Hollywood Horror Story | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] people from all over the country come to Los Angeles all over the world really you know they're all chasing a
dream my name is Scott Johnson I'm a senior writer at The Hollywood Reporter Blake liel is the son of a wealthy
Toronto real EST State developer who in his early 20s moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in entertainment film
and graphic novels the story line is about when a new planet enters our solar system he took up with this woman um
Jana casian I think for a lot of women Blake was a good catch Yana was raised in
Ukraine she was a very curious and adventurous seeking type of person she she fell in love with LA shared her
experiences with her her mother did she think that this man was the man she wanted to marry and have
children with yes I was in agreement with her she really wanted to have a baby he was a perfectly normal happy
person sitting with his new family something must have happened he has a brother Cody
liel Cody drives a series of very rare very expensive Ferraris owns multi-million dollar homes around town
he's the flashy he's the flashy one yeah Cody liel was an amateur Gambler played
in a local game called Molly's game which later became a movie I was in a room with movie stars
directors and business Titans they were going all in all the time there were number of High rolling
poker players who were part of this game this is the Russian mafia and the three
are tied together in the Indi through a poker game Blake was concerned about his brother's
gambling he started to become very paranoid that his brother was indebted to Mobsters he was worried that there were
people associated with that game Who might threaten him or his family with bodily harm sheriff station help help me
Polie I had this feeling that something was wrong police swarmed this building after a mother's intuition told her
something was not right with her daughter I would like for my police to come over to my daughter's
apartment nothing on the phone prepared us for what we were walking into and I asked them where is my
daughter and they didn't answer it's hard to talk about it without kind of gagging it's not often
that a 48 Hours correspondent would caution a homicide detective about the language they use to describe a crime
scene the blood evidence in this case told me that this was a prolonged and brutal crime the deeper you dig the more
mysterious it becomes this case reads like a movie script it's just more like a horror
[Music] [Music] movie [Music] there's still a huge police presence out here in terms of murders it's far and
away the most Grizzly awful story I've ever [Music] covered as horror stories go says Scott
Johnson a writer for The Hollywood Reporter and a 48 Hours consultant it doesn't get any darker than the death of
Jana casian for her mother Olga the news was unbearable I am the mom whose daughter
was being murdered and I did not do anything to prevent that from happening until the moment Ogle learned
learned Jana had been brutally killed her 30-year-old daughter's life had seemed Charmed The Sunny glamour of Los
Angeles is about as far as you can get from the freezing winters of Kiev Ukraine she wanted to live in a huge
strong country she really loved [Music] it Yana was a tax lawyer in her late 20s
when she moved to LA where she was learning to work as a translator says the family's attorney Jake fle her
biggest dream was to you know have children to raise a family here in the United
States and it seemed like all of her dreams were about to come true when she met and fell in love with the incredibly
wealthy Blake liel he by all accounts was friendly and people appreciated him we find a new enemy that's about 12 to
18 ft and they ride and control dinosaurs like dogs Blake an aspiring Hollywood producer speaking here at a
comic book convention had millions of dollars inherited from his family in Toronto he was s Born Into the lap of
luxury but Blake's life was complicated he had every Advantage but one of the things that I learned was that from a
very early age he felt jealous of his brother's attention from the father and were they close or is this cane enable I
think it's a little of both Cody the older brother developed real estate and owned a record label the family's wealth
came from both sides on his mother's side his grandfather started a a Plastics Empire Jake edmiston is a
reporter in Toronto for the National Post and a 48 Hours consultant on the Father's Side he's a major Toronto
developer so both of them brought a substantial amount of wealth uh to the marriage but the parents separated ated
and they separated the children Cody would live with his father in the most expensive area of the city while Blake
was raised by his mother here and what many consider to be the second most expensive area in Toronto would you say
that this is a neighborhood where if children are growing up here this is a life of privilege I would say wealth and
privilege yeah but in Blake's case money did not mean happiness his relationship
