IN THE SPOTLIGHT
R. Kelly judge to proceed to trial despite new cases
CHICAGO >> An Illinois judge overseeing singer R. Kelly’s sexual-abuse case says he’ll proceed toward a trial despite three new cases being brought against Kelly.
Cook County Judge Lawrence Flood noted Thursday at a status hearing that a federal case in Chicago, one in New York and a Minnesota case have all been brought since July. Kelly has denied any wrongdoing.
Flood asked attorneys if there’s agreement about which of the four cases should proceed first. When a prosecutor said that hadn’t been decided, Flood said he’d proceed for now as if no other cases existed.
The multiple cases complicate moving Kelly from a downtown Chicago jail to different hearings. A defense lawyer said Kelly didn’t appear Thursday because of transportation issues.
Flood said he wanted Kelly at his next status hearing, on Sept. 17.
Jury finds man guilty in California serial killing case
LOS ANGELES >> A jury on Thursday found an aspiring actor who was described by prosecutors as a serial killer guilty of fatally stabbing two women and attempting to kill a third in their Southern California homes.
After three days of deliberations, the Los Angeles jury reached the verdict against 43-year-old Michael Gargiulo, who is also awaiting trial for a similar killing in Illinois in 1993.
Gargiulo was convicted in the murder of 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin, in her Hollywood home in 2001 on a night when she was supposed to have drinks with Ashton Kutcher, who testified at the trial. Her father sat in court for the verdict,
Gargiulo was also convicted of the 2005 murder of 32-year old Maria Bruno in her El Monte home, and with the 2008 attempted murder of Michelle Murphy, who fought off her attacker in her Santa Monica apartment and forced him to flee.
Jurors also found that Gargiulo was guilty of several special-circumstance allegations, including lying in wait and multiple murders, that make him eligible for the death penalty or life in prison with no possibility of parole.
A final phase of the trial is set to start Tuesday, with jurors to determine whether Gargiulo was sane at the time of the killings.
Gargiulo sat in court in a lavender dress shirt and slacks with eight sheriff’s deputies standing behind him. He showed no reaction as the clerk read the verdict.
His attorneys declined comment outside court. Prosecutors and victims’ family members did not speak to reporters.
A native of the Chicago area who moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990s, Gargiulo had acting aspirations and worked as an air conditioning repair man and Hollywood nightclub bouncer at the time of the attacks.
With little physical evidence tying him to the scenes of two murders, prosecutors urged jurors to look at the cases connectively, citing uncannily similar patterns in attacks that were all in places near his residence at the time. They dubbed him the “Boy Next Door Killer.”