Hollywood heartthrob Ashton Kutcher has confessed to a court that he “screwed up” on the tragic evening his then-girlfriend was brutally murdered.
The 46-year-old star recounted to the jury how he was in a state of panic after discovering Ashley Ellerin had been savagely killed on the night they were set to have a date.
Back in the day, a 23-year-old Ashton had planned to wine and dine 22-year-old Ashley on February 21, 2001, but time slipped away from him, and he arrived at her Hollywood home two hours later than planned.
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Unfortunately, he was too late and she had already been fatally stabbed to death. In a chilling detail shared Ashton noticed what he thought was a spilled “red wine stain” on the carpet when he peered through her window to see if she was around, not realising it was actually his date’s blood. He also saw her red BMW convertible out front and noticed all her lights were on.
While giving his testimony at the trial of the alleged ‘Hollywood Ripper’ Michael Thomas Gargiulo, who is accused of murdering two women including Ashley and attempting to murder another, Ashton revealed he first met Ashley at her housewarming bash back in December 2001, while he was still with an ex.
After splitting from his former flame, Ashton got in touch with fashion student Ashley to set up their ill-fated rendezvous, coinciding with Grammy Awards day. He phoned her in the afternoon to hash out their plans for dinner and drinks, but called again at 7.30pm to let her know he’d be late.
Ashley rang him back at 8.24pm that night to say she was just drying her hair post-shower, as reported by the Daily Mail. “I told her I would be a little late and she said, ‘OK, see you later’,” Ashton shared with the courtroom.
(Image: LAPD)
After losing track of time while watching the awards at his mate’s place, the star of Two And A Half Men attempted to ring his date again. Getting no response, he decided to head home, walk his dogs, and then drove over to Ashley’s place, arriving between 10.30 and 10.45pm.
“I knocked on the door, no answer. I knocked again, no answer. I peered through the window on the front door and saw nothing. I tried the front door knob and it was locked,” he shared with the jury.
“I found it strange that the lights were on. The place looked a bit messy, but I didn’t think much of it as she had just moved in. Then I saw what I thought was red wine spilled on the carpet. I wasn’t alarmed because I just been at the housewarming party at her house and that was kind of a college party.”
(Image: GETTY)
He assumed Ashley was giving him the cold shoulder because he’d messed up their date. “I figured I had screwed up – I had showed up too late,” Ashton confessed.
The following day, Ashley’s terrified flatmate discovered her lifeless and mutilated body. She had suffered 47 stab wounds, some as deep as six inches, across her chest, stomach, neck and back.
Upon hearing the horrifying news, Ashton immediately went to the police to inform them he had been outside her home the previous evening. “I went to her door, my fingerprints were on the door. I was panicking,” he admitted to the court.
(Image: GETTY)
He confirmed that he hadn’t spotted Gargiulo at Ashley’s housewarming bash two months prior to her tragic demise, and Ashley hadn’t mentioned any “problems or issues” with anyone. Prosecutor Daniel Akemon informed the court that 43-year-old Gargiulo had “injected himself” into Ashley’s life by changing her tyre and mending her furnace.
“He gatecrashed a party at her home and fixated on her. Somehow he got a copy of a key to her flat and let himself in…then ran away,” Daniel stated. Detectives observed that Ashley’s front door was locked and there was no evidence of forced entry when her body was found.
Gargiulo, who was arrested in 2008, has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges levelled against him. He was later convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death on July 16, 2021.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
