March 15, 2024 • 50 mins
The Hollywood Ripper trial shifts its focus to the two California murders - Ashley Ellerin and Maria Bruno. Ashton Kutcher, the most famous witness in the trial, takes the stand to detail the night he went to pick up Ellerin before she was found dead. Michael Gargiulo's defense team hammers Ellerin's former apartment manager about his version of events the night of her murder, and several of Ashley's friends speak about their interactions with Gargiulo and his apparent obsession with her. Neighbors of Maria Bruno also take the stand, as well as her estranged husband Irving Bruno, who is grilled by the defense about his actions the night of her murder. As the trial begins to wrap up, psychological experts are brought in to assess Gargiulo's state of mind, and the jury is finally left to make a decision on his guilt, sanity, and potential sentence for the three attacks.
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(00:09):
As the Hollywood Ripper trial began towrap up, the prosecution started to paint
a picture of Garzulo's guilt, hismindset before, during, and after the
murders, and perhaps the most controversialpiece of evidence that was introduced at the
trial. One of the last witnessesto testify in Maria Bruno's case was Detective
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Troy Sella, a detective with theLos Angeles County Sheriff's Department Fraud and Cybercrime
High Tech Crime Unit. On topof the DNA evidence relating to Maria Bruno's
murder, there was also forensic evidencefound on Michael Garzulo's laptop, which was
seized when he was arrested. DetectiveSella testified that after conducting a forensic examination
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of the laptop, he found threeinstances where Maria Bruno's name appeared a Google
search, a Google image search,and an article from crime Laboratory dot com
with the headline's modern day Jack theripper kill's former model Maria Bruno in California.
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None of the other victims' names werefound on the computer, but notably,
Garjulo also had a program called trasEraser Pro, which was designed to
delete Internet, cash search history andother information stored on a computer. Sella
testified that the program was configured torun every time the computer was shut down.
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As we touched on an episode forDetective Mark Lillianfeld of La County Sheriff's
Department investigated Bruno's murder. During Lillianfeld'stestimony, he detailed the crime scene,
as well as irving Bruno's cooperation withthe investigation. Lillianfeld also spoke about the
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search for Garzulo's two work fans.Police had a warrant to search the vans,
but eventually found them in Palmdale,a few miles from where Michael lived.
Emptied and abandoned. The writing onthe side of the van reading GUS
the Plumber, plumbing and heating hadbeen removed from them. Both vans matched
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the license plates of two parking citationsthat were at Michael Garzulo's apartment when it
was searched. Lilianfeld also conducted thePerkins operation while Garzulo was being held in
Almonte Jail after he was arrested forthe attack of Michelle Murphy. The operation
wound up being one of the mostcontroversial aspects of the trial. While being
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held in jail. Two deputies withthe La County Sheriff's Department were placed into
the jail cell with Garzulo. Theyhad recording devices in the cell. The
purpose was to try to elicit statementsfrom Garzulo regarding the Eleren or Bruno murders.
(03:14):
Garzula would speak with detectives before beingput back in the cell. During
those conversations, Lilianfeldt and Detective TomSmall would give him false information about evidence
they had on him. Gardula wastold police had DNA evidence leaking him to
Bruno's murder, and that an eyewitnesssaw Garzulo going into her home the night
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she was murdered. When Garzulo wentback to his cell, one of the
undercovered detectives, Dana Duncan, spokewith him for over forty two hours.
Among Guardulo's recorded omissions were that heknew both Eleren and Bruno, talking about
how he met Ellen in when shewas having car trouble. He also talked
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about being in Mario Bruno's apartment multipletimes and looking into her window once,
which is the same story her neighborRobert Rasmussen told. On two occasions,
Garzulo seemed to reenact knife attacks withintimate details about both murders. When speaking
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about the El Monte case, heshed doubt on the idea that the killer
could be left handed. After flushingthe toilet to drown out the audio,
he stood behind Detective Duncan and demonstratedwith downward and upward stabbing motions, attempting
to show that a right handed orleft handed killer would leave the same marks
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in a body and that you couldnot tell the angle of the stab wounds.
Detective Duncan testified that at one pointGarzula walk from wall to wall with
one hand out ahead of him andreached out with one hand as if he
was grabbing someone around the face,pulling it to the side. With the
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other hand, he made circular slicingmotions around what would be the victim's neck
area. On top of the detailsabout both murders, Garzulo also tried to
hatch an escape plan with both undercoverdetectives. He asked Detective Duncan to stand
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on his shoulders as he looked outthe window to get a vision of the
parking lot, the location, andhow many police cars were in the area.
He also crafted two handcuffed shims outof a plastic spoon and talked about
his plan to disable the jailer witha throat punch to escape. Eventually,
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the Perkins operation was terminated because thedetective speared someone might get hurt during Garzulo's
escape tempt. The defense argued thePerkins operation was a deceptive and manipulative police
tactic, saying that trying to gethim to confess to the murders was subterfuge.
(06:15):
The next stage of witnesses focused onGarzulo's past and specifically his mental state,
with neuropsychologists Deborah Buddings testifying for thedefense. Butddings testified that Garzulo was
in special education for most primary schooldue to behavioral issues, adding that he
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had a tendency to be angry andengage in power struggles with adults. Another
defense witness psychologist, doctor Vian Castellano, diagnosed Garzulo with desociative identity disorder,
meaning he had multiple personalities. Let'sbring back Joshua Ritter, criminal defense attorney
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and former Los Angeles County Deputy DistrictAttorney. Josh How could that diagnosis impact
his ability to be charged or toreceive the death penalty? The defense was
trying to use this to attack theintent element of premeditated murder. Premeditated murder,
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every murder has two sides to it. There's the mental state, the
men's rehea, and then there's theact itself, because many times murders take
place, but the mental state iswhat dictates what degree of murder that can
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be. You know, we seethings like manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, second
degree murder, those all have todo with varying degrees of intent. In
premeditated murder, you have to showthat there will malice a forethought, meaning
that they planned this, they intendedto commit this murder. It was premeditated.
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And so by the defense entering theseevidence and elements of his psychological state,
they were attempting to cut away atthat mensrea, that mental state and
say he was suffering from these psychologicalmental disorders and therefore couldn't form that proper
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intent, that premeditation for first degreemurder. It also, I think had
an intended role for the defense ontrying to chip away at a possible death
penalty verdict here, because jurors maybelieve that a person committed premeditated first degree
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murder, but if they also believesome of this mental state mitigating evidence,
they might not want to hold thatperson responsible for the ultimate penalty that we
have in this country. In otherwords, they might say, we believe
you're guilty of murder. We don'tbelieve that you were insane. We don't
believe that you were suffering from somesort of mental defect or disease that didn't
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allow you to form the proper mensrea to commit this crime. But we
also believe that you were perhaps disturbedenough that we don't believe that you should
suffer the death penalty. That couldhave been the twofold reason for the defense
bringing this evidence into the trial.Castellano also interviewed Garjulo's family members ahead of
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the trial, who told her hesuffered from severe childhood trauma at the hands
of his parents and siblings from ayoung age. According to Castellano, Garzulo's
family members said he would be tiedup and left in a closet without food
or water for up to three daysuntil he was about eight years old.