with his father was strained after his mother died in 2011 Blake waged a court battle over her
estate what was the estate worth millions and millions of dollars according to court records about 12
million Blake ended up with less than half which by most accounts was still a lot of
money Blake continued his quest to write and Direct in Hollywood was he taken seriously or is this just a a rich kid
who came in and it was pay to play some people found him to be sort of like a goofy trust funer who was just sort of
playing with daddy's money but other people said that he was hardworking that he you know poured his his energies into
these projects and really wanted to succeed I'm 20 years old and I'm losing all of my hair Blake directed a
lowbudget film called bald about a college student who tries to raise money for his hair transplant
by creating a website featuring female students he worked on an animated series called Space Balls that stemmed from a
Mel Brooks movie but his biggest project was a graphic novel called syndrome that
he hoped to turn into a television show Blake's ambition and probably his money Drew beautiful women to him in
2006 long before Yana was was in Los Angeles he met Amanda Brawn a model who would become his wife his wife Amanda
was and has been described as the one who would you know urge them to go to the chat Mormont to get out see people
go to parties and he was kind of more retiring he liked to stay at home and look at Comics he was he was sort of a
home body the couple had a son together but just as another baby was on the way Blake picked up and left he left her
very abruptly in the summer of of 2015 she was about to give birth to their second child and he took up with this
woman Jana casian and he told Jana his marriage was over it looks like things are actually
going pretty well they're taking trips there's lots of dinners out he buys her a very expensive Mercedes they moved
into this condo it was amazing news we were so happy all of us were so happy Olga was aware Blake's romantic life was
rather unsettled to say the least he kept telling yanishka that he was either already divorced or in the process of
divorcing his wife Olga flew to LA to meet the man who said he was going to marry her daughter and to help with the
[Music] baby a few days later a little girl named Diana was born on Olga's 60th [Music]
birthday Jana was happy she was very happy and he too father mother daughter beautiful in the first few days after
Diana was born Blake certainly seemed content with his new family did he seem like a a good man and and was he kind to
Jana yes because uh he always kissed her and he kept saying liima in Russian which means my
beloved that picture of the happy family was a stark contrast to a fear Blake felt a year earlier and he was
expressing these fears in these text messages to a very close friend in Blake's mind he believed his brother
Cody may have had big gambling debts and those poker playing Russian Mobsters posed a serious threat to every one
Blake loved texting these people Cody owes money to are [Applause] [Music] [Applause]
dangerous unlike his younger brother Blake Cody liel lived loud he's a big man about town you know loves fast cars
the past lifestyle he was much more of a public figure and a public presence Cody
played in that high stakes poker circuit depicted in the movie Molly's game frequented by celebrities and some
shady rich men including reportedly members of the Russian mafia close friends of both Cody and Blake have told
me that Cody in at least one case was taken for a large amount of money by some of these other more experienced
poker players how large over a million dollars I heard Blake was afraid that the people associated with the gambling
game posed a mortal threat to him and members of his family as Blake's earlier texts
revealed but as investigators began to unravel Jana's murder they discovered more immediate pressures on Blake that
painted a disturbing picture he had made choices that ens snared him with three different women simultaneously and that
was kind of catching up to him in early 2016 Blake liel's personal life had become very complicated he' moved out of
this house here in Beverly Hills and was in the throws of a divorce with his wife
Amanda meanwhile he was living here at the West Hollywood condo with Jana and on top of that he was seeing a third
woman constant bua furri who lived in this posit home home a couple of miles away which was also owned by Blake his
life had become an unwieldy LoveHate quadrangle so he was going between Jana and constant the condo and this house
and this house that's correct he's living multiple lives Rob marale and Bill cter investigated Jana's murder for
the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department they say that in miday 2016 less than a week before Jana's
killing Constance accused Blake of sexually assaulting her in this house I believe that something occurred here
some unwanted touching occurred in this house by Blake Blake was arrested and held in jail Jana had to help bail him
