Repairman denies killing actor’s former girlfriend

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An air conditioning repairman pleaded not guilty Thursday to the stabbing deaths of two women, including a former girlfriend of actor Ashton Kutcher.

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 32-year-old Maria Bruno in Monterey Park, prosecutors said.

“He is adamant he was not involved,” said Gargiulo’s attorney, Anthony Salerno.

No decision has been made on whether to seek the death penalty, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.

Ellerin was found dead in February 2001 in her Hollywood Hills home. Bruno was fatally stabbed in her apartment in December 2005.

Gargiulo pleaded not guilty to the charges when he appeared in court Thursday as part of a separate case in which he is charged with attempted murder and burglary in an April 28 knife attack on a Santa Monica woman.

Gargiulo was arrested in July and is being held in lieu of $1.1 million bail in connection with the attack on the Santa Monica woman who awoke to an intruder wielding a knife. Through his lawyer, Gargiulo also has denied involvement in that attack.

In all three cases, Gargiulo lived near the victims, and the women were stabbed in their homes, police said.

Authorities suspect Gargiulo may have committed similar attacks.

“We’re interested in hearing from anyone who’s even loosely connected with this guy,” said sheriff’s Detective Mark Lillienfeld.

In the 2001 case, Kutcher told police he went to pick up Ellerin, a fashion student-model, for a post-Grammy Awards party, but she did not 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.

Kutcher starred in the television series “That ’70s Show” and is married to actress Demi Moore.

Police have said Gargiulo might be linked to another killing that occurred in 1993 in the Chicago suburb of Glenview. High school senior Tricia Pacaccio was found stabbed on her doorstep, clutching her door key.

John Gorman, spokesman for the Cook County State Attorney’s Office, said Thursday the investigation remained open and he could not comment further.

Salerno said his client, a native of Illinois, denies any connection to that crime.

LeAnn Rimes: ‘We’re Ready’ for Baby

 

With their anniversary fast approaching, LeAnn Rimes and Dean Sheremet knew just how to scratch their “seven-year itch”: with a party – and soon, perhaps, a baby.

The country star and her husband invited 30 of their closest friends to celebrate their upcoming seventh wedding anniversary – and Rimes’s 26th birthday on Aug. 28 – at the Calistoga Ranch in California’s Napa Valley.

“We wanted to remember how blessed we are, and how excited we still are about each other,” says Rimes, who was just 19 when she wed Sheremet, now 27, on Feb. 23, 2002. (They decided to celebrate early to take advantage of the warm weather and Rimes’s birthday.)

The three-day festivities culminated with a seven-course dinner and an evening of dancing on Saturday night.

“My ankles and my feet hurt because I was jumping around on the dance floor so much!” she says.

Looking ahead, the couple say they are eager to begin a new chapter of their lives together: parenthood.

“We’re ready, definitely,” says Rimes, adding that they’ve gotten some friendly nudging from their pal and new dad Keith Urban.

Says Rimes: “He’s encouraging us to start gettin’ on it!”

Friends Remember Dr. Dre’s Son

 

Friends and loved ones are still feeling the aftershocks of the sudden death of rapper and music mogul Dr. Dre’s 20-year-old son Andre Young Jr. But those closest to him will always remember him as a happy guy who had an optimistic outlook on life.

“He always had a smile on his face,” Sarah Steinhorn, Young’s former classmate at Stoneridge Preparatory in Simi Valley, Calif., tells PEOPLE, “even when something bad would happen, like if he didn’t pass a test or didn’t do as well as he wanted to. He always looked at the positive side.

“I remember him liking to go to parties in high school but not for the reasons that people think,” said Steinhorn. “It was never about drugs or alcohol with him. He just really enjoyed being around people, talking and interacting and meeting new people.”

Young was discovered “unresponsive” by his mother at his home in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Aug. 23 after spending the previous evening out with friends. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

As for what happened that night, the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner said there were no signs of trauma or foul play and toxicology tests have been ordered.

Rapper Xzibit, a longtime Dr. Dre friend, tells PEOPLE he’s “giving him his space to cope and when he’s ready, that’s when I’ll step in and do whatever he asks.”

