Akshaya Kubiak Part 2: Murder and Aftermath

Continued from Part 1

The Murder

Video of arrest from Las Vegas Review-Journal

On July 16, 2020, at 10:23 am, police received a call from Kubiak, that he had been doing mushrooms with a woman who was sick with cancer at his residence at the 8400 block of Blackstone Ridge Court, Las Vegas, NV 89139, and that she was unresponsive. Lt. Ray Spencer stated that police arrived and found the body of Herleen Kaur Dulai. She had been strangled and showed obvious signs of blunt force trauma. As was later learned from the grand jury transcript, it was very brutal, with contusions, lacerations, abrasions, broken bones, and internal bleeding from her head to the soles of her feet. The full report is summarized below in Updates.
When asked by paramedics why she had a black eye and her face was mangled, Kubiak said she had attacked him, so he attacked her.
Downstairs, he then stated to the Fire Captain that “he did this.”
Dulai was listed as a girlfriend, but their actual relationship has been debated.
Kubiak was arrested for her murder. According to detectives, he was apparently on narcotics when they arrived, and delusional. He showed no emotion.

This is public record as per NRS 172.225 (Transcripts: Preparation; public record)
Pertinent sections:
2.  The reporter shall complete the certification and filing within 10 days after the indictment has been found or the accusation presented unless the court for good cause makes an order extending the time.
6.  Upon the filing of such a transcript with the county clerk, the transcript and any related physical evidence exhibited to the grand jury become a matter of public record unless the court: (a) Orders that the presentment or indictment remain secret until the defendant is in custody or has been given bail; or (b) Upon motion, orders the transcript and evidence to remain secret until further order of the court.

A grand jury indictment is basically all the reasons prosecutors have for prosecuting a defendant. There is zero input from the defense.

I reviewed the 75 pages of details, and summarize. This is the hardest thing I have had to write about this case; I am squeamish, so it was very hard to read – but I need to put to rest anyone thinking this wasn’t a serious assault. If you are really wanting to read all the details, I have included a link at the bottom of this section to order a transcript.

First off, CCTV showed no one else came in or out of the house at that time. There was no one-armed man, so to speak.

Secondly, it is confirmed that he told 911 that she had some type of cancer, which she had confirmed in the video above – that she had gone through chemo and brain cancer “last year…” This will be his ostensible story, that he was trying to help “heal” her.

He also stated, as was stated in initial news reports, that they had both done mushrooms the night before. these were found in his refrigerator. Note the timing: mushroom trips last 3-8 hours. Assuming the “night” means 11:59 at the very latest, and he didn’t mean last night early morning, that would put the end of the trip at 7:59 am at the very latest. The call was made at 10:23 am., which hypothetically leaves 2.5 hours of cleaning up and preparing to make the 911 call as he tried to figure out what to do. Even if you ignore the time, he still ends up doing some personal maintenance tasks before making the 911 call, which clearly shows he was more interested in covering his tracks than saving Herleen’s life.

The transcript confirms everything that has been in the news and that I have included on this page, and I am going to now double down on the mushroom psychosis theory. Whether he actually was on mushrooms or wasn’t, is already known by the police who would have done toxicology for psilocin. We know now she was on them, and on MDMA as well, although she wasn’t known to have ever done drugs. But I think he was also on mushrooms, as he said, judging by the sheer viciousness as you will read.

This may be disturbing for you to read, if so, skip this italicized section:

Kubiak himself was found to have a small laceration on his middle left finger. (Wedding ring finger, a premonition that he had permanently lost his future of a normal life and wedding). The detectives stated that he was acting delusional. He showed no emotion while being arrested, booked, photographed or at any court appearances. A blank slate.

Also, it was discovered from the adjoining sink that he tried to wash away the blood, and also had bloody clothes in the washer (possibly why he was shirtless when the police arrived), and even had a suitcase packed presumably ready to flee.

Candle wax was found in her hair and over her body, which was kind of strange, possibly some ritualistic use. There were two candles adjacent to her body with blood on them. At her feet was an open suitcase with clothes in them with candle wax dripped on them. A snapshot in time, like a seal. The suitcase had to be packed and open before the assault happened and she was prone on the floor. We may never know what was going on with the candles.

So (possibly) packing, but definitely washing up some of the blood, and throwing some clothes in the washer, in the end, he still decided to call 911 and perform CPR on someone that was obviously dead, and changed his story when asked about the black eye, according to the paramedics. And he still confessed downstairs, “I did this,” talking to the fire captain.

