She was very young, and the way she was mutilated, it was just cruel. It was one of the most ferocious attacks I think I have seen.

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“And from the way she was positioned, it was clear that the suspect wanted us to find her. Whoever did this had only one intention: to inflict bodily harm. To inflict pain. That's all he wanted. He wanted complete control.”

Small speaks on “Once Upon a Crime in Hollywood,” a true crime series hosted by Kelly Hyman. Season 2 focuses on the case of Michael Gargiulo, known as “The Hollywood Ripper” and “The Neighbor Killer.” It includes new interviews with the researchers involved, as well as key experts.

“I wanted the public to know that these types of people exist,” Small said. “In my profession, you see a lot of murders and a lot of stabbings. But the intent of this was strictly to kill and destroy. It was brutal. It stays with you.”

The murder of Ashley Ellerin is explored in the true crime podcast, “Once Upon a Crime in Hollywood.” (Al Seib/LA Times Pool/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

Ellerin was stabbed 47 times. Twelve of the injuries were considered fatal. He had numerous defensive wounds on his hands and right forearm.

“She was hit in the front, back, upper and lower body and in the throat,” Small recalled. “This person had to be on top of her, get really close to her and watch her walk by. I didn't know what kind of person she was, except that he's a demon. He's evil.”

Born in Maryland, Ellerin dreamed of living in “the big city,” Small said. Like many others, she wanted to break onto the Hollywood scene. Known for her beauty, Ellerin quickly connected with friends involved in the entertainment industry.

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Ashley Ellerin's house (David McNew/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

“She had no enemies, but she had a million friends and associates,” Small said. “Some were in the entertainment business. Others were personal friends that she grew up with. There were a lot of suspects to choose from. I started looking for parolees because, in that area of ​​Hollywood, especially in those years, we had several crimes. We had street robberies and many rapes, but this did not have a sexual component, but rather inflicting pain and control.

“I had several acquaintances,” Small continued. “She was a pretty young woman who was desirable to a lot of guys. I remember giving the owner a hard time… We were satisfied we could rule him out. But she took a while.”

The night Ellerin was killed, she had plans with Ashton Kutcher. The former “That '70s Show” star later testified in court that she was late for her date with Ellerin and looked inside her house when there was no answer at the door. The actor saw what he thought was spilled wine on the carpet. After noticing his car in the driveway, Kutcher thought she was angry at him for being late. Assuming Ellerin didn't open the door on purpose, she left.

Ashton Kutcher testified in court. (Frederick M. Brown)

The police were perplexed and had no concrete leads. However, some of Ellerin's friends remembered a “creepy heating and air guy” named Mike. Nobody knew where he lived. His car was unknown. But somehow he showed up at parties at Ellerin's house.

“She could have 60 people there, and a lot of people would look at Mike and say, 'Who the hell is that guy? How do you know him?'” Small explained. “[According to friends], Ashley ignored him and said, 'He looked at my boiler and thinks he's a friend.' He is harmless.'”

About a week before the murder, Ellerin hosted a birthday party for one of her friends. Pals said “Mike” was there and was “laser focused” on her.

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Ashton Kutcher saw what he thought were wine stains inside Ashley Ellerin's home. (Frederick M. Brown)

“One of the witnesses described how it was like a laser beam,” Small said. “If she moved from one room to another, he would change positions so he could keep her eyes on him. He would also walk around the house. It seemed like he was looking at the layout.”

According to Small, “Mike” suddenly disappeared after Ellerin's murder. He was never seen in the neighborhood again despite being a regular. He had no friends who were curious about his whereabouts. He was just the “weird” guy who suddenly disappeared.

According to prosecutors, Ellerin first crossed paths with “Mike” several months before his death, according to E! Informed news. According to the outlet, she lived nearby and had offered to fix a flat tire for Ellerin and her friend. She then gave them her business card for air conditioning repair services.

Mugshot of Michael Gargiulo. He was 32 years old at the time of the murders. (Santa Monica Police Department/ZUMApress.com)

After some digging, the Los Angeles Police Department obtained a name and driver's license photo. It was Gargiulo.

In Cook County, outside Chicago, Tricia Pacaccio's mother relentlessly pursued investigators. The 18-year-old girl was discovered on the morning of August 1993. She was stabbed repeatedly in the chest, chest and arm. Her case was cold and the heartbroken matriarch was desperate for answers. In 2002, new DNA technology made it possible for investigators to re-examine evidence originally collected at the crime scene.

Detectives still had Gargiulo on their list of suspects. When they learned he had moved from Illinois to Los Angeles, they contacted the Los Angeles police. A DNA sample was obtained and sent to the Illinois State Police Crime Laboratory. It matched the DNA on Pacaccio's fingernails.

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Detectives Tom Small (left) and Mark Lillienfeld pass by apartment number 34, where Michael Gargiulo stayed, during a jury visit to the crime scene in El Monte, California, on June 20, 2019, in the People case v. Michael. Gargiulo case. (Frédéric J. Brown/AFP)

The Pacaccio family lived near Gargiulo's childhood home.

The Cook County State's Attorney's office declined to charge Gargiulo, the Chicago Tribune reported. According to the outlet, prosecutors claimed that DNA could have been exchanged through casual contact. As for the LAPD, they had no physical evidence connecting Gargiulo to Ellerin's murder.

But Gargiulo would not be off the police radar. In 2003, an ex-girlfriend alleged that he punched her in the face and threatened to kill her, Oxygen.com reported. According to the outlet, the couple met when she hired him to fix her air conditioning unit. She also claimed that Gargiulo later harassed her, leading her to seek a restraining order.

Photos of the victims are shown as Michael Gargiulo appears in court for opening statements in his murder trial on May 2, 2019 in Los Angeles. (Al Seib-Pool)

In 2005, María Bruno was found dead in her home in Los Angeles. The 32-year-old mother-of-four's throat was slit and she was stabbed multiple times. A blue surgical slipper was found at the crime scene. Small described it as an “exciting death.”

In 2008, Michelle Murphy was attacked in her Santa Monica apartment. She was stabbed repeatedly in the chest but she survived. Authorities said Gargiulo cut himself and left a trail of blood. DNA linked him to the other cases.

Gargiulo's lawyers later argued in court that other men committed the murders of Bruno and Ellerin. They admitted that his client had attacked Murphy, but said he was in a “fugue state” due to his personality disorder and that he did not know where he was at the time.

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Defense attorneys walk before the jury arrives to visit an evidence site located at 1229 12th Street in Santa Monica during the murder trial of Michael Gargiulo on June 19, 2019 in Los Angeles. (David McNew/pool)

The defense also claimed that Ellerin was murdered by another man who was romantically linked to her and was jealous that she was about to go on a date with Kutcher.

But the facts were undeniable. Gargiulo lived near Bruno, whom he “watched closely.” He was known for wearing blue surgical slippers. He was also left-handed. The murders were committed by a left-handed attacker.

Gargiulo's past also surprised Small.

Michael Gargiulo's apartment (David McNew/Pool)

“He beat up his father,” he explained. “He took a banquet table and smashed it on his sister's back. There were only two people in his family he respected. One was his mother. The other was his older brother, who is also a bit trash. I think Su “Father was afraid of him.”

In 2019, Gargiulo was found guilty of two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. He was sentenced to death in 2021.

Small said he was “relieved.”

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Michael Gargiulo was sentenced to death. (Lucy Nicholson/AFP)

“He liked to see death,” Small said. “This guy deserves everything he's going to get. He only had one intention, which was to inflict pain… Something like this stays with you. He certainly stayed with me.”