Death Sentence For Man Charged In 1993 Pacaccio Killing

LOS ANGELES — While the family of Glenview teenager Tricia Pacaccio still awaits justice for her 1993 slaying, her reported killer was sentenced to death Friday for the murder of two other women and the attempted murder of another. Glenview native Michael Gargiulo, 45, known as the "Hollywood Ripper," was found guilty of the charges in 2019.

A judge denied the defense's motion for a new trial for Gargiulo, who was convicted of killing and mutilating two California women and attacking a third who survived to testify against him. He is now expected to be extradited to Illinois to stand trial in the slaying of Pacaccio, who was 18 at the time of her death.

Gargiulo spoke before his sentencing, angrily complaining that his lawyers had prevented him from taking the stand in his defense, reports The Associated Press.

"I’m going to death row wrongfully and unjustfully,” Gargiulo said, according to The Associated Press. “I did want to testify and my fundamental choice was blocked.”

Gargiulo, wearing an orange jail suit, was described as showing no visible reaction to his sentencing in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Gargiulo was sentenced for the Feb. 22, 2001, slaying of 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin in her Hollywood bungalow hours before she was set to meet up with actor Ashton Kutcher, who took the witness stand in the case. Gargiulo was also sentenced for the Dec. 1, 2005, killing of Maria Bruno, a 32-year-old mother of four young children, in her El Monte apartment.

Gargiulo was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Pacaccio, who was a Glenbrook South graduate. She was stabbed outside her Glenview home. Gargiulo, who was 17 at the time, was said to have been a family friend of the Pacaccios and had been inside their home.

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