A Californian air conditioning repairman pleaded not guilty today to the stabbing deaths of two women, including a former girlfriend of US actor Ashton Kutcher, now married to actress Demi Moore.
Michael Thomas Gargiulo, 32, of Santa Monica faces two counts of murder and two counts of burglary in connection with the killings of 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin, Kutcher's former girlfriend, and Maria Bruno in Monterey Park, prosecutors said.
Ellerin was found dead in February 2001 in her Hollywood Hills home. Bruno was fatally stabbed in 2005.
Gargiulo pleaded not guilty when he appeared in court as part of a separate case.
"He is adamant he was not involved," his lawyer Anthony Salerno said.
No decision has been made on whether to seek the death penalty, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.
Gargiulo was arrested in July and is being held in connection with an April 28 knife attack on a Santa Monica woman over which he is facing attempted murder and burglary charges.
Police said DNA evidence collected from that crime scene helped link Gargiulo to the two killings.
Kutcher, who starred in the television series That '70s Show, told police he went to pick up the fashion student-model for a post-Grammy Awards party, but she didn't answer the door.
He checked a back window and spotted what he thought were red wine stains on the carpet and then left. Her body was discovered the next day by a friend.
Police have said Gargiulo might be linked to another killing that occurred in 1993 in a Chicago suburb.
High school student Tricia Pacaccio was found stabbed on her doorstep, clutching her door key.
Gargiulo, originally from Illinois, denies any connection to Pacaccio's death.
