Guilty Verdict In Trial Of 'Hollywood Ripper,' Also Charged With Murdering A Chicago-Area Teenager In 1993

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A guilty verdict was handed down Thursday in the Los Angeles murder trial of an air conditioning repairman dubbed "the Hollywood Ripper" charged with the stabbing deaths of two Los Angeles women.

Michael Gargiulo was found guilty of two counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

He is also charged in the death of a suburban Chicago teenager.

Once the L.A. trial is over, Gargiulo will be sent back to Illinois to face murder charges for the Illinois death.

"After the conclusion of Gargiulo's trial in California, the State's Attorney's Office intends to seek Gargiulo's extradition to Illinois for further proceedings," Tandra Simonton, the chief communicatins officer for State's Attorney Kim Foxx, said in a statement.

The 43-year-old Gargiulo originally pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and an attempted-murder charge stemming from attacks in the Los Angeles area between 2001 and 2008, including the death of actor Ashton Kutcher's former girlfriend, 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin.

Gargiulo was arrested in 2008 after DNA evidence linked him to the killings. He was subsequently separately charged with killing 17-year-old Tricia Pacaccio of Glenview, Illinois, whose father found her fatally stabbed on their family's doorstep, house key still in hand.

Gargiulo was a friend of Pacaccio's brother.

Pacaccio's parents have fought for years to have Gargiulo charged with their daughter's murder. DNA evidence linked him to the case, but he wasn't charged back then and remained free and allegedly continued to kill.

California law enforcement officials have said that they believe Pacaccio was Gargiulo's first victim.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.