Because he ultimately did not try to make this go away by driving her out of city limits to bury her in the sands, he was either:
-genuinely remorseful for what he did to Herleen, which makes no sense, given all the things he did before calling 911 and his evolving story.
-not of sound mind – so delusional or under the influence that he didn’t realize just how awful it looked even though he might have sincerely believed he was trying to “heal” her,
-thought he could sweet-talk his way out of this,
-Maybe he didn’t even realize she was dead, even though her face was black and blue.
Or all of these. This, I don’t know. The motive, how they met, and what happened that night, is the last remaining black box of this case. Maybe someday he will issue a statement on what happened and what went through his mind – not that that will be tremendously reliable. He himself may not even know. It may have all been a red blur.

But make no mistake. No matter what rationale he can come up with for beating a woman to death so badly in what amounts to effective torture, this was a cruel, horrendous crime and can never be whitewashed in good conscience. It was categorically NOT self-inflicted, nor her having a seizure, an innocent little choking, or a little tussle from the CPR. Akshaya did this, he admitted to it, he changed his story as he was being asked what happened, and he must definitely pay for his crime. And due to the brutal nature of the killing, he is definitely NOT safe walking the streets. Killers who kill this way are motivated by extreme rage. You can now see why he was denied bail, and why granting him bail would be judicial malpractice.

This was my summary. I double-checked to make sure I left nothing important out. But if you still want all the details, you will have to order a transcript. Grand jury proceedings are held in secret until an indictment is issued; after that, a transcript may be ordered from Clarke County:
https://www.nvd.uscourts.gov/case-information/ordering-transcripts/
It is done via mail so it takes time.

The only puzzle piece is his testimony on what happened, which we may never know, and an apology, which I would presume would be forthcoming, especially during sentencing.

Character References from Mutual Friends

A mutual acquaintance stressed that he is innocent until proven guilty and that when they knew him, he was a good father and would not hurt a fly.
Another said “I know him” and it “had to have been an accident” and to “send good vibes.” He had seemed, on the surface, to be a gentle, peaceful person, but then again, so did everyone else that danced around back then in a marijuana haze.
(After the transcript of the grand jury, these positive perceptions evaporated immediately.)
On the other hand, a reliable male friend with a solid reputation for pacifism well known within the psytrance community very angrily told me Kubiak physically threatened him once after refusing to pay a past debt. So there were at least some issues with temper control.
Hopefully, the facts will come to light and appropriate justice to the killer will be served.

It is human nature to assume your friends would never do wrong, but you might have to brace yourself for an awful truth. I will keep an open mind on this, but I have witnessed people I thought were angels do unspeakable things pushed just over the brink by just the wrong amount of just the wrong drug in just the wrong situation.

A few caveats when thinking this through:
Assume that everyone has a temper, and have moments of temporary insanity sometime in their lives.
Do not be blinded by opinions you have of people formed while you were high on drugs.
Do not be dazzled by someone’s celebrity, handsomeness, or smooth-talking. Or their abs.
Do not be so foolish that just because someone you saw at a psytrance party became famous and became Facebook friends you, that they are somehow immune to doing shitty things, or even thinking clearly.
Do not become that vile woman who wants to marry an imprisoned killer. He will have SO MANY of those, get in line.

Kubiak’s Legal Outlook

I’m not a lawyer, but here is what I can glean from Nevada law on the web. At the very least Kubiak will be charged with 2nd-degree murder: Life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years, or 25 years in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years
Because he called the police, the sentence may be lower.

To lessen the sentence, the defense would rely on a surfeit of character references from reputable friends and family to paint a picture of a peaceful man, a loving father, that entered a moment of drug-induced insanity. Though his time on Showtime’s Gigolos will be pointed out to be “just an act,” any rumors of any of his reputed shenanigans might be explored, and proved or disproved.

There will be an incentive to make a plea deal with the prosecution. Kubiak would not want a trial. To most “normal” people, he will look like a monster. The autopsy in text form is shocking, and I can’t imagine what photos would do. Due to his gigolo occupation, celebrity, and the fact he was apparently drugged up, the outlook for a jury trial does not seem very bright unless his jury lawyers can finagle some lonely women and get a hung jury. Jurors will be selected that have not seen the show.

Because he is a minor celebrity, the D.A. will be out to make a name for themselves. He needs an amazing, expensive Johnny Cochran-type lawyer to plea to a lesser manslaughter charge if he wants to see the sun before he’s well into middle age, if at all.

And again, prior convictions, especially those implying a violent nature, would play a part.

