- Blake Leibel, from Canada, was the heir to a million-dollar property empire
- His façade of success came crashing down after killing partner Iana Kasian
- He had tortured the mom-of-one for six hours before scattering parts of flesh
A popular true crime series is set to unravel the chilling case of a graphic novel author who tortured and mutilated his fiancée.
Blake Leibel, who grew up in Toronto, Canada, was the heir to a million-dollar property empire and aspiring creative at the time of his deplorable acts.
His façade of success came crashing down after he was convicted over the brutal murder of partner Iana Kasian – just weeks after she had given birth to the couple’s daughter.
He had tortured the mom-of-one for six hours before scattering parts of her scalp, ear, and face in their Hollywood apartment and draining her body of blood.
Here, FEMAIL has laid bare the sordid details as an episode of Death By Fame gets set to explores the case.
The twisted tale began in 2004 when Leibel, now 42, moved to California where he lived off an allowance from his parents that totaled $1.8 million in seven years, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The family’s wealth was largely thanks to his father, Lorne – a former Olympic sailor who made a fortune during the 1980s and 1990s as the president of Canada Homes – once described as the nation’s largest home builder.
Leibel attempted to make a name for himself in the media world by working on a handful of projects including on Mel Brooks’ animated series Spaceballs (2008) and comedy movie Bald (2009), according to IMDb.
But it was his graphic novel titled Syndrome, released in 2010, which would later be described as a ‘blueprint’ for the horrific murder he carried out.
The novel begins with the foreword: ‘If you loved hurting things, what would you do?’
It then follows a scientist who tries to find a way to cure people of evil with one page depicting a woman lying naked on a bed with no head.
It ends with an image of a hand dripping blood and the caption: ‘In the end, we all become monsters.’
It was during this time that he married model Amanda Braun and began building a family – but not all was as it seemed.
Leibel was said to be becoming increasingly erratic and ended the relationship when Amanda was eight months’ pregnant with their second child.
Instead, he started dating 30-year-old Iana – a former attorney, originally from Ukraine, who had moved to Los Angeles to work as an interpreter.
By May 2016, the couple had welcomed a daughter named Diana, which would ultimately prove to be the catalyst to tip Leibel over the edge.
Iana told her own mother, Olga, that Leibel had become upset after the baby was born because he was jealous the newborn was receiving all her attention.
Just three weeks after the baby was born, she asked Olga to watch over the child while Iana and Leibel worked on their relationship – which is when things took a dark turn.
Olga did not hear from Iana for several days and, after growing increasingly worried, asked the police to visit the couple’s apartment.
Officers were able to force their way into the apartment where Leibel had barricaded himself in the master bedroom.
He eventually emerged, wearing only his boxer shorts, with cuts and bruises across his face.
Cops entered the blood-spattered room where Iana’s naked body was sprawled out on the bed covered with a red Mickey Mouse blanket – taken from their daughter’s nursery.
Clumps of Iana’s hair were found on a razor, her eyebrow had been removed, and her facial bones and muscles were exposed.
The autopsy report revealed that parts of the right side of the 30-year-old’s face were torn off by hand in the brutal slaying while she was still alive.
Investigators found bits of flesh inside the bedroom as well as part of Iana’s scalp – which had been turned inside out – and ear in a trash bin at the bottom of the garbage chute outside the home, NBC reported.
The Los Angeles Department of the Medical Examiner ruled that Iana’s cause of death was exsanguination.
Evidence suggested Leibel had dragged his fiancée’s body through the home and submerged her underwater in the bathtub to drain her blood.
Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman told the court there were no words to describe the depravity of Leibel’s actions and the extremity of his violence.
‘This was depravity. Ms Kasian died a slow and painful death,’ she said.
‘He threw away pieces of his fiancée like she was trash, the mother of his newborn baby.
‘Her daughter will never know her, and that’s because of the unconscionable acts you heard about during this trial.’
During Leibel’s trial, pathologists testified that the horrific murder had set a precedent in terms of the brutality and grisliness of Iana’s injuries.
Jurors deliberated less than four hours before finding Leibel guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated mayhem, and torture.
He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in 2018 and ordered to pay $41.6 million to Iana’s family.
Death By Fame premieres on ID on January 22.