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She also told a story of Garzulo'smother an older brother punishing him by holding
his hands over a gas stove.His siblings told her when Garzulo was about
ten to twelve, they would tiehim to a tree and force him to
watch his older brother place fireworks intoa small animal and blow them up,
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knowing he was passionate about animals.Around age thirteen, an older brother would
tie him to a chair and forcehim to watch videos of violent sexual behavior
towards women. Castellano also noted therewas a history of mental illness in Gardulo's
family. His father and siblings toldher an aunt and uncle on both sides
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of his family had been diagnosed withparanoid schizophrenia, and his siblings had also
been diagnosed with mental illness and admittedto psychiatric facilities. To support the findings
of the doctors and psychological experts,the prosecution spoke to other witnesses from Gardulo's
past, including emotional testimony from twoof his ex girlfriends. One of them
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dated Garzulo between two thousand and fiveand two thousand and six while he was
living in Almonte. They had beenseeing each other for six months, but
Garzulo would never let her meet hisfamily. She testified that on one occasion
the two got into an argument overhis reluctance to let her meet any of
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his family. She accused him ofbeing in another relationship. According to her,
Garzulo became angry then raped her inthe back of the van was she
pled for him to stop. Heeventually did stop and drove her back home,
but she said Garzulo threatened to killher and her family if she told
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anyone. Another of Gardulo's ex girlfriendtestified that Garzulo would tell her how he
could get away with murder because hestudied forensic science and knew how to get
rid of fingerprints. Another witness,Ashley Green, who lived in the same
apartment complex as Garzulo in Los Angeles, testified that Garzulo once knocked on her
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door and asked if she knew howto defend herself if someone held a knife
to her. Then he pulled outa pocket knife, told her to open
it, and held it to herthroat from behind. She said, the
phone rang and Garzula left, tellingher, I see you're busy. The
final witnesses were focused on the mentalhealth evaluation from psychologist doctor Castellano and debates
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over the diagnosis that Garzulo suffered fromdissociative identity disorder, as well as a
prosecution's own psychology expert doctor Robert Schugg. After a three month criminal trial,
the case finally moved on to closingarguments. In closing arguments, prosecutor Garrett
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Damerin told jurors to focus on thecommon characteristics of the attacks on Tricia Picccaccio,
Ashley Ellern, Maria Bruno, andMichelle Murphy. He said Garzulo had
the mind of a serial killer,noting the eerie similarities between each of the
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attacks. Damerin said a killer ishuman who makes mistakes and leaves his signature
on the murder he commits. Damerinfocused on Garzulo's attraction action to each of
the women, how he told theco worker that Michelle Murphy was hot and
that he was going to get withher, that he was fixated on Ashley
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Ellern at a party. How oneof Garzulo's neighbors, Breton Dolson, said
Garzulo had spoken to him about MariaBruno, saying that's how I like him,
thin with large breast. He alsopointed to Garzulo's proximity to the victims
and knowledge of the neighborhood, aswell as his knowledge of each of the
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women's home, having been inside threeof them, as well as advantage point
to see into Michelle Murphy and MarioBruno's window. Damarn argued this allowed Garzulo
to plan his attack, entries andexit, and how to remain undetected.
Damren also talked about Garzulo's strength andathleticism, arguing the killer in these caves
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had to be capable committing such brutalstabbings. He detailed how Gardula was evidence
conscious, studying forensic serial killers andasking during his jailhouse interview if police could
check the dumps for evidence that wasthrown away, even attempting to escape,
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which showed a level of guilt.Defense attorney Dale Reuben said Guardulo may have
been in a fugue state and didn'tknow where he was when he was in
Murphy's apartment. The defense team deniedGuardulo was responsible for the murders of Ashley
Ellern and Maria Bruno, arguing therewere others who had more reason to murder
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both women and telling the jury theyshould find Guardulo not guilty if the evidence
had been established that some other personother than the defendant may have been involved
in the killings. Defense attorney DanielNardoni focused on the lack of physical evidence
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tying Garzulo to either crime scene,and no eyewitnesses who saw him enter or
leave either location on the night ofthe murders. Nardoni pointed the finger of
Ellerin's murder to her apartment manager,Mark Durbin, who he said had sex
with Ashley before she was murdered andalso had a key to her apartment.
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Nardoni added that Durbin was still inAshley's apartment when she took a shower,
and also when she took a phonecall at eight twenty four pm from Ashton
Kutcher. He argued Durbin was alsostill in the apartment when the neighbor Todd
Jackson, heard two screams while hewas walking his dog across the street around
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eight thirty pm. He also suggestsit was the estrained husband of Maria Bruno,
Irving Bruno, who killed her inthe Elmonty apartment. Nardoni painted the
picture of an abusive marriage, notingMaria had left her husband and moved out
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on her own into an Almonte apartment, where she told the manager that she
was concerned and in fear of herhusband. He also noted that Maria's blood
was found in Irving's car, andthat the gruesome nature of her murder was
personal. Perhaps the most shocking omissionin closing arguments came from Garzulo's lead attorney,
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Dale Rubin, who admitted that theattack on Michelle Murphy was the only
count where the prosecution showed Michael Garzulowas in her apartment and attacked her.
Nardoni called the attack on Murphy theelephant in the courtroom, admitting the evidence
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was much stronger in the Murphy case, but pleading with jurors to judge each
case separately. There was three phases, guilt, sanity, and sentencing.
After four days of deliberations, thejury reached a verdict. Michael Garzula was
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found guilty of first degree murder inthe killing of twenty two year old Ashley
Ellern in her Hollywood home. Hewas found guilty of murdering thirty two year
old Maria Bruno in her Almonte apartment. Additionally, the jury found Garzulo guilty
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in the attempted murder of twenty sixyear old Michelle Murphy in her Santa Monica
apartment. Garzula was also found guiltyof attempting to escape from jail after his
arrest. Both murder charges include specialcircumstance allegations of multiple murders and a murder
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while lying in wait. Let's bringback criminal defense attorney Joshua Ritter. Josh
can you explain how lying in waitimpact a murder charge and what special circumstances
entails? When you hear about amurder being death penalty eligible, what they're
really talking about and the way thatthe law refers to it is as a
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special circumstance murder, and what thatis referring to is that they're in California.
Are several enumerated and outlined special circumstancesthat can enhance a murder from a
first degree murder to a death penaltyeligible murder. These are things like multiple
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murder. So a person who commitsyou know, more than one murder on
one incident, or has now beenarrested for having killed several different people murder
by torture, another one is lyingin wait. And what lying in wait
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really means is that, beyond premeditation, beyond the planning of it, this
person actually went about hiding and waitingto trap that person. And the law
adds a special significance to that inthe sense that it does show an even
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more culpable mens rea, an evenmore culpable mindset that yes, you thought
about killing this person. Yes perhapsthere was planning, but your planning went
to the point of actually lying inwait for this person. And in those
special circumstances, which have to beproven by the prosecution, they essentially become
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another element of the crime. Ifthey are proven to a jury, and
the jury finds those special circumstances tobe true, that makes the case eligible
for the death penalty. Now,it's also the decision made beforehand by the
prosecution whether or not they will evenseek death. But even in a case
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where they are not seeking the deathpenalty, if special circumstances are attached and
proved, that means that that personwill automatically be sentenced to life without parole.
And so it really ups the stakes, as it were, when it
comes to a murder case where yes, in many cases you're looking at twenty
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five to life, sometimes more.Now you're talking about life without the possibility
parole or even possibly if the prosecutionseeks to pursue that penalty, the death
penalty. After delivering the verdict ofGardulo's guilt. The jury was now tasked
with determining whether Garzulo was seen atthe time of the crimes. The defense
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relied on the testimony of psychologists doctorCastellano and her diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder.
Attorney Dale Rubin said when Gardula wasattacking Michelle Murphy, he cut himself
and suddenly he came to with noidea where he was or what he was
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doing because he was in a dissociativestate, adding he was a little kid
back fighting monsters in his family home. Assistant District Attorney Garrett Damerin criticized doctor
Castellano's diagnosis of Guardulo, saying shewas bought and paid for after being paid
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three hundred thousand dollars by the defensefor her services. Doctor Shugg, who
testified for the prosecution, was paidjust fifteen hundred for his testimony. He
completely disagreed with doctor Cassiolano's diagnosis,finding the only thing Guardulo suffered from was
anti personality disorder. Damer said thatwould actually enhance his ability to commit crimes.
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He said, Garzulo is not thevictim, he is the victimizer.