out there probably was a source for tension between the two Blake was never prosecuted but his affair was revealed
to Jana and she must have been asking Blake like what's going on here like we just had a baby together like why aren't
you at home helping me with the kid I need your help Olga says her daughter's dream of life in America was quickly
turning into a nightmare Jana was so afraid of losing Blake she agreed to let her newborn daughter live with her
mother in a separate apartment a few miles away paid for by Blake that way Yana could focus on her relationship
with Blake who had suddenly become uninterested in the new baby he constant demanded sex and that
he could leave her for another woman Yana was still recovering from a C-section he threatened to leave her for
another woman if she didn't have sex with him yes he even said that to her to Olga
Jana seemed intimidated by Blake he was controlling her like a hawk he wanted her to do everything he wanted
Olga begged her daughter to move on from Blake and move in with her and the baby
and what would she say she would run back to him on May 23rd 2016 Jana seen on this security
video went shopping with her mother later in the day Olga says Jana started getting texts from
Blake upon receiving those text she would changed like a chameleon her facial expression changed after those
texts she would say I'm going to him so she left she did the next afternoon Olga had trouble reaching her
daughter I did try to call her and the calls went to the voice message six calls with no
response all of a sudden I had this feeling that I have to go there call it Mother's intuition just out of the blue
you had a a feeling that you had to go to Jana and check on her yes I wanted to go there but the baby was
sleeping she called the police they put me on hold for a very long time and then
eventually they found a girl who could speak Russian after you call the police do they go to the condo to check on
her I don't know I called them again and again and again finally she decided it was up to her the morning after I just
called the taxi and rushed there myself uh help help me she's like a tiger trying to get to her cuup she
wanted to get in that [Music] room by Wednesday morning Olga was frantic for two days she had not seen
her daughter as this security video shows Olga went to Jana and Blake's condo with
the friend and tried desperately to get into the Gated property and I went across the street from that building to
look at the patio Olga says she looked up at their third floor apartment and saw a man standing in the window and I
started calling Blake Blake you saw Blake inside from the street I did and then another Resident opened the gate I
ran to that apartment I was knocking at the door I was ringing the bell no answer so again she called police this
time uniformed officers showed up and I kept telling them here he is here he is break the door and they said
that they had no right to break the door because they couldn't hear anybody screaming inside there's also no
indication that there was any Foul Play going on at that time so the decision was made at that time not to go into the
the complex police tried to call Blake hello this message is for Blake liable this is
the West Hollywood sheriff station here at your apartment and we need to speak to you immediately sir Blake did not
respond police waited outside for a few hours and then eventually left are you angry that they didn't
respond and listen to you on that Tuesday and on Wednesday yeah I choose to I am angry angry and overwhelmed
convinced Jana was inside Olga was torn she did not want to leave Blake's condo but she had to get back home to her
infant granddaughter who is being cared for by a friend I was feeling that fear a fear of police fear of leaving the
baby alone the next morning Thursday Olga was back at the apartment and back on the
phone help help me begging the police for help please for Russ I want police to come and free my
finally police agreed it was time to go in they were concerned that Jana might be in medical distress because she had
recently given birth tell her that we'll go ahead and send somebody over but she
has to be there when they arrived I wanted to lead them upstairs to the third floor but
they told me to sit near the main entrance to the building you're sitting outside and they all go inside I was
outside sitting on the sidewalk here left is the door this is it here after calling out Sheriff's Department
yelling out Blake's name Ayana's name and no answer they finally obtained a key from the realtor but when they
unlocked it tried to go inside they encounter those Hotel style locks which tells them that somebody's got to be in
there so the decision was made to breach that door police break down the front door and enter the condo the living room
is kind of in dishevel look this animation of of the condo which was later created for the
prosecution shows police immediately ran into several other obstacles first the hallway door into the bedrooms is locked