And you never know. Fellow Las Vegasian War Machine got life for assault:

Speculation, Analysis, and Judgement

I believe it was an unpremeditated accident.
After reading the transcript of the grand jury (see updates, below), due to the sheer brutality, and the fact it had to have gone on for minutes, I cannot in good conscience believe it was an accident. Because “accident” lets him off the hook. Yes, people can snap. But snap for minutes and do what he did?
They (or he) must have been partying Wednesday night, or involved in some drug ritual trip. Outwardly, to most people to whom he never owed money, Kubiak may very appear to be a gentle soul who would not harm a fly, sober. I believe he did not originally intend on murdering anyone, but that he took so many mushrooms, possibly combined with other substances, and entered a violent rage.

Violent mushroom psychosis has been documented more times than psychedelic advocates would have you believe. I say this stressing that although I have been completely sober for well over a decade, in the past I not only lived in that culture, I was a ringleader. I also conducted these ceremonies for years, but I stopped when I realized I was not worthy, and had substance abuse issues. For years. Taking drugs at a party to get high is one thing. But I am convinced think that only accredited doctors with years of training should administrate any of these powerful drugs for medical purposes, because the set and setting and intentionalities are completely different from recreational use. There are just too many things that can go wrong.
So I am not too squeamish to point out that Jarrod Wyatt, an MMA fighter, famously ripped out a friend’s heart and tongue after drinking an excess of mushroom tea. Check out the first 20 minutes of this podcast, although if you listen further, he eventually brings it all around. The similarities with Akshaya are eerie:

DoseNation – Torture Chamber (Begins with Jarrod Wyatt)
James Kent continues his journey into the dark side of psychedelics and discusses topics including psychotic breaks, microdosing, Nicholas Sand, the Brotherhood of Eternal Love, John Griggs, and a list of grisly psychedelic murders too horrible to believe, including Jarrod Wyatt.
This podcast is part of is an incredible series James Kent did from 2016 to 2020; I recommend everyone check out all 10 at dosenation.com
James also had a podcast with me in 2020, discussing the “Generation X K-Hole”

That’s a rare case, but this has happened before. Here are a few recent examples from this year:
Chicago man suffocates wife while on mushrooms
Doctor: Double-murder defendant was on bad mushroom trip
‘This was a ridiculous, unprovoked attack’: murder suspect Thomas Chan blamed attacks on magic mushroom use
Update August 26, 2021 – UPS driver on vacation shoots man protecting his child sitting outside a restaurant. One dead, two families shattered.
More examples

This is exactly why the Netherlands outlawed their sale, and why we will see problems in the U.S. because Americans are just too fucking stupid. So many in this country can’t even wear masks and refuse vaccines. How can we expect them to take psychedelic drugs responsibly? Not happening. Expect some horrible reports of crimes like this everywhere they are legalized, and people who should not do drugs do them.

His being intoxicated may explain what happened, but does not excuse it. Kubiak is a very big guy. Ripped. He must have been almost twice her size. Per the grand jury transcript, he savagely beat her from head to toe for at least several minutes and then strangled her. He is most definitely guilty.

What may have been going through his mind when on mushrooms (speculation)

Personally, whenever I have taken mushrooms, the first thing I would do is walk outside amongst the trees, which of course, sometimes seemed to gang up on me a little. They tried to keep me closed in. I thought I was going to die, but I kept telling myself that mushrooms have very low toxicity. It was all in my mind! Still, I was surrounded by little dancing creatures that were obviously just there to distract me from getting water and going back to civilization so that their friends, the trees, could eat me. One of these creatures, the leader, in a business suit, sat on a high-tech hovering Lazy Boy and reached out his hand to shake my hand, which kept getting larger and larger in my field of vision. I didn’t know what would have happened had I shaken his hand, so I just hunkered down. I have also interacted with entities such as medusa with snakes tied up in jeweled hair tassels and skin made of rose thorns sitting on top of me.

I could go on and on but you get the idea.

I can’t imagine being in a house for the trip. To hell with Terence McKenna‘s idiotic idea of 5 grams in a darkened room. Indoors is simply too synthetic and claustrophobic for psilocybin’s broad strokes. Anecdotal evidence from people with whom I have discussed this suggests being cooped up inside makes one prone to bad trips.

Though indigenous cultures have no problem with them, Westerners have serious problems with letting go of their ego. Some, especially those with mental health issues, can start believing they are Jesus or something, or that evil forces are out to get them. And the reactions can be very unpredictable.

