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Tortured to Death: The Shocking Murder of Model Iana Kasian

True Crime Nightmares
14 min readOct 25, 2024

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Iana Kasian

Like Moths to a Flame

Ukraine native Iana Kasian had it all: brains, striking good looks and a personality that lit up a room. When she immigrated to Los Angeles in 2014, the former law student had her sights set on a career in modeling. Although things had gotten off to a promising start, a chance encounter had derailed her plans and forever altered the course of her life.

Within a few months of arriving in the States, twenty-eight-year-old Iana was already booking modeling gigs. As a means of getting her foot in the door, she began attending industry functions in the hopes of grabbing the attention of Hollywood power players. At one such soiree in 2015, she met an up-and-coming writer, director and film producer named Blake Leibel.

Following a whirlwind courtship, the unlikely pair were engaged. While Iana was an outgoing beauty who turned heads everywhere she went, her new beau was a socially awkward nebbish who seemed a bit out of place in his surroundings. Fortunately for him, what he lacked in charm he more than made up for in wealth.

Unlike Iana, who came from a humble background, Leibel was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His father Lorne had made a fortune as a real estate tycoon in their native Canada, while his mother’s affluence came from “old…

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True Crime Nightmares
True Crime Nightmares

Written by True Crime Nightmares

Author, victim advocate, true crime historian.

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