Why Ashton Kutcher Was Once Involved In A Murder Trial

Long-time couple Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis received major backlash for writing a heartfelt character letter in defense of their "That '70's Show" co-star Danny Masterson, who was given a sentence of 30 years to life in prison for raping two women in 2023. One of Masterson's accusers, Chrissie Carnell Bixler, clapped back at Kutcher, who people originally believed to be a feminist, in an Instagram Story, writing: "You were on speaker phone that night you called Danny on February 21, 2001. I hear everything. I heard the plan. In my opinion, you're just as sick as your 'mentor," (via SheKnows). 

It didn't take long for internet sleuths to figure out that Bixler was alluding to Ashley Ellerin's murder. In December 2000, Kutcher and Ellerin were introduced through mutual friends. Their paths crossed when she subsequently invited him over for a house party. After having a nice chat, the two decided to go on a date two weeks later, on February 21, 2001. However, when the day arrived, Kutcher was invited to a Grammys viewing party at a friend's house, so he let Ellerin know he'd be arriving a bit later than expected. Ellerin was willing to wait since she had just started getting ready. 

However, they didn't end up going on their date, and the next day, her roommate found Ellerin dead. She had been brutally stabbed 47 times. When Kutcher learned the horrific truth of the night, he realized he was in a sticky situation because his fingerprints were on Ellerin's door from the night of her murder.

When Ashton Kutcher took the stand during the trial of Michael Gargiulo, he shared his version of events of the night of Ashley Ellerin's murder. The actor started by explaining that he tried calling her later in the night, but the phone went unanswered. Nonetheless, Kutcher followed their initial plan and went over to her place to pick Ellerin up. During his testimony, the "That '70s Show" star noted that he could see Ellerin's home lights were on, but when he repeatedly knocked on her door, there was no response. 

Kutcher wasn't necessarily concerned about her because he figured that Ellerin was simply tired of waiting around for him and chose to spend the night with her friends instead. The actor learned the horrifying truth of her murder the following day, and shared his thought process at the time during his testimony: "My fingerprints are on this door and I was freaking out." He added, "I told [an officer], 'Let me tell you what happened,'" (via People).

In a disturbing turn of events, Kutcher actually spotted some of Ellerin's blood on the floor when he briefly looked through a window, but at the time, "I saw what I thought was red wine spilled on the carpet. But that wasn't alarming because I went to her house party [days before] and it was like a college party. I didn't think much about it." Kutcher wasn't a suspect for the murder and his testimony was instrumental in nailing the real culprit.

According to People, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Dan Akemon said that Ashton Kutcher's testimony helped establish a timeline of events of the night Ashley Ellerin was murdered. Akemon elaborated that if they followed Kutcher's sequence of events, the killer was restricted to a short window to kill Ellerin, which meant that they had to have kept a close watch on her actions throughout the night. Prosecutors therefore believed that the murderer acted shortly after Ellerin got off the phone with Kutcher.

Eventually, Michael Gargiulo was found guilty of the shocking crime. Gargiulo lived close to Ellerin, and he approached her to help change a flat tire a few months before the murder. That small interaction led him to stalk Ellerin and show up at her home unannounced. Once, her roommate, Justin Peterson, caught Gargiulo sitting in his car outside their home. When Peterson confronted him, Gargiulo gave him a frantic story about how the FBI was investigating him for a friend's girlfriend's murder. When Gargiulo raised his leg, Peterson saw a knife attached to his ankle. 

Although Peterson made Ellerin aware of this encounter, she didn't think much of it, per LA Weekly. Gargiulo also supposedly attended one of Ellerin's house parties, where he sat by himself the whole night and creepily stared at her. Gargiulo pleaded not guilty but was later convicted for Ellerin's murder, alongside the killing of his former neighbor, Maria Bruno, and the attempted murder of Michelle Murphy. In 2021, Gargiulo received the death penalty.