One other important point is that the concept of “shamans” is an overused sham used by con artists. There are shamans in the Amazon simply because they don’t have access to modern medicine. There is an eery attraction for a lot of New Age types to somehow venerate these people. And I think Akshaya might have been caught in that mindset. It was all part of his public brand. He may have been trying to heal her and help her, having heard that mushrooms are being used on terminally ill patients and those suffering from PTSD. He told the 911 caller that she had terminal cancer. She confirmed this in a video of her at her gym (see top of page, below photos) But he may have tried to play God and be her surrogate spiritual healer/doctor. And got them to overdose, because he REALLY wanted to heal her. Why not up the dose? And they both drank too much and panicked.

Ramp up the dosage, and add in paranoia and fear, and very importantly a temper hidden underneath his Shanti demeanor, possibly exacerbated by steroid abuse, and I could easily see something like the following scenario playing out. This is what it could have been like. It was difficult to write, but I feel it is needed to honestly go right to the heart of exactly how it may have happened.
Trigger warning: It is very dark, nightmarish, graphic, and disturbing. Seriously, skip to the next section if you are sensitive:

You can see now that if it was anything like this, it will be IMPOSSIBLE for him to in any way communicate this in a court of law. That he meant no harm. Even expert witnesses wouldn’t have a clue on how to process this. They would just conclude he killed her in a drug rage. Which he did.

Finally, Kubiak might have adult-onset schizophrenia, which can be brought on by a powerful psychedelic experience. This would explain his delusion well after the effects wore off. If this is true, and it is fairly simple to diagnose (audible and visual hallucinations) a jail doctor should prescribe him lithium ASAP. And it would certainly explain the brutal murder. But he is a little old to be having this become a problem now. It’s usually people in their 20s, and he surely has taken psychedelics many times before. That would also set him up for an insanity defense, but he would likely never, ever leave an asylum.

…or it could have been very mundane

Or maybe this is all overthinking it. Maybe it’s simpler. Maybe, Occam’s Razor (the simplest explanation is probably the correct one), they had a fight, he blacked out, and he just snapped. Maybe he also did bath salts, meth, and/or ‘roid rage. One of the commenters noted that his weight had greatly fluctuated in the years preceding this incident, and that is a telling sign for steroid use. It’s possible that psychedelics can help bring out roid rage.
I’m pretty sure it wasn’t opiates – the pupils are large-ish in the noonish mug shot. Maybe he wasn’t on drugs and just said he was, to shoot for an insanity defense. If that’s the case, of course, it won’t work.

Why did he call the police on himself?
Deserts surround Las Vegas. If he was crafty and psychopathic he could have tried to bury her out in the sands. He didn’t – and that must be appreciated. For whatever reason, in the middle of all this insanity, he showed a shred of humanity and rationality. If I were the judge, for that reason alone, he should not get the death penalty.
He was either sincere and wanted to do the right thing, or very panicked, or so intoxicated on mushrooms that he lacked the capacity for careful deceit – or some combination of the three. Probably all of these factored in. The detectives said he was delusional. That is why I’m taking his words as truthful, for purposes of speculation, and that is how where I eventually developed the wild scenario above.

Did we, as his old hippy friends, contribute to any of this?
Maybe, just maybe, when he was around us psytrancers 15 years ago, we were positive influences on his life with all our weed and pacifism, and when he got to Vegas and began turning tricks, it ate away his soul. Maybe all his success with the ladies made his ego too big.

Or, maybe we as a psytrance community helped to corrupt him, normalizing this behavior of drug-taking. It doesn’t matter the kind of drug – that little button in your brain, when pressed, makes you feel good. You learn to find and hit that button whenever you are unhappy or bored. Your willpower and judgment go to shit, making it seem perfectly natural and fine to be casually altering your mind and thought processes. Maybe he was on Reddit reading about all these jackasses who promote taking “heroic doses” and his ego prodded him to match those amounts.

But regardless of his past compatriots and enablers, it still all falls squarely on his shoulders.

Conclusion

Most importantly, never forget, there is an actual real female victim here that was brutally beaten and strangled to death at his place. And sadly, she is so easily forgotten amidst all of Kubiak’s Internet celebrity, Instagram fan pages, endless gossip on Lipstick Alley, and hazy psytrance memories from the 2000s.

Herleen was someone’s daughter, who is right now in a world of deeper grief than anyone can imagine. Imagine raising a beautiful little girl, all the memories over the years, seeing her grow from a baby to womanhood, all those countless little moments of teaching her to talk and walk, and then to have all those memories washed away by some drug-crazed sex guru freak who was twice her size.