It took the jury two days tocome to a decision. Judge Fiddler asked
twelve jurors if they believe Garzula wassane when he committed two first degree murders
and one attempted murder. All answeredyes. That left one more question to
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be answered. Convicted of two countsof first degree murder, one count of
attempted murder, and attempting to escapefrom jail, and with special circumstance allegations
of lying in wait in committing multiplemurders, Guardula was facing a possible death
sentence. For the penalty phase.Witnesses included members of the Poccaccio family,
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Ashy Ellerin's parents, Mike and CynthiaIrving Bruno, and three of Gardulo's ex
girlfriends. Michelle Murphy also spoke,as well as her husband. For the
defense, Doctor Castelano made another appearanceand the only member of Gardulo's family to
speak at the trial, his sonAndrew Gardulo. Doug Poccaccio, Triscia's younger
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brother, testified his memory of findinghis sister dead remained as fresh as it
was at that time. He said, it almost gets to the point where
you feel like the reality of thesituation is a bad dream. And then
you wake up and you relive thecrushing despair that takes over you. And
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it took over me that morning whenI saw her and I realized she was
completely lifeless and there was essentially nothingI could do to help her. Every
year of my life, I rememberit like it was yesterday. Ellren's mother
and other victim's family members also testifiedduring the penalty phase. When she learned
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about the death of her daughter,Cynthia Eleron said, I fell to my
knees on the floor and started crawlingaround the bedroom on my hands and knees
like an animal, screaming. MikeEllren talked about having to give the news
to his wife. He said,the primal scream I will never stop hearing
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that. Let's bring in Tom Small, retired LAPD homicide detective who investigates ate
it Ashley's murder. Tom, youhad close contact with the Ellern family over
the years, even to this day. What kind of impact did it have
on them? Well, as youmight, you know, I guess that
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when something this shocking happens, theshock and the trauma and the anger set
in, and a lot of timesthe detective will we'll catch the brunt of
it because you're trying to work thecase, but you're getting a lot of
blowback and stuff from the family becausethey want to know what you're doing and
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where you're at and all this stuff. But over the years I was able
to forge a very close relationship withthe others. In fact, now I
would say we're actually pretty good friends. I still have contact with them pretty
routinely, and the fact that Ispeak with the Pacatas from time to time.
But the Elleran family they to thisday, I mean, we can
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talk about anything in life and what'sgoing on in their daily this and that,
and they talk about my family andstuff, but it always comes back
to the loss of Ashley, andthey are traumatized to this day as if
they just found the news out fromtwenty years ago. And it's, uh,
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it's it's really it's really sad thedamage that a guy like Garjula does
to everybody involved, and I meaneverybody, friends, family in particular,
even the detectives and officers have todeal with this stuff. There's an indelible
mark and it stays with you.The other Rins have you know, they've
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they've carried on with with their livesand but it's not the same. It
will never be the same for them. It's it's a it's a deep,
deep hole in their in their hearts. I believe they still have Ashley's ashes,
uh in a place at their home. I've been to their home several
times, and they keep I wouldn'tcall it an alter, but it's like
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a place of respect where they theyhave Ashley. She's still with them,
but it's it's deeply hurtful, andbut we were able to to get through
the traumatic episode of it and nowhave have forged a bond of some type.
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Her brother, Seth younger brother,he he really took it bad.
I mean it impacted his life adverselyfor several years. Uh he's back in
the fold. Uh he's back athome as far as I think, he's
still at home, and uh hewas living out of state at one point.
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But it has severely impacted him.And in Cynthia and Mike elleryn they're
they're really I treat them like they'remy family, and they treat me the
same way. There's a real deepuh respect. I guess it's from the
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common trauma of the whole circumstance.But I try to I try to help
them when they when they have thosebad times. Uh more and more often
it's it's a little more light.But they have their days when it just
it just hits them hard. Andand if they call me or I call
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them on that particular day, Ican tell right away. So but it's
it's deeply hurtful as you can't imagine. I mean, that's it's not something
that the normal every day family orperson whatever experience. And to have that
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happen to somebody in your family,your daughter, your only daughter, Ah,
that's that's a hit. So that'sthat's what I can say. There
is we've kept the bond and Ialways well, I always hold them pretty
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close to the heart, and Iknow it's mutual. I can never imagine
how horrible it must be for thatfamily to lose their only daughter and to
have so much pain inside, tohave a beautiful daughter that had such a
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bright future to be taken away bysomeone. And due to her involvement with
celebrities, there was a lot ofpress stories about her and the family having
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to deal with that, not onlydeal with the press because of it,
but then also deal with the factthat they've lost their daughter and Ashley was
linked to Ashton Kutcher, which putthe story into the Hollywood tabloids. Because
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of his fame, a lot wasmade about their relationship and how she was
seeing multiple men at the time andif that was the reason for her to
be murdered. Her parents had todeal with the murder of their daughter as
well of all that, Garzulo's sixteenyear old son also took the stand,
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asking jurors for mercy and telling themhe needs a father who is alive.
In the end, the jury reacheda decision in less than five hours.
On October eighteen, two thousand andnineteen, the panel recommended Garzulo be given
the death penalty. Judge Larry Fiddlerordered Garzulo to return for formal sentencing on
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February twenty eighth, but procedural delayson top of the emergence of COVID nineteen
caused a lengthy break in the trial. Finally, over a year later,
on July sixteenth, twenty twenty one, Judge Fiddler's sentence Garzulo to death for
the murders of Ellern and Bruno.He also gave Garzulo a life sentence.
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The attempted murder of Michelle Murphy.The judge called Guardulo's crimes vicious and frightening,
adding that everywhere Gartulo goes, deathand destruction follow Gardulo, now forty
five, had a shaved head withhandcuffs and were orange La County jail overalls
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and a blue mask. He showedno reaction when the decision was read.
Against his attorney's advice, Gartulo askedto address the court, telling the judge
he's been denied his fundamental right totestify. Judge Fiddler reminded Gartulo that he
waived the right to testify a trial, but Garzulo claimed that he wanted to
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testify, but his attorneys wouldn't lethim, maintaining his innocence and claiming he
was framed by tunnel vision detectives.Judge Fiddler also denied the defense motion for
a new trial, noting that thejury had rejected Gartulo's insanity plead and his
attorney's claim that somebody else killed thetwo women. The defense asked for mercy,
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arguing Gartula was mentally ill and pointingout California has a moratorium on executions,
with the last person to be executedin two thousand and six. Josh,
can you explain the current state ofcapital punishment in California and why hasn't
anyone facing the death penalty been executedsince two thousand and six. Well,
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first of all, the Governor ofCalifornia, Gavin Newsom, has essentially put
a moratorium on the death penalty.Interestingly enough, different propositions have come before
the voters of California more than onceasking to essentially recall the death penalty and
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not make it available in California,And each time that that's been done,
the voters have said that they wantthe death penalty on the books, they
want that to be part of thecriminal justice system in California. The governor,
however, has decided to essentially ignoreall that and put a moratorium on
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the death penalty, meaning that nocase that even has a capital punishment verdict,
no actual executions are being carried out. But aside from kind of the
politics of all of this, there'salso an incredible backlog when it comes to
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death penalty cases. Every case wherethere has been a capital punishment death penalty
verdict is automatically guaranteed a appeal tothe Supreme Court of California, so you
can imagine how this creates a typeof bottlenecking effect where each one of these
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cases has to be assigned an attorney. Sometimes getting assigned that attorney can take
years. The attorneys then need timeto review all of that. That can
also take a tremendous amount of time. There's the briefing back and forth,
and then to ever even have thatappeal heard by the Supreme Court in California
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can take a tremendous amount of timetoo, So you're talking years and years
and years before these appeals are evenheard, and then if they are heard,
perhaps sometimes there are problems with thetrial. These trials are addressed with
incredible scrutiny and they take a longlook at everything that took place during the
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trial, and if there are issues, sometimes that needs to be re litigated.