and barricaded so they were forced to actually take the door off the hinges as police look into the guest
bedroom they see the first signs of a struggle blood they call out again to Blake still no answer still no movement
after clearing the guest bedroom they move toward the master bedroom but that door is also barricaded with a mattress
so as they're trying to push forward the mattress is pushing it back but at that
same time a man yells out Blake liable he is basically saying he's not coming out and tells them Jana isn't
home Blake calls a friend seen here on this surveillance tape rushing into the condo the friend convinces Blake to open
the the door and come out of the bedroom wearing only boxer shorts Blake emerges from the
room detectives cter and marale are then called to the scene been a lot of crime scenes over
the years but walking into that one was was just different stepping into the hallway that
led to the bedrooms then things started to appear they entered the guest bedroom started to see blood saw the
bloody headboard Blood on the walls then the master bedroom there was an obvious large blood stain on the wall
that someone had tried to clean up and then they saw Jana at that point she was covered to the to the bottom of her chin
covered in a Mickey Mouse blanket it at first she looked almost peaceful once her head was off of the pillow then you
could see the full uh damage the injuries she suffered were horrific and unspeakable Jana had been
scalped her body was eerily and unusually pale it wasn't simply the killing of somebody it
was sadistic Blake had scratches and bruises on his face and a bite mark on his arm she
fought she fought valiantly police also found a pair of Blake's pants with his passport and
$4,000 stuffed in a pocket what did it tell you that this was a man who was probably going to dispose of Ayana
completely clean up the condo and then probably flee this country back to his native
Canada police arrested Blake by then Olga had made her way into the building and then I saw Blake handcuffed
and they were leading him out I did not really pay attention to him I kept looking at that door because
I thought that they would bring my Yana out I was crying out I was screaming where is my daughter and right here on
the floor right behind you is where OG's leaning against the wall this is where you had to tell ogga this is where I had
to inform her that her daughter been [Music] killed I tried to crawl to that apartment I was
screaming but they did not let me in detectives questioned Blake seen here oddly smiling in his arrest photo but he
denied having anything to do with y gruesome death or the horrific crime scene did he give any explanation of
what what he thought happened to Jana like who would have done this to her he gave no reasonable explanation actually
no explanation at all other than he said really the point of thing was science is
going to tell you who did this and the science would shock everyone wow yes it's stunning to see
that much yes for me there's like what the hell [Music] [Music] happened Blake liel told police the
science would tell them just what happened to Yana and it did all right so walk me through what you saw when you
went in as soon as as I walked in leaning against this bookshelf was a mattress Leslie Thompson is a crime
scene specialist with the LA County Sheriff's Department so what really struck me about the scene in general was
really the lack of blood the lack of blood the lack of blood that was present for a murder this brutal she
expected a lot more so where did it all go Thompson set up a demonstration all right so you've prepped this horse this
is a piece of lenium that you've put animal blood that's correct and to my naked eye here I just see some blood
spatter that's right here she showed us how she can analyze what happened even if there's not a lot to see so this is
actually I like to call it luminol 2.0 it's called Blue Star Magnum it's a chemical compound that when sprayed on a
Surface reveals where blood was and where a cleaning substance was used to remove it it creates ill
luminescence or uh it creates light it's a Search tool for blood that you cannot
see with the naked eye okay let's see what it [Music] does wow oh you can see the
footprints the wiping when investigators first came into the master bedroom they noticed
some blood stains on the mattress but that was all they could see okay let's bring up the blue
star wow then the bathroom this is what it looked like when you walked in essentially essentially yes okay now
bring up the blue [Music] star wow and so this none of this you could really see clearly oh you couldn't
see it at all the guest bedroom also lit up in fact much of the condo was splashed with luminescence it lit up it
and it it lit up in a bad way even though we had been in there now for 2 days until she did that and lit this up
and then all of a sudden at least I gained a much better appreciation for what happened
there what was the story it said to you about Jana and what happened to her the story was uh this event didn't just
