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Ashton Kutcher Tells Court He 'Freaked Out' After Discovering Date Had Died

Ashton Kutcher Tells Court He 'Freaked Out' After Discovering Date Had Died

The actor was speaking at the trial of the so-called 'Hollywood Ripper'

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

Actor Ashton Kutcher told a court hearing that he 'freaked out' after discovering the woman he had supposed to go on a date with had been killed.

The former model was giving evidence at the trial of alleged serial killer Michael Gargiulo - dubbed the 'Hollywood Ripper' - who has been charged with the murder of two women between 2001 and 2005.

Kutcher, 41, told the court that he arranged to go on a date with design student Ashley Ellerin on 22 February 2001, but when he arrived at her apartment to pick her up just a couple of hours later, he found the door was locked with the lights on.

Looking through the window, the ex-Two and a Half Men star said he saw "what I thought was a red wine spilt on the carpet" but that "I wasn't alarming because I went to her house party (days before) and it was like a college party, he said. I didn't think much about it".

The actor says he 'freaked out' when he discovered his date had died.
PA

The actor said: "I knocked on the door. There was no answer. Knocked again. And once again, no answer.

"At this point, I pretty well assumed she had left for the night, and that I was late, and she was upset."

The next day, however, Ellerin, 22, was found dead at her home by a roommate. According to prosecutors, the young woman had been stabbed 47 times.

He added: "I remember the next day after I heard about what happened, I went to the detectives and said 'my fingerprints are on the door'. I was freaking out."

The actor was assured during the hearing that he wasn't a suspect in the case.

And despite claims in the media, Kutcher has stated the pair weren't a couple but that Ellerin had been a casual acquaintance he had met at a party.

The actor had called around to Ellerin's apartment but there was no answer.
PA

According to reports, police believe Ellerin was murdered shortly after getting off the phone with Kutcher a couple of hours earlier and was attacked from behind by Gargiulo as she was leaving the shower.

Mr Gargiulo is currently on trial at Los Angeles superior court, charged with two charges of first-degree murder.

It's alleged that along with the death of Ellerin, the 43-year-old murdered Maria Bruno, 32, in 2005.
He is also facing a separate murder charge in Illinois for stabbing Chicago resident Tricia Pacaccio, 18 to death in 1993.

Prosecutors in Los Angeles are seeking the death penalty for Mr Gargiulo, who was arrested in 2008 and has pleaded not guilty to his charges.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: TV and Film, Interesting, US News, US Entertainment

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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