Her poor family. Her poor parents. Akshaya Kubiak should burn in hell for what he did, drug-induced or not .

It would be nice to hypothesize that he gets the chair. Eye for an eye. Life for a life. But that wouldn’t even begin to offer justice to her family. Giving equal justice to her family would hypothetically involve him losing a loved one, and then keeping Akshaya alive to live the rest of his life with the pain of the loss.
But Akshaya would have to die as well.
Only when both of those mutually exclusive punishments are fulfilled would it truly be even – even steven.

Karma’s a bitch but not always fulfillable. So the death penalty, or decades to life in prison will just have to do so he can contemplate what he has done. And apparently, the enormity of what has happened has not hit him yet. Or it has, and he is being cunning.

Outlook on Prison

Kubiak might be stuck in the jail system due to lockdown and not be able to enter prison immediately. Jails are less comfortable, less structured, but maybe less prone to gang violence.

Kubiak might come off as a hero to some: “Yo man! We got a fucking GIGOLO on our block!” but to others, he will be a prize catch: “Yo man! I made the GIGOLO my bitch!”
Maybe he can conduct classes on sexual shamanism in prison. That is his skill set, after all. But this is problematic to a captive audience, I mean, who are they going to practice on, except for themselves?

Although the actual downward yearly trend of sexual assaults in Nevada should offer him some relative comfort, his celebrity will nevertheless precede him as word of who he is could spread like wildfire, and he will probably need a gang. In prison, Kubiak will be blocked from both the Aryan Warriors (who have been active in Nevada prisons since 1972), and their lesser famous rivals, the Black Warriors. He may be able to pass for Latino, so opting for the Sureños, affiliated with the Mexican Gulf Cartel, who control the South Nevada prison yards, and who are more numerous than Chicago’s Latin Kings and Gangster Disciples, will be his best bet, especially given that they are multiethnic. If he joins and gets locked in, expect to see possibly a “13” added to this “888” tattoo. And changing his name to something Latin sounding, like Chico.

Although Nevada’s incarceration rate is among the highest in the US, and its parole system has been graded D-, is actually decent compared to many of the states around it except for Utah.

And on the plus side, Nevada prisons currently boast a low COVID-19 infection rate, so there is that. But it still lags behind other states in actual preventative measure, so maybe it’s just been lucky.

Timeline

July 21, 2020 – Initial Court Appearance

Kubiak is scheduled to appear court today. I’m guessing it was an arraignment/bail hearing (which puts it within the 72 hours after arrest – note the clock doesn’t run down during the weekend. I strongly doubt, given the charges and the fact he was listed as being on narcotics, and the confession, that he got bail but who knows. It all depends on the judge and any unique circumstances.
No news on that yet.

July 23, 2020 – “She attacked me, so I attacked her”

“She attacked me, so I attacked her,” Kubiak reportedly told a Clark County Fire Captain.
What was he doing talking to a fire department captain!?!
Were they called to the scene? What the hell was going on there?
(Note: Captain of a firetruck. It is common for them to arrive with paramedics for situations such as this)
So he basically admitted to it to the murder, claiming self-defense.
I guess he felt he didn’t need a lawyer present.
Whelp, there goes the mystery “one-armed man” defense.

Victim named
https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/entertainment-columns/kats/las-vegas-murder-suspect-was-a-gigolos-cast-member-2080186/

Kubiak confesses
https://www.fox5vegas.com/news/crime/las-vegas-police-identify-man-accused-of-beating-woman-to-death-in-south-valley/article_cb48988e-c793-11ea-b813-4fd8ab5286cf.html

July 24, 2020
8:00 AM Another court appearance, see above

July 25, 2020 9:30am
Antam Sanskar (Funeral) for Herleen – Details removed to respect the privacy of her poor family

July 25, 2020
He had initially claimed the two were taking mushrooms and she passed out
https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/homicides/las-vegas-man-charged-with-murder-claimed-woman-attacked-him-2080240/

July 26, 2020
Fellow gigolo Nick Hawk speaks out. Manages to talk a lot without actually saying anything.
https://www.tvshowsace.com/2020/07/26/ash-armand-of-gigolos-arrested-for-murder-nick-hawk-speaks-out/

September 8, 2020
Akshaya’s fan page on Instagram has been made private. I guess word got out, similar to Michael Avenatti’s fan page on Facebook.
Check out his youtube channels while you can if you are curious.