happen quick in one location and perhaps most shocking of all is how Jana died it's called exanguination am I
saying it correctly there's a new vocabulary word been a crime reporter for 25 years and I've not heard this one
first time I've heard it as well exanguination meaning the blood had been drained from
her body that's why yanana was so pale detectives believe it took between six and 8 hours for Jana to
die it was clear Jana's killer had tried to cover up any incriminating blood evidence wiping down floors and walls
but where did all those cleaning materials as well as the bedding and clothing go and this is the shoot so
that's it everything went down here yes almost immediately after they arrive detectives noticed how close the trash
shoot was to the apartment so this is the shoot that came from the third floor to to the trash detective coder and his
team collected 11 trash bags from the dumpsters each filled with an abundance of evidence towels clothing and
bedding one particular item stood out a bed skirt with this bloody handprint as you can see it appears part of the pinky
finger is missing turns out Blake was missing part of his right pinky finger match for match just match for match
pinky missing yes everything at the scene pointed to Blake as the killer there was no other suspects it
was it was clear as to what occurred this murder had nothing to do with Russian Mobsters or jealous girlfriends
there's no concrete evidence that Cody actually had big gambling deaths only that Blake believed he did in fact Blake
never mentioned any scenario that pointed away from him it also wasn't a drug fueled attack only a small amount
of marijuana was found in his system so why did Blake kill Jana detectives struggled to find a motive now I was
trying to extract something to explain what can cause a man to do this to a woman he professed to love
and was engaged to did you get anything from that interview that answered that question when he said women don't like
me and he alluded to the fact that if it wasn't for money women wouldn't like me
I think that he's a person that controlled the women in his life with money and I think at some point there
was probably no was said to him and I think he said you don't say no to me because I control the pocket book
and I think that Tim May caused her demise still a crime this unconscionable doesn't usually come out of nowhere
which is why detectives even tried looking into Blake's background we ran into roadblocks not a lot of people
would talk to us nor none of his family would we also searched for answers here in Toronto we approached virtually
everyone we could find from Blake's early life family members classmates even teachers
and here in La we tried to talk to everyone from his adult life his wife girlfriends and friends but no one not
one of them was willing to go on camera and talk about him did you find anything
in his background any history any whiff of a story that he was a violent or abusive or strange kid or
teenager no none of Toronto reporter Jake I think speaking to people who knew him
in different phases of his life all of them are are as shocked as as we are you know the big question is he must be
crazy look at what he did you know he's tortured this woman but Blake is not crazy says forensic psychologist and 48
Hours consultant Chris Mandy who worked with the prosecution on this case so you
can do outrageous heinous terrible things to other people that's different than being found
insane or incompetent in the eyes of the law Mandi never met Blake but a court ordered psychiatrist did and found Blake
fit to stand trial moh handy says that's because Blake liel understands right from wrong which is the legal standard
it's shocking what he did but it's not surprising what he did Mandy points to Blake's background a rich kid alienated
from his father at a young age with a need for power and control over women he's always gotten everything he wants
when he wants it but he also has an underlying violent Fantasy Life that he's been mentally
rehearsing for years and so when the rage comes out it takes the form of those fantasies the fantasies remember that
graphic novel Blake was working on years before Yana's murder turns out it was about out a vicious killer and it was
soon to take center stage in Blake's story good morning ladies and gentlemen in June 2018 2 years after Jana's murder
a very different looking Blake liel went on trial even without a clear motive prosecutor Beth Silverman was sure once
the jury saw that graphic novel they would convict him of Jana's murder this crime appears to be patterned after the
defendant's book syndrome but would that be enough tell me about when you heard the
verdict what this book provides this syndrome it provides a blueprint for this murder prosecutor Beth Silverman
believes Blake was acting out a fantasy from his graphic novel which shows a doll with its scalp missing on the
cover inside more chilling details the depiction of two victims hanging upside down in order to drain
the blood or to sanguinate the blood from these fictional bodies prosecutors say that during the