Sometimes that needs to be rebriefed,and sometimes that even could lead to
a hearing back in court. Sojust the nature of going from the conviction
itself to the actual execution of thepunishment can take a tremendous amount of time,
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which leads to delays, which iswhy you don't, even when things
are running normally, see these executionstaking place with any kind of alacrity,
Josh, what lessons do you getout of this case? This case,
I think is a really good exampleof one the use of prior bad acts
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evidence, but also how that sametype of argument can be applied to charged
crimes and multiple charge crimes when you'retrying to essentially have the crimes cross corroborate
each other. And what I meanby that is that you can in each
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crime, highlight the similarities. Howthis person was obsessive, how he watched
these victims, how he lived closeto these victims, how in many cases
he tried to befriend them, howthey were all similar victims, and that
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they were attractive young women. Theactual execution of the murder, how it
was overkilled to some extent, thebrutality of it, the psychological aspect of
how these crimes seemed to be fora purpose beyond actually killing someone, that
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there was just so much carnage involvedin all of it. All of that
can be evidence that you can say, listen, look at these similarities,
and if you're having difficulty with onecrime, you can notice how that crime
is similar to another charged murder.And if you believe that that charged murder
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is stronger to connect to the defendant. You can allow those crimes to cross
corroborate each other and show, well, listen, we may not be able
to tie him as strongly to murderB as we are to murder A,
but the similarities between murder A andmurder B and the attack where the young
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lady miraculously survived are so similar thatwe can believe it was the same person
who committed all of these and youcan use that evidence in those separate murders
to corroborate the other murders. Andso I thought this case was an excellent
example of that, because they wereso remarkably similar, and the prosecution did
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such a great job of pointing thatout. How beyond the forensic physical evidence,
the DNA and blood tying him toall of this, just the actual
way these crimes were committed, theway that he pursued these victims, and
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the victims themselves all show that thiswas likely, beyond a reasonable doubt,
the same person who committed these murders. With a California case now adjudicated,
Garzulo's next battle will be in Illinois, where he faces charges for the nineteen
ninety three death of Tricia Picaccio.He's still in California awaiting extradition to Cook
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County before the new trial can begin. He continues to be innocent until proven
guilty of Picaccio's murder. Josh,what is the purpose of extra Gartulo to
Chicago to face charges for Tricia Boccaccio'smurder if he's already been found guilty and
(41:07):
sentenced to death in California. Obviously, there's the concerns about the family wanting
to bring justice for them. There'sthe more broad concerns about the prosecutors representing
the people of their state and wantingto make sure that justice is done for
the people of their state. Acrime was committed in Illinois, they want
(41:30):
someone to answer for that. Butthere's also the idea of just making sure
that thing slips through the cracks.I mean, God forbid Illinois were to
(41:50):
not secure a conviction on this case, and for whatever reason, on appeal
his conviction falls apart. In California, they want to make sure that there's
some redundancy there and some protection fromall of that. And you see this
happen all the time, where someoneis convicted and facing decades in prison.
(42:15):
In one jurisdiction, and they willextra item across the country to face very
similar charges for perhaps even less timein another jurisdiction. But putting aside all
of the reasons of justice and theconcerns of the victims, they also want
(42:37):
to make sure that they have abackup plan in case things fall apart on
appeal back to Maureen mah former correspondencefor forty eight hours which help crack the
Baccaccio case open. Maureen, whatstood out to you about the trial as
we look ahead to the Cook Countycase. I think the thing that stood
(42:59):
out to me the most about thattrial and continues to I am in awe
by how many people it took toget this guy convicted when there was evidence
they were just It took so manypeople to get this guy convicted. You
(43:22):
had to have each one of thecases presented. You had to have each
jurisdiction working together. You had tohave friends and witnesses and families and communication
and people who would never normally talkto each other, who would have no
reason to be in touch with eachother, different police departments, family members
(43:44):
working together, family members across thecountry supporting each other. A young woman
who survived like it was just aherculean effort to get this guy convicted,
and all along he was puppeteering asystem that was set up to allow him
(44:05):
to manipulate it, and he's continuingto do it today. And it's not
just sim it's the system. Thereis no one person to blame other than
Guardula for the heinous acts that he'scommitted, but the manipulation and the system
faltering as a result, the factthat it took eleven years to get him
to court. Guardula was in LaCounty Jail longer than any other inmate awaiting
(44:30):
trial in the history of that countyjail, like back since the nineteen twenties,
and it took so long to gethim there, and then we had
the pandemic, and then it tooklonger to get the sentencing. It just
continues to blow my mind. Thena number of people it is taking to
(44:50):
get this guy convicted of crimes thathe we now know for sure he's been
convicted of committing and what he hasbeen charged with the killing of Tricia,
and I just I've never seen acourt case, a murder trial, a
murder case cases take the amount ofeffort it has taken and the commitment of
(45:15):
every single person along the way,the families, the cops, the prosecutors,
the friends, the commitment to staywith it, and unrelenting commitment to
get it done. I've just includingthe reporters. I mean not just myself,
but you have a handful of reporterswho've also been on it from the
(45:36):
beginning, who have also not letit go. And that's what it's going
to take to get him back herein Illinois and get him on trial here.
For the Picaccios, then that's whatit takes. Murder is murder,
and the way each one of thesewomen were taken from the world, and
you know, miraculously that Michelle Murphysurvived, It's hard to imagine one human
(45:59):
could portrayed this on another person.And of course, Ashley's friends had known
Michael Guardulo, and he'd been seenaround Michelle's apartment and seen around Maria Bruna's
apartment. But the Picaccios knew MichaelGuardulo. They had known him as a
young boy growing up in that neighborhood. And I think it's just a different
(46:23):
story for the Piccaccios who knew him. He was in their house and to
have to sit here and wait thislong. It's it was bad for everybody
in this case and hard for everyoneto wait. But I just think for
the Piccaccios, you know, Rickhas is a cancer survivor. Uh,
(46:44):
this is a couple that's not gettingany younger, and they now have grandchildren.
It's just time for them. Theywant to face this kid who's not
a kid anymore, but he wasa kid in their neighborhood that they knew.
They want to get the over anddone with and to move forward.
As Tommy said to me recently,like it's not closure. There's no closure,
(47:07):
And any murder victim's family will tellyou there's no closure. But don't
they deserve to at least get intocourt and find out what's going to happen.
Michelle Murphy and the Ellern and Brunofamilies did eventually get justice, but
they had to wait over a decadefor it. As Mark Lillianfeald told us,
(47:28):
detectives are also suspicious that Garzulo mayhave committed as many as ten other
murders, based on statements he madeduring recorded jailhouse interviews. As we look
ahead to the Baccaccio trial, thereare some key questions for Cook County prosecutors
(47:49):
to answer. The DNA evidence fromTricia Boccaccio's fingernails, the way it was
collected, and the casual contact theorywill no doubt be a big part of
the trial. We also heard aboutanother suspect in the early stages of the
investigation, before Garzula was even namedas a suspect. Is it possible there
(48:13):
could be another person who's to blamefor Tricia's murder? Doug Lungini told us
the initial suspect's family had indicated theythought he was responsible for the murder,
and Garzula himself was originally questioned aboutsomeone else's involvement. How much will be
made of Cook County's original decision notto prosecute Garzulo, and how will Garzulo
(48:39):
being found guilty of the California murdersplaying to Tricia Bocaccio's trial. California prosecutors
use the prior bad act statue tohelp prove Garzulu's guilt in multiple murders,
Will Cook County be able to usesimilar tactics to prove Guardulo kill Tricia by
(49:00):
Scaccio. We'll continue to follow theGarjula case headed into the Cook County trial
and hopefully Tricia Boccaccio's family finally getsanswers to the question they've been asking for
the last thirty years since Tricia's deathin nineteen ninety three. Thank you for
listening, and thanks to all ouramazing guests Doug Lnghini, Mark Mester,
(49:25):
Joshua Ritter, Mark Lillianfeld, DarrylLowe, Tom Small, doctor Kristen Middleman,
and Maureen Maher. Special thanks toAssistant Deputy La County District Attorneys Dan
Aikman and Garrett Damerin. I'm KellyHymen and this has been Once Upon a
(49:46):
Crime in Hollywood the Hollywood River.If you like this podcast, please go
(50:08):
to www. Once Upon a Crimein Hollywood dot com and you can listen
to our other podcast, Once Upona Crime in Hollywood, The Ronnie Chasin
Story, which is a fascinating storyabout a pr person in Beverly Hills,
California who was murdered and we walkyou through the ins and outs of that
(50:30):
murder. Also, please feel freeto reach out to me on social media.
