'Boy Next Door Killer' to get death penalty or life sentence

A judge is scheduled to hand down a sentence nearly two years after a jury recommended execution for a man convicted of the home-invasion murders of two women in Southern California

LOS ANGELES -- Nearly two years after a jury recommended execution for a man prosecutors called “The Boy Next Door Killer,” a judge is set to hand down a sentence Friday. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry P. Fidler will choose between a death sentence and life in prison without the possibility of parole for Michael Thomas Gargiulo, 45, who was convicted in August 2019 of the home-invasion murders of two women and the attempted murder of a third. His case received added attention because one of his victims was about to go on a date with actor Ashton Kutcher, who testified at the trial. A jury recommended his execution in October 2019, but the pandemic and procedural issues forced several delays in his sentencing.