prolonged period Blake was torturing Jana over and over and over again he somehow manages to have food delivered
several times as this security footage shows we know that the defendant had ample time to stop and change his mind
he chose to commit these horrendous crimes against di Cassio they also present all that blood
evidence from the crime scene just to be clear this is all the victim's blood and along with the
jury Olga sees dozens of graphic photos of Jana how a human could do such a thing and for the first time here's
exactly how profoundly her daughter suffered why did you feel the need to sit through the trial and to sit through
the details yeah your M I am her mom and I must would all have been through me I asked them to give me those
pictures those photos I wanted to hug each of those photos and kiss each of those
photos Olga says someone who loved Jana needed to Bear witness to all that she had gone
through Blake's brother Cody was in court every day but declined our request for an interview their father did not
attend the trial after 6 days of testimony from 14 prosecution witnesses the defense calls
none of its own instead lawyer Haida takasugi tries to create Reasonable Doubt arguing that Blake didn't actually
author that graphic novel he hired writers they brought the story to life and it was presented for
Mr liel for his approval and we believe as is your duty as jurors and you wish critically look at the evidence we
believe that you will realize it shortcomings and downfalls that the only verdict in this case would be not guilty
for the charges and all the special allegations but the prosecution has the last word this obviously was a vicious a
horrific a gruesome sadistic unspeakably evil set of crimes and it's your job in
this case to seek Justice it takes the jury just 3 hours to reach a verdict C read the
verdicts we the jury find the defendant Blake liel guilty of first degree murder
of Ayan kazian Blake shows no emotion but out in the hallway Olga is overcome she just wants to scream Yanka
Yanka I'm sorry I'm sorry I couldn't save [Music] you when you heard the verdict but you're
very emotional about it yeah given what we knew about the case I did take it home and it it hung like a like a
picture on the wall for me I mean I have two daughters Rob has one daughter you know as fathers there's that that
paternal Instinct Olga says while she appreciates the detectives she is also haunted by
the knowledge that her instinct to call the police was not enough to save her daughter do you
believe if they had broken down the door on Wednesday when you were there with them that she would still be here
today I think so yes it's a difficult question to answer but I think based on if we look at the timeline from the
pathologist standpoint I believe she might have already been dead at that point the defendant's profound brutality
Blake is sentenced to life in prison without parole and his inconceivable cruelty with both Blake and Jana gone
the focus is now on their 2-year-old daughter Diana nothing can ever make the death of Ayanna right but I'm hoping
that the liable family does something honorable and assist with in her time of need but Olga says she has never heard
from anyone in the Lial family one would think that um you know they would attempt to reach out to Olga seeing as
that Olga's granddaughter is also a granddaughter of Blake's father and a niece to Blake's brother there has not
been one cent paid from their family to support Diana more than anything in the world Yana wanted her daughter to be
brought up in America but because of a lack of money Diana is now living in Ukraine in the town where Jana was to
rest for some reason I want to keep talking about her it makes my life easier I feel her presence every day
every [Music] [Music] minute [Music] he

The girlfriend of a Hollywood producer is brutally murdered. Was she the victim of the Russian mob, the producer’s love life, or was there something in his graphic novel that held the key? "48 Hours" correspondent Maureen Maher investigates. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

Brief Summary

Blake Liel's murder of Jana Casian reveals a web of deception, control, and tragedy involving family and gambling debts.

Key points

The Charmed Life of Jana. Jana's life in LA seemed perfect until tragedy struck.
Blake's Complicated Relationships. Blake's personal life spiraled into chaos with multiple women involved.
Mother's Intuition. Olga's gut feeling leads her to check on her daughter, revealing a nightmare.
The Discovery of Jana's Body. Police uncover a gruesome scene that shocks everyone involved.
Blake's Arrest. Blake is arrested under suspicious circumstances following Jana's murder.
The Shocking Discovery. Investigators reveal the use of Blue Star Magnum to uncover hidden blood evidence.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This case reads like a movie script.

Describing the complexity of the murder case.

3:31WatchMar 5, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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