You can catch me on Instagram,X and TikTok. I look forward
to connecting,
As the Hollywood Ripper trial began towrap up, the prosecution started to paint
a picture of Garzulo's guilt, hismindset before, during, and after the
murders, and perhaps the most controversialpiece of evidence that was introduced at the
trial. One of the last witnessesto testify in Maria Bruno's case was Detective
(00:31):
Troy Sella, a detective with theLos Angeles County Sheriff's Department Fraud and Cybercrime
High Tech Crime Unit. On topof the DNA evidence relating to Maria Bruno's
murder, there was also forensic evidencefound on Michael Garzulo's laptop, which was
seized when he was arrested. DetectiveSella testified that after conducting a forensic examination
(00:58):
of the laptop, he found threeinstances where Maria Bruno's name appeared a Google
search, a Google image search,and an article from crime Laboratory dot com
with the headline's modern day Jack theripper kill's former model Maria Bruno in California.
(01:19):
None of the other victims' names werefound on the computer, but notably,
Garjulo also had a program called trasEraser Pro, which was designed to
delete Internet, cash search history andother information stored on a computer. Sella
testified that the program was configured torun every time the computer was shut down.
(01:46):
As we touched on an episode forDetective Mark Lillianfeld of La County Sheriff's
Department investigated Bruno's murder. During Lillianfeld'stestimony, he detailed the crime scene,
as well as irving Bruno's cooperation withthe investigation. Lillianfeld also spoke about the
(02:07):
search for Garzulo's two work fans.Police had a warrant to search the vans,
but eventually found them in Palmdale,a few miles from where Michael lived.
Emptied and abandoned. The writing onthe side of the van reading GUS
the Plumber, plumbing and heating hadbeen removed from them. Both vans matched
(02:28):
the license plates of two parking citationsthat were at Michael Garzulo's apartment when it
was searched. Lilianfeld also conducted thePerkins operation while Garzulo was being held in
Almonte Jail after he was arrested forthe attack of Michelle Murphy. The operation
wound up being one of the mostcontroversial aspects of the trial. While being
(02:53):
held in jail. Two deputies withthe La County Sheriff's Department were placed into
the jail cell with Garzulo. Theyhad recording devices in the cell. The
purpose was to try to elicit statementsfrom Garzulo regarding the Eleren or Bruno murders.
(03:14):
Garzula would speak with detectives before beingput back in the cell. During
those conversations, Lilianfeldt and Detective TomSmall would give him false information about evidence
they had on him. Gardula wastold police had DNA evidence leaking him to
Bruno's murder, and that an eyewitnesssaw Garzulo going into her home the night
(03:39):
she was murdered. When Garzulo wentback to his cell, one of the
undercovered detectives, Dana Duncan, spokewith him for over forty two hours.
Among Guardulo's recorded omissions were that heknew both Eleren and Bruno, talking about
how he met Ellen in when shewas having car trouble. He also talked
(04:02):
about being in Mario Bruno's apartment multipletimes and looking into her window once,
which is the same story her neighborRobert Rasmussen told. On two occasions,
Garzulo seemed to reenact knife attacks withintimate details about both murders. When speaking
(04:23):
about the El Monte case, heshed doubt on the idea that the killer
could be left handed. After flushingthe toilet to drown out the audio,
he stood behind Detective Duncan and demonstratedwith downward and upward stabbing motions, attempting
to show that a right handed orleft handed killer would leave the same marks
(04:46):
in a body and that you couldnot tell the angle of the stab wounds.
Detective Duncan testified that at one pointGarzula walk from wall to wall with
one hand out ahead of him andreached out with one hand as if he
was grabbing someone around the face,pulling it to the side. With the
(05:09):
other hand, he made circular slicingmotions around what would be the victim's neck
area. On top of the detailsabout both murders, Garzulo also tried to
hatch an escape plan with both undercoverdetectives. He asked Detective Duncan to stand
(05:29):
on his shoulders as he looked outthe window to get a vision of the
parking lot, the location, andhow many police cars were in the area.
He also crafted two handcuffed shims outof a plastic spoon and talked about
his plan to disable the jailer witha throat punch to escape. Eventually,
(05:51):
the Perkins operation was terminated because thedetective speared someone might get hurt during Garzulo's
escape tempt. The defense argued thePerkins operation was a deceptive and manipulative police
tactic, saying that trying to gethim to confess to the murders was subterfuge.
(06:15):
The next stage of witnesses focused onGarzulo's past and specifically his mental state,
with neuropsychologists Deborah Buddings testifying for thedefense. Butddings testified that Garzulo was
in special education for most primary schooldue to behavioral issues, adding that he
(06:38):
had a tendency to be angry andengage in power struggles with adults. Another
defense witness psychologist, doctor Vian Castellano, diagnosed Garzulo with desociative identity disorder,
meaning he had multiple personalities. Let'sbring back Joshua Ritter, criminal defense attorney
(07:00):
and former Los Angeles County Deputy DistrictAttorney. Josh How could that diagnosis impact
his ability to be charged or toreceive the death penalty? The defense was
trying to use this to attack theintent element of premeditated murder. Premeditated murder,
(07:25):
every murder has two sides to it. There's the mental state, the
men's rehea, and then there's theact itself, because many times murders take
place, but the mental state iswhat dictates what degree of murder that can
(07:46):
be. You know, we seethings like manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, second
degree murder, those all have todo with varying degrees of intent. In
premeditated murder, you have to showthat there will malice a forethought, meaning
that they planned this, they intendedto commit this murder. It was premeditated.
(08:09):
And so by the defense entering theseevidence and elements of his psychological state,
they were attempting to cut away atthat mensrea, that mental state and
say he was suffering from these psychologicalmental disorders and therefore couldn't form that proper
(08:33):
intent, that premeditation for first degreemurder. It also, I think had
an intended role for the defense ontrying to chip away at a possible death
penalty verdict here, because jurors maybelieve that a person committed premeditated first degree
(09:01):
murder, but if they also believesome of this mental state mitigating evidence,
they might not want to hold thatperson responsible for the ultimate penalty that we
have in this country. In otherwords, they might say, we believe
you're guilty of murder. We don'tbelieve that you were insane. We don't
believe that you were suffering from somesort of mental defect or disease that didn't
(09:24):
allow you to form the proper mensrea to commit this crime. But we
also believe that you were perhaps disturbedenough that we don't believe that you should
suffer the death penalty. That couldhave been the twofold reason for the defense
bringing this evidence into the trial.Castellano also interviewed Garjulo's family members ahead of
(09:50):
the trial, who told her hesuffered from severe childhood trauma at the hands
of his parents and siblings from ayoung age. According to Castellano, Garzulo's
family members said he would be tiedup and left in a closet without food
or water for up to three daysuntil he was about eight years old.
(10:13):
She also told a story of Garzulo'smother an older brother punishing him by holding
his hands over a gas stove.His siblings told her when Garzulo was about
ten to twelve, they would tiehim to a tree and force him to
watch his older brother place fireworks intoa small animal and blow them up,
(10:37):
knowing he was passionate about animals.Around age thirteen, an older brother would
tie him to a chair and forcehim to watch videos of violent sexual behavior
towards women. Castellano also noted therewas a history of mental illness in Gardulo's
family. His father and siblings toldher an aunt and uncle on both sides
(11:03):
of his family had been diagnosed withparanoid schizophrenia, and his siblings had also
been diagnosed with mental illness and admittedto psychiatric facilities. To support the findings
of the doctors and psychological experts,the prosecution spoke to other witnesses from Gardulo's
past, including emotional testimony from twoof his ex girlfriends. One of them
(11:28):
dated Garzulo between two thousand and fiveand two thousand and six while he was
living in Almonte. They had beenseeing each other for six months, but
Garzulo would never let her meet hisfamily. She testified that on one occasion
the two got into an argument overhis reluctance to let her meet any of
(11:50):
his family. She accused him ofbeing in another relationship. According to her,
Garzulo became angry then raped her inthe back of the van was she
pled for him to stop. Heeventually did stop and drove her back home,
but she said Garzulo threatened to killher and her family if she told
(12:11):
anyone. Another of Gardulo's ex girlfriendtestified that Garzulo would tell her how he
could get away with murder because hestudied forensic science and knew how to get
rid of fingerprints. Another witness,Ashley Green, who lived in the same
apartment complex as Garzulo in Los Angeles, testified that Garzulo once knocked on her
(12:37):
door and asked if she knew howto defend herself if someone held a knife
to her. Then he pulled outa pocket knife, told her to open
it, and held it to herthroat from behind. She said, the
phone rang and Garzula left, tellingher, I see you're busy. The
final witnesses were focused on the mentalhealth evaluation from psychologist doctor Castellano and debates
(13:05):
over the diagnosis that Garzulo suffered fromdissociative identity disorder, as well as a
prosecution's own psychology expert doctor Robert Schugg. After a three month criminal trial,
the case finally moved on to closingarguments. In closing arguments, prosecutor Garrett
(13:26):
Damerin told jurors to focus on thecommon characteristics of the attacks on Tricia Picccaccio,
Ashley Ellern, Maria Bruno, andMichelle Murphy. He said Garzulo had
the mind of a serial killer,noting the eerie similarities between each of the
(13:46):
attacks. Damerin said a killer ishuman who makes mistakes and leaves his signature
on the murder he commits. Damerinfocused on Garzulo's attraction action to each of
the women, how he told theco worker that Michelle Murphy was hot and
that he was going to get withher, that he was fixated on Ashley
(14:09):
Ellern at a party. How oneof Garzulo's neighbors, Breton Dolson, said
Garzulo had spoken to him about MariaBruno, saying that's how I like him,
thin with large breast. He alsopointed to Garzulo's proximity to the victims
and knowledge of the neighborhood, aswell as his knowledge of each of the
(14:31):
women's home, having been inside threeof them, as well as advantage point
to see into Michelle Murphy and MarioBruno's window. Damarn argued this allowed Garzulo
to plan his attack, entries andexit, and how to remain undetected.