Xzibit experienced his own tragic loss when his newborn son Xavier died last May when he was less than two weeks old.

“It’s unexplainable to someone who has never experienced it, how it feels to bury your child,” Xzibit told PEOPLE. “I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. It just makes me hold on to the child I have even tighter because life is never promised. So I’m sure Dre is holding on tighter.”

Dr. Dre has four other children: sons Curtis, 26, Marcel, 17, and Truth, 11, and daughter Truly, 7.

Samantha Slams Lindsay’s Dad

 

Samantha Ronson has trashed reports that she’s planning to write a tell-all about Lindsay Lohan. And she’s lashing out at the actress’s dad, Michael, for his recent comments on their relationship.

“I am not the reason that he has no contact with his daughter – he is,” she writes on her MySpace page. She adds that the Lohan patriarch is “so desperate for attention that he goes to the media whenever possible.”

The rant follows Michael recent disses in the press. “Samantha is using my daughter,” he told E! News, as reports swirled that Ronson was planning a memoir. “People never even knew who Samantha Ronson was until she met Lindsay. She was just some Los Angeles DJ. And now she’s writing a book?”

But Ronson swears she has no plans to pen a book. “There is not now and never will be a tell-all … written by me,” she says archly. She then pointedly adds, “When does your book come out Mr. Lohan?”

As for Lindsay, she seems to be similarly fed up with her father’s loose lips.

“He’s out of control,” the actress told Access Hollywood from the set of Ugly Betty, where she’s filming several guest appearances. “I want him to stop … talking to the media about the people I love.”

In the end, Ronson said she has not interest in mud-slinging. “I feel no need to publicly defend my role in Lindsay’s life,” the DJ writes. “I’m just sorry that [Lindsay] likes me more than him.”

Nicollette Sheridan & Michael Bolton End Engagement

Nicollette Sheridan and Michael Bolton are again going their separate ways, a rep for the actress tells PEOPLE exclusively.

“Nicollette Sheridan and Michael Bolton have amicably ended their engagement,” said Nicole Perna. “They appreciate your respect for their privacy in this matter.”

The couple’s relationship originally started in 1992, and lasted for five years.
The musician, now 55, and the Desperate Housewives star, 44, then resumed seeing one another in 2005 – and in March 2006 had announced their wedding engagement.

Matt Damon and His Wife Welcome a Girl

 

It’s another girl for Matt Damon and his wife, Luciana, his rep tells PEOPLE.

“Matt and Lucy Damon had a baby girl named Gia Zavala on Wednesday, Aug. 20th. Everyone’s doing great,” Damon’s rep, Jennifer Allen, tells PEOPLE. “She is a healthy baby girl.”

The newest addition is the third little girl in the Damon household, joining big sisters Isabella, 2, and Alexia, 10.

Damon recently joked about living with so many females, telling USA Today from his home in Miami, “I’m so outnumbered down here, it’s crazy.”

Damon, 37, and Luciana, 32, met in Miami Beach in 2003 while he was filming the comedy Stuck on You. They married in December 2005 at City Hall in Manhattan.

Damon is a “phenomenal” father, his close pal George Clooney told PEOPLE in 2007. “He absolutely adores those kids. He’s doing it really well.”

Damon, PEOPLE’s reigning Sexiest Man Alive, is currently preparing for re-shoots on his thriller Green Zone. But after that, the actor will enjoy some down time with his growing brood.

“[I'm] taking the rest of the year off,” he told USA Today. “I’m just hanging out with my family.”

Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams’ Rekindled Flame?

