Movie director and graphic novelist Blake Leibel convicted of first-degree murder in the death of the mother of his new born child
Blake, 37, who authored a gruesome graphic novel was found guilty of killing and mutilating a woman inside his West Hollywood apt in May 2016
Leibel was accused guilty of killing and desecrating the remains of his Ukrainian fiancée, Iana Kasian, in the home they shared
The millionaire property heir, reportedly tortured and mutilated Iana Kasian, a new mother, in a brutal and sadistic killing
He allegedly scalped 30-year-old Iana Kasian and drained her of blood before she eventually died
Kasian’s autopsy report says parts of the right side of her face, including her ear, were torn off in the brutal slaying – pieces of her scalp were found scattered around the apt
Kasian had given birth to their daughter just three weeks before her brutal murder
The suspect was guilty on all charges, including mayhem and torture
The suspect who is the son of a Toronto real estate tycoon is facing life in prison with no parole

Iana Kasian 2.pngVictim: Blake Leibel, who is the son of prominent Toronto developer Lorne Leibel, has been found guilty of murdering his fiancée Iana Kasian [photo]

The movie director son of a Toronto real estate tycoon has been found guilty of the gruesome and brutal murder of his Ukrainian fiancée, who had given birth to his daughter just weeks earlier.
Blake Leibel, a 37-year-old millionaire property heir, tortured and mutilated Iana Kasian inside his West Hollywood apartment before she died. He drained all the blood from her body and removed her scalp, ABC reported.
Kasian’s autopsy report says parts of the right side of the 30-year-old’s face, including her ear,- were torn off in the brutal slaying, before she died.
Two years after police found the director barricaded inside a West Hollywood apartment with his girlfriend’s mutilated and bloodless corpse, a jury on Wednesday convicted Blake Leibel of first-degree murder.


Blake Kasian 3.jpgConvicted killer: Blake Leibel [left], Wednesday was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2016 depraved murder of his newly delivered fiancée, Iana Kasian

That verdict concludes one of the grimmest murder trials in recent memory. Late Wednesday morning a jury sitting Los Angeles jury of eight men and four women convicted director and graphic novelist Blake Leibel of first-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend, Iana Kasian, in May 2016.
At the hearing Wednesday the courtroom packed with journalists, curious spectators and friends and family of both the victim and the accused, along with a few lawyers and staff, became quiet with anticipation as theverdict was handed down: “I understand youv’e reached a verdict,” said the judge, Mark Windham.
“We have,” said the foreperson.
Leibel was found guilty on all charges, including mayhem and torture. 

Blake Leibel [right] with ex-wife Amanda Braun 1.pngBlake Leibel [left] seen with ex-wife Amanda Braun, reportedly murdered Kasian in his West Hollywood apt Flesh, an ear and her scalp were found scattered around his bedroom and in the bin at the bottom of a garbage chute at his home

Leibel’s ex-wife, a former model Amanda Braun,  with whom the suspect shares two children, only entered the court on Wednesday after the verdict had been read, but neither of their children attended the proceedings.
After the verdict was read, Leibel left the courtroom without looking at his family or Braun.
Dressed in a blue blazer and crisp white shirt, standing to the left of his attorney, public defender Hayheh Takasugi, Leibel remained motionless, staring straight ahead.
The victim’s mother, a Ukrainian health care worker named Olga Kasian, broke into tears and clutched the hands of a friend sitting nearby.
It was Olga Kasian who prevailed on authorities to conduct the search for Iana who had just given birth to a daughter, Diana, three weeks earlier. That search would eventually lead to the discovery of her new mom’s mutilated body in a West Hollywood apartment.
Police discovered Iana’s body drained of all its blood and covered by a red Mickey Mouse blanket inside Leibel’s apartment.
Olga’s family and friends, many of whom had flown in from the Ukraine to offer support, surrounded her, translating and holding her close.
In addition to the first degree murder charge, the jury found Leibel guilty of torture and mayhem, both of which carry additional sentencing obligations, along with special circumstances of using a deadly weapon.  

Blake Leibel crime scene photo 3.pngPolice broke into the apt and found Iana’s body splayed out on the blood stained bed, Leibel lay beside the remains. Pieces of her flesh were found on the mattress and elsewhere in the home, including on a rug beneath his bed

When officers finally broke into Leibel’s apartment in May 2016, looking for Kasian, her naked body was found – mutilated, drained of blood, and covered with a red Mickey Mouse blanket, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
Investigators found bits of flesh inside the bedroom, and part of Kasian’s scalp and her ear were found 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 the woman’s cause of death was exsanguination, the act of draining a person of blood.
Leibel, 37, had tried to keep police out of the apartment by barricading the door.
During Leibel’s trial, pathologists testified the horrific murder set a precedent in terms of the brutality and grisliness of Kasian’s injuries.