Damren also talked about Garzulo's strength andathleticism, arguing the killer in these caves
(14:58):
had to be capable committing such brutalstabbings. He detailed how Gardula was evidence
conscious, studying forensic serial killers andasking during his jailhouse interview if police could
check the dumps for evidence that wasthrown away, even attempting to escape,
(15:18):
which showed a level of guilt.Defense attorney Dale Reuben said Guardulo may have
been in a fugue state and didn'tknow where he was when he was in
Murphy's apartment. The defense team deniedGuardulo was responsible for the murders of Ashley
Ellern and Maria Bruno, arguing therewere others who had more reason to murder
(15:41):
both women and telling the jury theyshould find Guardulo not guilty if the evidence
had been established that some other personother than the defendant may have been involved
in the killings. Defense attorney DanielNardoni focused on the lack of physical evidence
(16:03):
tying Garzulo to either crime scene,and no eyewitnesses who saw him enter or
leave either location on the night ofthe murders. Nardoni pointed the finger of
Ellerin's murder to her apartment manager,Mark Durbin, who he said had sex
with Ashley before she was murdered andalso had a key to her apartment.
(16:27):
Nardoni added that Durbin was still inAshley's apartment when she took a shower,
and also when she took a phonecall at eight twenty four pm from Ashton
Kutcher. He argued Durbin was alsostill in the apartment when the neighbor Todd
Jackson, heard two screams while hewas walking his dog across the street around
(16:52):
eight thirty pm. He also suggestsit was the estrained husband of Maria Bruno,
Irving Bruno, who killed her inthe Elmonty apartment. Nardoni painted the
picture of an abusive marriage, notingMaria had left her husband and moved out
(17:14):
on her own into an Almonte apartment, where she told the manager that she
was concerned and in fear of herhusband. He also noted that Maria's blood
was found in Irving's car, andthat the gruesome nature of her murder was
personal. Perhaps the most shocking omissionin closing arguments came from Garzulo's lead attorney,
(17:40):
Dale Rubin, who admitted that theattack on Michelle Murphy was the only
count where the prosecution showed Michael Garzulowas in her apartment and attacked her.
Nardoni called the attack on Murphy theelephant in the courtroom, admitting the evidence
(18:00):
was much stronger in the Murphy case, but pleading with jurors to judge each
case separately. There was three phases, guilt, sanity, and sentencing.
After four days of deliberations, thejury reached a verdict. Michael Garzula was
(18:22):
found guilty of first degree murder inthe killing of twenty two year old Ashley
Ellern in her Hollywood home. Hewas found guilty of murdering thirty two year
old Maria Bruno in her Almonte apartment. Additionally, the jury found Garzulo guilty
(18:42):
in the attempted murder of twenty sixyear old Michelle Murphy in her Santa Monica
apartment. Garzula was also found guiltyof attempting to escape from jail after his
arrest. Both murder charges include specialcircumstance allegations of multiple murders and a murder
(19:03):
while lying in wait. Let's bringback criminal defense attorney Joshua Ritter. Josh
can you explain how lying in waitimpact a murder charge and what special circumstances
entails? When you hear about amurder being death penalty eligible, what they're
really talking about and the way thatthe law refers to it is as a
(19:26):
special circumstance murder, and what thatis referring to is that they're in California.
Are several enumerated and outlined special circumstancesthat can enhance a murder from a
first degree murder to a death penaltyeligible murder. These are things like multiple
(19:52):
murder. So a person who commitsyou know, more than one murder on
one incident, or has now beenarrested for having killed several different people murder
by torture, another one is lyingin wait. And what lying in wait
(20:14):
really means is that, beyond premeditation, beyond the planning of it, this
person actually went about hiding and waitingto trap that person. And the law
adds a special significance to that inthe sense that it does show an even
(20:41):
more culpable mens rea, an evenmore culpable mindset that yes, you thought
about killing this person. Yes perhapsthere was planning, but your planning went
to the point of actually lying inwait for this person. And in those
special circumstances, which have to beproven by the prosecution, they essentially become
(21:06):
another element of the crime. Ifthey are proven to a jury, and
the jury finds those special circumstances tobe true, that makes the case eligible
for the death penalty. Now,it's also the decision made beforehand by the
prosecution whether or not they will evenseek death. But even in a case
(21:26):
where they are not seeking the deathpenalty, if special circumstances are attached and
proved, that means that that personwill automatically be sentenced to life without parole.
And so it really ups the stakes, as it were, when it
comes to a murder case where yes, in many cases you're looking at twenty
(21:49):
five to life, sometimes more.Now you're talking about life without the possibility
parole or even possibly if the prosecutionseeks to pursue that penalty, the death
penalty. After delivering the verdict ofGardulo's guilt. The jury was now tasked
with determining whether Garzulo was seen atthe time of the crimes. The defense
(22:14):
relied on the testimony of psychologists doctorCastellano and her diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder.
Attorney Dale Rubin said when Gardula wasattacking Michelle Murphy, he cut himself
and suddenly he came to with noidea where he was or what he was
(22:34):
doing because he was in a dissociativestate, adding he was a little kid
back fighting monsters in his family home. Assistant District Attorney Garrett Damerin criticized doctor
Castellano's diagnosis of Guardulo, saying shewas bought and paid for after being paid
(22:56):
three hundred thousand dollars by the defensefor her services. Doctor Shugg, who
testified for the prosecution, was paidjust fifteen hundred for his testimony. He
completely disagreed with doctor Cassiolano's diagnosis,finding the only thing Guardulo suffered from was
anti personality disorder. Damer said thatwould actually enhance his ability to commit crimes.
(23:22):
He said, Garzulo is not thevictim, he is the victimizer.