September 10, 2020 – Indicted for Murder

Kubiak had a preliminary hearing today at 9:30 a.m. at the Clark County courthouse. The docket is available on the Clarke County website, see below for links. So a lot of information just became available, or, more likely, I had just now bothered to do a search on the site. Regardless, here is what we now know:
Looks like the charge is murder and not manslaughter.
The unlawful killing of another human being is classified as murder if the defendant acted with malice aforethought. The malice can either be express or implied.
Express malice is that deliberate intention unlawfully to take away the life of a fellow creature, which is manifested by external circumstances capable of proof.
Implied malice, on the other hand, can be inferred even if there is no external, objective proof… Malice could also be inferred in circumstances where the prosecutor is able to show a defendant had an “abandoned and malignant” heart.
Tierra Jones looks to be the judge. Black woman! MLK social justice warrior! A mother of a young girl! Not good for Kubiak! The judge in these types of cases is critical. A white male judge, especially a liberal one, would have been so much better for Kubiak’s case. Perhaps more can be researched as to how she has ruled on previous murder cases, a call to a local attorney friend would be very helpful to get their off-the-record take on the judge’s history.

My Take
Honestly, I have no idea which of the above two murder charges would apply here, but I am thinking Implied Malice.
By not charging manslaughter, which was, to my eyes, conceivable, the prosecution is serious as a heart attack here. But prosecutors routinely up the charges to give them leeway to bargain down, so this charge is entirely expected.
The great hope for Kubiak is to get the murder charge dismissed or plea-bargained down to manslaughter. Otherwise, murder is a category A felony carrying a possible life sentence in Nevada State Prison.

Kubiak’s arraignment is scheduled next week, September 18.

Case Information
Case # C-20-350618-1
Kubiak, Akshaya Anthony-Dixit

September 20, 2020 – Herleen’s friends release a memorial video (see top of page)
This has gotten deeply personal for me.
Watching the video, and seeing the distinct turban on her father’s head, I realize that they are Sikhs, a very peaceful, loving, and persecuted people. And then my heart sank as I realize that at one of the same parties I had met Akshaya, a few years earlier I had run into one of the white supremacists who massacred Sikhs at the Wisconsin temple in 2012, or his bandmate, around 2002. Full story here (it’s just a weird dark personal coincidence, not required reading for this case).
Update 4/29/21 – Second Coincidence – I just realized, although I was never a racist, I had associated with the same skinhead group that the Wisconsin shooter was involved in. Full story here. At this point, I suspect we are surrounded by a near-infinite number of coincidences like this. Life is strange; the world is small, and we are all far more interlinked than we ever realize.

September 26, 2020
After googling his full name, found he was jailed in 2016 for a traffic offense involving recklessness:
Charge #1.: – Kubiak, Akshaya Anthony-Dixit – 5/16/2016
484B.653.3a – Misdemeanor – Reckless driving disregard pers/prop safety, (1st) [55040] – Misdemeanor
Charge #2.: – Kubiak, Akshaya Anthony-Dixit – 5/16/2016
484B.257 – Misdemeanor – Fail yield at stop/yield sign or controlled i-sect [53803] – Misdemeanor
Charge #3.: – Kubiak, Akshaya Anthony-Dixit – 5/16/2016
484B.600 – Misdemeanor – Basic speed – 11-20 mph over posted limit [53853] – Misdemeanor
Charge #4.: – Kubiak, Akshaya Anthony-Dixit – 5/16/2016
482.545.2 – Misdemeanor – DSPL FICTITIOUS VEH REG/PLATE/TITLE [53657] – Misdemeanor
Standard Bail Set Ct1: $2000 Cash/$2000 Surety

https://www.docketalarm.com/cases/Nevada_State_Las_Vegas_Township_Justice_Court_Department_13/16M10847X/State_of_Nevada_vs._KUBIAK_AKSHAYA_ANTHONY-DIXIT/

Nevada law says “Drivers may find themselves charged with this moving violation for allegedly doing the following: going significantly over the speed limit, running red lights, hitting medians and shoulders while driving, disregarding an officer’s order to stop their car, or being reckless after an incident of road rage. An alleged violation of reckless driving laws in Las Vegas is just a misdemeanor traffic offense as long as the incident does not cause death or substantial physical harm. Otherwise, it is considered a felony crime.”

It could be minor… at the very least definitely involved running a stop sign or red light or ignoring a yield at some slightly high speed, not to mention having a fake registration/plates/title, the latter of which indicates a pattern of prior problems we don’t know about… but the fact he went to jail for this suggests that it was something more serious. Or maybe it was just the aggregate. In any event, prosecutors know this and might use it against him.

