Toronto tycoon’s son accused of killing in L.A.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Canadian real estate tycoon’s son who explored the darkest side of evil in one of his graphic novels is now accused of carrying out such an act.

Blake Leibel was charged this week with murder in the torture and mutilation of a girlfriend who had just given birth to their child. Deputies discovered the bloodless body of Iana Kasian after breaking through a barricade to get into the couple’s West Hollywood apartment last week, prosecutors said.

The case has grabbed attention in Canada, where his father, Lorne Leibel, a sailor on the country’s 1976 Olympics team, built a fortune constructing homes in the Toronto area and is known for his love of Ferraris and racing powerboats.

The father and his estranged wife, Eleanor Leibel, provided for their two sons when they moved to California years ago, according to papers filed in an Ontario court. Each was given a big house and Blake Leibel lived off an allowance of about $18,000 a month over a seven year period until inheriting the majority of his mother’s estate.

Blake Leibel and his older brother, Cody, were drawn to California because of the weather, said attorney Ronald Richards, who said he was hired to look after them and keep them out of trouble. Each pursued different creative paths. Cody Leibel founded C-Note Records, a now defunct label, and rubbed elbows with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.

As part of an unlicensed high-stakes poker game that included actor Tobey Maguire and other hotshots, Cody Leibel got snared in a lawsuit to reclaim money for investors duped in a Ponzi scheme by another gambler.