It took the jury two days tocome to a decision. Judge Fiddler asked
twelve jurors if they believe Garzula wassane when he committed two first degree murders
and one attempted murder. All answeredyes. That left one more question to
(23:48):
be answered. Convicted of two countsof first degree murder, one count of
attempted murder, and attempting to escapefrom jail, and with special circumstance allegations
of lying in wait in committing multiplemurders, Guardula was facing a possible death
sentence. For the penalty phase.Witnesses included members of the Poccaccio family,
(24:15):
Ashy Ellerin's parents, Mike and CynthiaIrving Bruno, and three of Gardulo's ex
girlfriends. Michelle Murphy also spoke,as well as her husband. For the
defense, Doctor Castelano made another appearanceand the only member of Gardulo's family to
speak at the trial, his sonAndrew Gardulo. Doug Poccaccio, Triscia's younger
(24:42):
brother, testified his memory of findinghis sister dead remained as fresh as it
was at that time. He said, it almost gets to the point where
you feel like the reality of thesituation is a bad dream. And then
you wake up and you relive thecrushing despair that takes over you. And
(25:03):
it took over me that morning whenI saw her and I realized she was
completely lifeless and there was essentially nothingI could do to help her. Every
year of my life, I rememberit like it was yesterday. Ellren's mother
and other victim's family members also testifiedduring the penalty phase. When she learned
(25:27):
about the death of her daughter,Cynthia Eleron said, I fell to my
knees on the floor and started crawlingaround the bedroom on my hands and knees
like an animal, screaming. MikeEllren talked about having to give the news
to his wife. He said,the primal scream I will never stop hearing
(25:51):
that. Let's bring in Tom Small, retired LAPD homicide detective who investigates ate
it Ashley's murder. Tom, youhad close contact with the Ellern family over
the years, even to this day. What kind of impact did it have
on them? Well, as youmight, you know, I guess that
(26:17):
when something this shocking happens, theshock and the trauma and the anger set
in, and a lot of timesthe detective will we'll catch the brunt of
it because you're trying to work thecase, but you're getting a lot of
blowback and stuff from the family becausethey want to know what you're doing and
(26:40):
where you're at and all this stuff. But over the years I was able
to forge a very close relationship withthe others. In fact, now I
would say we're actually pretty good friends. I still have contact with them pretty
routinely, and the fact that Ispeak with the Pacatas from time to time.
But the Elleran family they to thisday, I mean, we can
(27:07):
talk about anything in life and what'sgoing on in their daily this and that,
and they talk about my family andstuff, but it always comes back
to the loss of Ashley, andthey are traumatized to this day as if
they just found the news out fromtwenty years ago. And it's, uh,
(27:33):
it's it's really it's really sad thedamage that a guy like Garjula does
to everybody involved, and I meaneverybody, friends, family in particular,
even the detectives and officers have todeal with this stuff. There's an indelible
mark and it stays with you.The other Rins have you know, they've
(27:59):
they've carried on with with their livesand but it's not the same. It
will never be the same for them. It's it's a it's a deep,
deep hole in their in their hearts. I believe they still have Ashley's ashes,
uh in a place at their home. I've been to their home several
times, and they keep I wouldn'tcall it an alter, but it's like
(28:23):
a place of respect where they theyhave Ashley. She's still with them,
but it's it's deeply hurtful, andbut we were able to to get through
the traumatic episode of it and nowhave have forged a bond of some type.
(28:47):
Her brother, Seth younger brother,he he really took it bad.
I mean it impacted his life adverselyfor several years. Uh he's back in
the fold. Uh he's back athome as far as I think, he's
still at home, and uh hewas living out of state at one point.
(29:11):
But it has severely impacted him.And in Cynthia and Mike elleryn they're
they're really I treat them like they'remy family, and they treat me the
same way. There's a real deepuh respect. I guess it's from the
(29:33):
common trauma of the whole circumstance.But I try to I try to help
them when they when they have thosebad times. Uh more and more often
it's it's a little more light.But they have their days when it just
it just hits them hard. Andand if they call me or I call
(29:55):
them on that particular day, Ican tell right away. So but it's
it's deeply hurtful as you can't imagine. I mean, that's it's not something
that the normal every day family orperson whatever experience. And to have that
(30:15):
happen to somebody in your family,your daughter, your only daughter, Ah,
that's that's a hit. So that'sthat's what I can say. There
is we've kept the bond and Ialways well, I always hold them pretty
(30:36):
close to the heart, and Iknow it's mutual. I can never imagine
how horrible it must be for thatfamily to lose their only daughter and to
have so much pain inside, tohave a beautiful daughter that had such a
(31:02):
bright future to be taken away bysomeone. And due to her involvement with
celebrities, there was a lot ofpress stories about her and the family having
(31:23):
to deal with that, not onlydeal with the press because of it,
but then also deal with the factthat they've lost their daughter and Ashley was
linked to Ashton Kutcher, which putthe story into the Hollywood tabloids. Because
(31:45):
of his fame, a lot wasmade about their relationship and how she was
seeing multiple men at the time andif that was the reason for her to
be murdered. Her parents had todeal with the murder of their daughter as
well of all that, Garzulo's sixteenyear old son also took the stand,
(32:09):
asking jurors for mercy and telling themhe needs a father who is alive.
In the end, the jury reacheda decision in less than five hours.
On October eighteen, two thousand andnineteen, the panel recommended Garzulo be given
the death penalty. Judge Larry Fiddlerordered Garzulo to return for formal sentencing on
(32:35):
February twenty eighth, but procedural delayson top of the emergence of COVID nineteen
caused a lengthy break in the trial. Finally, over a year later,
on July sixteenth, twenty twenty one, Judge Fiddler's sentence Garzulo to death for
the murders of Ellern and Bruno.He also gave Garzulo a life sentence.
(33:00):
The attempted murder of Michelle Murphy.The judge called Guardulo's crimes vicious and frightening,
adding that everywhere Gartulo goes, deathand destruction follow Gardulo, now forty
five, had a shaved head withhandcuffs and were orange La County jail overalls
(33:22):
and a blue mask. He showedno reaction when the decision was read.
Against his attorney's advice, Gartulo askedto address the court, telling the judge
he's been denied his fundamental right totestify. Judge Fiddler reminded Gartulo that he
waived the right to testify a trial, but Garzulo claimed that he wanted to
(33:45):
testify, but his attorneys wouldn't lethim, maintaining his innocence and claiming he
was framed by tunnel vision detectives.Judge Fiddler also denied the defense motion for
a new trial, noting that thejury had rejected Gartulo's insanity plead and his
attorney's claim that somebody else killed thetwo women. The defense asked for mercy,
(34:09):
arguing Gartula was mentally ill and pointingout California has a moratorium on executions,
with the last person to be executedin two thousand and six. Josh,
can you explain the current state ofcapital punishment in California and why hasn't
anyone facing the death penalty been executedsince two thousand and six. Well,
(34:32):
first of all, the Governor ofCalifornia, Gavin Newsom, has essentially put
a moratorium on the death penalty.Interestingly enough, different propositions have come before
the voters of California more than onceasking to essentially recall the death penalty and
(34:54):
not make it available in California,And each time that that's been done,
the voters have said that they wantthe death penalty on the books, they
want that to be part of thecriminal justice system in California. The governor,
however, has decided to essentially ignoreall that and put a moratorium on
(35:17):
the death penalty, meaning that nocase that even has a capital punishment verdict,
no actual executions are being carried out. But aside from kind of the
politics of all of this, there'salso an incredible backlog when it comes to
(35:42):
death penalty cases. Every case wherethere has been a capital punishment death penalty
verdict is automatically guaranteed a appeal tothe Supreme Court of California, so you
can imagine how this creates a typeof bottlenecking effect where each one of these
(36:06):
cases has to be assigned an attorney. Sometimes getting assigned that attorney can take
years. The attorneys then need timeto review all of that. That can
also take a tremendous amount of time. There's the briefing back and forth,
and then to ever even have thatappeal heard by the Supreme Court in California
(36:30):
can take a tremendous amount of timetoo, So you're talking years and years
and years before these appeals are evenheard, and then if they are heard,
perhaps sometimes there are problems with thetrial. These trials are addressed with
incredible scrutiny and they take a longlook at everything that took place during the
(36:51):
trial, and if there are issues, sometimes that needs to be re litigated.