September 27, 2020
More serious was this DWI in 2016 found by one of this page’s readers:
DUI on 5/18/2016 charges: AKSHAYA A 34 Indian Male
TEMP-1783508 DUI, ABOVE LEGAL LIMIT, (1ST).

There was a marijuana charge from the 2000s, but it just isn’t relevant to the 2020 murder and anything like that will not be followed up on.

October 14, 2020 – Kubiak applies for habeas corpus “Motion for Setting of Reasonable Bail.” Hearing is on November 6. In a somewhat similar case, War Machine was denied bail.
https://www.lowkickmma.com/video-war-machine-pleads-guilty-denied-bail-faces-life/

October 23, 2020: A breakthrough for the public: A summary of the grand jury transcript; answers for some of our questions, and confirmation of many of our suspicions. “The Murder,” above, is updated.

October 26, 2020
I think money, celebrity, and the ego that comes from those destroyed Akshaya. For that reason, unless it is pertinent to the case, celebrity gossip will be avoided here, but this news item has an odd parallel with the killing:
Kubiak narrowly avoided getting shot at the 2017 Istanbul New Year’s Eve mass shooting at the Reina nightclub. He was with a porn star who had to leave because she didn’t feel well, minutes before the shooting started. So his life could have been saved by a sick woman. Tragically, three years later, one might then conclude, considering that he said Herleen was sick, he surely did not return the favor to sick women. One would think that a brush with death this close would have encouraged him to clean up his act.

October 28, 2020: Another bombshell: Herleen had brain cancer

Herleen was filmed thanking her gym for support, and that she had/had had brain cancer and had gone through chemotherapy.
In a video (at the top of this page, right under her photos) at a meeting at her gym, Herleen told an audience that she had had brain cancer and chemo “last year” and she thanked everyone for their support.
This is devastating, and fills in a story gap of Akshaya trying to “heal’ her, or at least help her come to terms and have peace with her condition via psilocybin, in the way it is being tested right now for in different research groups nationally, but it obviously does not in any way reduce the viciousness of this crime. More on that here.
Cancer and people taking mushrooms are both in the realm of “normal.” The violent nature of her death was not normal.

November 9, 2020 – Delays (Get used to them)
Looks like the Habeas Corpus hearing was pushed back to Nov 20. Don’t hold your breath – Donald Trump has a much greater chance of winning the election. There is no chance in hell someone who did that beating while on drugs is getting out.

November 20, 2020 – Statement from family, bail denied again

Write of Habeas Court failed. Kubiak will remain behind bars until justice takes its course.
Statement from the family, used with permission:

“Your Honor, thank you for taking the time to allow me to speak.
Herleen is my sister, who can not be here today which is our reason for being here. You have already read my impact letter, so I don’t want to take up much more of your time.
Just for reference, since you will never meet Herleen – people thought we looked alike, our voices sounded similar and we laughed the same. She was two inches taller than me and markedly more beautiful. When she walked into a room her aura of gentle kindness would fill all those present. When you look at me and then the pictures of my sister’s body, it will allow you to visualize what must have occurred to create the transformation.
The grand jury has indicted the defendant with the open murder of my sister. The only objective data is my sister’s body and it tells a horrifying story.
I request the defendant not receive bail for two reasons: safety and justice.
The cause of death by the coroner was deemed blunt force trauma and strangulation. The hyoid bone was fractured, this rarely occurs, and when it does it’s due to severe strangulation.
As a physician, I have watched people die of air hunger during attempts to help them or ease their pain. It is the most painful way to die and also the most dreadful situation to watch even when doing everything to help. Although I have witnessed death many times as part of my occupation, it never gets easier.
I am very afraid of a person that was able to look my sister in the eyes as she suffered from air hunger and continue to cause that pain with their bare hands until she was no longer with us. I am also afraid when viewing a person on television and the hearings that in some form witnessed this death to have no emotional reaction. If there is any doubt that the defendant is that person I do believe it to be unsafe and dangerous to allow that person to have another opportunity by granting bail.
It is human nature to want to survive. Even I, under the current circumstances, would try to escape the consequences. This combined with having contacts in other countries around the world and the monetary ability to travel would be the perfect set up to escape justice.
If bail is given to the defendant due to the pandemic and its effect on the legal system, while I put myself and my family at risk for getting COVID daily in order to take care of others – it would be very disturbing, to say the least.
I know the world isn’t fair, but I hope that in this moment under your authority that there is a chance it could come close to giving justice an opportunity.
I don’t know the laws, but I truly hope they would not allow someone to walk away after robbing a young woman of her life and leaving an entire family shattered.
I thank you for allowing me to speak up for my sister.”

