Because of his connection to the victim of a homicide case, Two and a Half Men star Ashton Kutcher testified in the murder trial of the alleged killer. Taking place in 2001, the murder of Ashley Ellerin occurred when Kutcher was pursuing a romantic relationship with her at the time she was killed. Nicknamed the "Hollywood Ripper," accused murderer Michael Gargiulo is now on trial for the crime, and Kutcher took to the stand on Wednesday to speak about what he saw when he arrived to Ellerin's home for a date on the night she was murdered. The actor's testimony suggests Ellerin had been killed before he arrived, though he didn't realize things were seriously wrong until he learned about the homicide.

According to Kutcher, he had spoken to Ellerin on her friend's cell phone at 8:24 p.m. that evening and informed her he was running late. "I recall the time because our phones were very old and I showed the detective the phone number of the friend and it said 8:24 p.m.," Kutcher explained. At around 10 p.m., Kutcher tried calling Ellerin back on both her phone and her friend's phone but was unable to reach her. He then drove to her home, arriving between 10:30 and 10:45 p.m. to find the security gate open. After knocking on the door, however, there was no response.

In his testimony, Kutcher says he initially thought Ellerin had left with her friend, though he noticed the lights in the home were still on. After knocking again still brought about no response, Kutcher took a peek through the window, noticing it appeared to be messy inside. "I saw what i thought was red wine on the carpet," Kutcher revealed, believing it may have been spilled wine from a house party. After leaving without incident, Kutcher later called the police after learning about the murder, as he was "freaking out" about leaving his fingerprints on the door handle. To be clear, the police claim they've never considered Kutcher a suspect in the investigation.

In addition to Ellerin's murder, Gargiulo is also being charged with the killing of another young woman, Maria Bruno. Police were able to zone in on him after the attempted murder of would-be victim Michelle Murphy in 2008 went wrong, as Gargiulo had cut himself while trying to stab Murphy. Investigators were then able to link his DNA to the murders of Ellerin and Bruno, and prosecutors are seeking the maximum penalty of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

While Gargiulo's fate ultimately has yet to be officially decided upon, hopefully the result will bring about some closure for the families of the victims. As for Kutcher, that certainly must have been a horrifying ordeal, as that night could have turned out very differently if he hadn't been running late. Perhaps his testimony will aid in bringing about some justice for Ashley Ellerin and Maria Bruno. This information comes to us from CNN.