Sometimes that needs to be rebriefed,and sometimes that even could lead to
a hearing back in court. Sojust the nature of going from the conviction
itself to the actual execution of thepunishment can take a tremendous amount of time,
(37:15):
which leads to delays, which iswhy you don't, even when things
are running normally, see these executionstaking place with any kind of alacrity,
Josh, what lessons do you getout of this case? This case,
I think is a really good exampleof one the use of prior bad acts
(37:37):
evidence, but also how that sametype of argument can be applied to charged
crimes and multiple charge crimes when you'retrying to essentially have the crimes cross corroborate
each other. And what I meanby that is that you can in each
(38:01):
crime, highlight the similarities. Howthis person was obsessive, how he watched
these victims, how he lived closeto these victims, how in many cases
he tried to befriend them, howthey were all similar victims, and that
(38:22):
they were attractive young women. Theactual execution of the murder, how it
was overkilled to some extent, thebrutality of it, the psychological aspect of
how these crimes seemed to be fora purpose beyond actually killing someone, that
(38:50):
there was just so much carnage involvedin all of it. All of that
can be evidence that you can say, listen, look at these similarities,
and if you're having difficulty with onecrime, you can notice how that crime
is similar to another charged murder.And if you believe that that charged murder
(39:13):
is stronger to connect to the defendant. You can allow those crimes to cross
corroborate each other and show, well, listen, we may not be able
to tie him as strongly to murderB as we are to murder A,
but the similarities between murder A andmurder B and the attack where the young
(39:36):
lady miraculously survived are so similar thatwe can believe it was the same person
who committed all of these and youcan use that evidence in those separate murders
to corroborate the other murders. Andso I thought this case was an excellent
example of that, because they wereso remarkably similar, and the prosecution did
(39:59):
such a great job of pointing thatout. How beyond the forensic physical evidence,
the DNA and blood tying him toall of this, just the actual
way these crimes were committed, theway that he pursued these victims, and
(40:20):
the victims themselves all show that thiswas likely, beyond a reasonable doubt,
the same person who committed these murders. With a California case now adjudicated,
Garzulo's next battle will be in Illinois, where he faces charges for the nineteen
ninety three death of Tricia Picaccio.He's still in California awaiting extradition to Cook
(40:45):
County before the new trial can begin. He continues to be innocent until proven
guilty of Picaccio's murder. Josh,what is the purpose of extra Gartulo to
Chicago to face charges for Tricia Boccaccio'smurder if he's already been found guilty and
(41:07):
sentenced to death in California. Obviously, there's the concerns about the family wanting
to bring justice for them. There'sthe more broad concerns about the prosecutors representing
the people of their state and wantingto make sure that justice is done for
the people of their state. Acrime was committed in Illinois, they want
(41:30):
someone to answer for that. Butthere's also the idea of just making sure
that thing slips through the cracks.I mean, God forbid Illinois were to
(41:50):
not secure a conviction on this case, and for whatever reason, on appeal
his conviction falls apart. In California, they want to make sure that there's
some redundancy there and some protection fromall of that. And you see this
happen all the time, where someoneis convicted and facing decades in prison.
(42:15):
In one jurisdiction, and they willextra item across the country to face very
similar charges for perhaps even less timein another jurisdiction. But putting aside all
of the reasons of justice and theconcerns of the victims, they also want
(42:37):
to make sure that they have abackup plan in case things fall apart on
appeal back to Maureen mah former correspondencefor forty eight hours which help crack the
Baccaccio case open. Maureen, whatstood out to you about the trial as
we look ahead to the Cook Countycase. I think the thing that stood
(42:59):
out to me the most about thattrial and continues to I am in awe
by how many people it took toget this guy convicted when there was evidence
they were just It took so manypeople to get this guy convicted. You
(43:22):
had to have each one of thecases presented. You had to have each
jurisdiction working together. You had tohave friends and witnesses and families and communication
and people who would never normally talkto each other, who would have no
reason to be in touch with eachother, different police departments, family members
(43:44):
working together, family members across thecountry supporting each other. A young woman
who survived like it was just aherculean effort to get this guy convicted,
and all along he was puppeteering asystem that was set up to allow him
(44:05):
to manipulate it, and he's continuingto do it today. And it's not
just sim it's the system. Thereis no one person to blame other than
Guardula for the heinous acts that he'scommitted, but the manipulation and the system
faltering as a result, the factthat it took eleven years to get him
to court. Guardula was in LaCounty Jail longer than any other inmate awaiting
(44:30):
trial in the history of that countyjail, like back since the nineteen twenties,
and it took so long to gethim there, and then we had
the pandemic, and then it tooklonger to get the sentencing. It just
continues to blow my mind. Thena number of people it is taking to
(44:50):
get this guy convicted of crimes thathe we now know for sure he's been
convicted of committing and what he hasbeen charged with the killing of Tricia,
and I just I've never seen acourt case, a murder trial, a
murder case cases take the amount ofeffort it has taken and the commitment of
(45:15):
every single person along the way,the families, the cops, the prosecutors,
the friends, the commitment to staywith it, and unrelenting commitment to
get it done. I've just includingthe reporters. I mean not just myself,
but you have a handful of reporterswho've also been on it from the
(45:36):
beginning, who have also not letit go. And that's what it's going
to take to get him back herein Illinois and get him on trial here.
For the Picaccios, then that's whatit takes. Murder is murder,
and the way each one of thesewomen were taken from the world, and
you know, miraculously that Michelle Murphysurvived, It's hard to imagine one human
(45:59):
could portrayed this on another person.And of course, Ashley's friends had known
Michael Guardulo, and he'd been seenaround Michelle's apartment and seen around Maria Bruna's
apartment. But the Picaccios knew MichaelGuardulo. They had known him as a
young boy growing up in that neighborhood. And I think it's just a different
(46:23):
story for the Piccaccios who knew him. He was in their house and to
have to sit here and wait thislong. It's it was bad for everybody
in this case and hard for everyoneto wait. But I just think for
the Piccaccios, you know, Rickhas is a cancer survivor. Uh,
(46:44):
this is a couple that's not gettingany younger, and they now have grandchildren.
It's just time for them. Theywant to face this kid who's not
a kid anymore, but he wasa kid in their neighborhood that they knew.
They want to get the over anddone with and to move forward.
As Tommy said to me recently,like it's not closure. There's no closure,
(47:07):
And any murder victim's family will tellyou there's no closure. But don't
they deserve to at least get intocourt and find out what's going to happen.
Michelle Murphy and the Ellern and Brunofamilies did eventually get justice, but
they had to wait over a decadefor it. As Mark Lillianfeald told us,
(47:28):
detectives are also suspicious that Garzulo mayhave committed as many as ten other
murders, based on statements he madeduring recorded jailhouse interviews. As we look
ahead to the Baccaccio trial, thereare some key questions for Cook County prosecutors
(47:49):
to answer. The DNA evidence fromTricia Boccaccio's fingernails, the way it was
collected, and the casual contact theorywill no doubt be a big part of
the trial. We also heard aboutanother suspect in the early stages of the
investigation, before Garzula was even namedas a suspect. Is it possible there
(48:13):
could be another person who's to blamefor Tricia's murder? Doug Lungini told us
the initial suspect's family had indicated theythought he was responsible for the murder,
and Garzula himself was originally questioned aboutsomeone else's involvement. How much will be
made of Cook County's original decision notto prosecute Garzulo, and how will Garzulo
(48:39):
being found guilty of the California murdersplaying to Tricia Bocaccio's trial. California prosecutors
use the prior bad act statue tohelp prove Garzulu's guilt in multiple murders,
Will Cook County be able to usesimilar tactics to prove Guardulo kill Tricia by
(49:00):
Scaccio. We'll continue to follow theGarjula case headed into the Cook County trial
and hopefully Tricia Boccaccio's family finally getsanswers to the question they've been asking for
the last thirty years since Tricia's deathin nineteen ninety three. Thank you for
listening, and thanks to all ouramazing guests Doug Lnghini, Mark Mester,
(49:25):
Joshua Ritter, Mark Lillianfeld, DarrylLowe, Tom Small, doctor Kristen Middleman,
and Maureen Maher. Special thanks toAssistant Deputy La County District Attorneys Dan
Aikman and Garrett Damerin. I'm KellyHymen and this has been Once Upon a
(49:46):
Crime in Hollywood the Hollywood River.If you like this podcast, please go
(50:08):
to www. Once Upon a Crimein Hollywood dot com and you can listen
to our other podcast, Once Upona Crime in Hollywood, The Ronnie Chasin
Story, which is a fascinating storyabout a pr person in Beverly Hills,
California who was murdered and we walkyou through the ins and outs of that
(50:30):
murder. Also, please feel freeto reach out to me on social media.
You can catch me on Instagram,X and TikTok. I look forward
to connecting,
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