Better cover your ears, because high-pitched cries of “squee!” are sure to erupt now that it’s become clear the recent reunion between Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams wasn’t just a one-off. Rachel and Ryan celebrate their Best Kiss win at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards with an even better one. Just days after the Best Kiss-winning “Notebook” lovebirds were reportedly spotted looking couple-y in Toronto, Us has officially declared them back on. “They’ve been talking a lot,” an insider tells the magazine. “Their friends are quite pleased that they’re getting back together and are trying to give them space.” While their reps aren’t commenting, Gosling and McAdams, who split in April of 2007 after nearly two years of low-key togetherness, sure seem to be back in the romantic swing of things. On Monday night, they were spied holding hands at a Toronto eatery, and their digits remained entwined the following afternoon as they ran some errands, says Canada’s LaineyGossip.com. These sightings come three weeks after the cuter-than-a-fluffy-kitten-cuddling-a-baby-bunny Canadian pair was photographed exiting a Los Angeles hot spot following the actor’s DJ debut. “They talked when he was away from the deejay stand,” a mole told People at the time. “They really looked like good pals. He seemed happy to see her.” Gosling had nothing but kind words to say about McAdams in the wake of their breakup, referring to her as “one of the great loves of my life” in the November issue of GQ. But he admitted it wasn’t easy trying to live up to the twoo wuv forever ideal of their “Notebook” alter egos Noah and Allie. “People do Rachel and me a disservice by assuming we were anything like the people in that movie,” explained Ryan. “Rachel and my love story is a hell of a lot more romantic than that.” It didn’t start out that way — they hated each other during filming of the three-hanky tearjerker. “We inspired the worst in each other,” conceded the actor to the London Guardian in February 2007. “It was a strange experience, making a love story and not getting along with your co-star in any way.” When they parted ways, “The only thing I remember is we both went down swingin’ and we called it a draw,” Gosling told GQ. The bust-up left fans “mad,” he said, to the point where “a girl came up to me on the street and she almost smacked me. Like, ‘How could you? How could you let a girl like that go?’ I feel like I want to give people hugs, they seem so sad. Rachel and I should be the ones getting hugs! Instead, we’re consoling everybody else.”

Hairspray’s Amanda Bynes Involved in Minor Car Accident

 

Amanda Bynes, 22, was involved in a minor car accident Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles, police confirm. There were no major injuries.

“Ms. Bynes was driving a BMW when she made an unsafe turn and another car hit her,” LAPD Sgt. Murrel Pettway told PEOPLE. “It was determined that she was at fault, but no crime was committed.”

“The other driver complained of minor injuries,” Sgt. Pettway added. “Drugs and alcohol were not involved. It was just a typical car accident. There was no serious damage to either vehicle.”

Ricky Martin becomes a father for the first time

Ricky Martin may have shaken his “bon-bon” for many years as a worldwide pop sensation, but friends of the Latin singer have no doubt he can settle down and be a great father to his new twin boys.

“I know Ricky will be as good a papi as he is a dancer,” says Rene Ruiz, a Miami based fashion designer and friend of Martin. “His kids will be livin’ la vida loca!”

Another Miami friend agrees: “Ricky is a very giving person, and will make a wonderful parent. He has wanted his own children for quite a while.”–

While Martin’s fatherhood – via gestational surrogacy, his rep confirms – came as a surprise to most of the world, the singer told PEOPLE he planned to be a father long before the twins’ arrival.

“I would love to have children of my own because I know I can offer them a good life,” he said at a Latin Music festival in Miami in 2005. “I genuinely like kids.”

Martin is known for his generosity to children’s charities over the years through his Ricky Martin Foundation, ALAS, and the International Organization for Migration.

He also supported children affected by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Gwen Stefani & Gavin Rossdale Have a Boy!

 

It’s a rock band in the making: Gwen Stefani and her rocker husband Gavin Rossdale welcomed their second child, a son, on Thursday in Los Angeles, PEOPLE has learned.

Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale was born at 12:46 p.m. and weighed 8 1/2 lbs. He joins the couple’s other son Kingston, who turned 2 in May.

“Kingston, Gwen and Gavin Rossdale welcomed the newest member of their family,” they say in a statement. “Mother, baby and family are all happy and healthy.

Stefani, 38, who is one of four children herself, has spoken openly about her hope for more children. “I’m in a race to have another,” she told InStyle last year before announcing her pregnancy.

The No Doubt singer, also the designer behind the L.A.M.B and Harajuku Lovers fashion lines, told the magazine that Rossdale is “super into being a dad.”

Rossdale, 42, also told PEOPLE that the couple planned to follow friends’ advice and get a gift for Kingston so he didn’t feel left out when his new sibling arrived. “Apparently when the baby comes home, you’ve got to bring a really good present for Kingston,” he said