What we still don’t know as of 11/22/20, and why it doesn’t matter
The only objective data we have is the testimony from the paramedics, the fire captain, and the detectives, the blood in the bathroom, bedroom, and washing machine, the autopsy, and the information only available to the prosecution and defense – CCTV (which firmly establishes that they were alone in his house), his toxicology (which isn’t yet public), and phone & social media records.
We will have to rely on his testimony (and possibly some mutual friends and acquaintances) for his motive and to a lesser extent the hours leading up to the assault, how they met, their relationship, why she was at his house (he has implied she was there for him to help her with her terminal illness). Unfortunately, Kubiak’s testimony has proven unreliable as he changed his story the day he was arrested, from “she had a heart attack” to “she attacked me, so I attacked her.” Finally, he may very well not remember the murder.
None of this ultimately matters. We have the body, the proof they were alone, and the drugs. But filling in these gaps would satisfy our curiosity to get all the details of “Why.” We may not get a picture of any of this until sentencing, unless he goes to trial.

November 22, 2020 – The Relationship

Right before the murder (see above) I explored what little we know of their relationship they were involved with.

November 26, 2020 – Some photos

I added some new photos provided by her family to her gallery at the top of this page.

December 13 , 2020 – Housekeeping

This post is getting very large and is in danger of becoming a convoluted mess, and Herleen being a clean person also deserves a clean post, so I consolidated the first set of his Gigolo videos into a video gallery, removed duplicate content, and streamlined the updates. with updates. Moved the grand jury transcript summary to the actual timeline. Also, upgraded chat functionality.
Someone with whom I ended up having a mutual professor acquaintances at the University of Texas is writing a story about Kubiak on a much larger website. I will post it here once it’s published.

December 20, 2020 – A relevant podcast concerning another mushroom-related murder

February 2, 2021 – A jury trial looks to be set October 2021

4/20/21 New article published on Refinery29, a young womens’ lifestyle site

They Took Mushrooms Together. They Meditated Together. How Did It End In Murder – New Article on Akshaya Kubiak by Hallie Lieberman!
Excellent article! Check it out! I helped her as much as I was able. Her article is far more hands-on with his and her families – areas to which I had decided not to go. Hallie wrote the article I could not. She has a website and a Wikipedia page.
Fun fact: Although she is younger than me, Hallie and I had the same professor, Jeff Richards, at the University of Texas Advertising Department. He remembers us both!
Not so fun fact: Hallie pretty much confirms it was primarily steroids and a temper that caused the murder, undoubtedly unleashed by an ego-crushing psilocybin experience. A demonic trifecta.

9/23/21: Akshaya has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing by the judge.

And he did not show remorse, as always; from the moment the police arrived he has been stone cold. If you are a veteran of this page, that is all the news we have right now.

December 5, 2021:
JUSTICE FINALLY DEALT

Akshaya Kubiak had been offered ten years, but held out for a jury trial, thinking he could get off lightly by sweet-talking a jury, as if they were random fans of his Showtime show. He then changed his mind, and threw himself at the mercy of the judge, who gave him a full 20 years. Another charge of “mayhem” was added a few months ago, which added another significant amount of time.

In Greek tragedy, this is known as hamartia (the process of payback) brought on by the tragic flaw that is hubris (pride). Akshaya was one of the Beautiful People and led a charmed life – looks, riches, popularity – all undone by his vanity and pride.

A side note: Akshaya and Herleen had started a business together, registered just a week before the shocking murder. 

All in all, I am satisfied that justice was served. This is around what I predicted and I believe this is fair. Most close to this case that I have spoken with would have preferred 30-40 years, if not life. But the sense of satisfaction and relief is palpable.

As I’m finally going to sleep on this I just realized I don’t think he’s going to get out and seven or eight years it’s going to be 10 or 15 because her family for sure is going to be testifying at his parole hearing. All they need to do is pull out the autopsy photos.

Thank you everyone for sticking through this. Beware toxic masculinity, celebrity culture, and especially steroids. And, especially, don’t ever mix mushrooms and steroids. We now have two confirmed cases of this being a deadly combination. Don’t be stupid.
But think beyond not taking certain combinations of drugs.
Consider stopping taking them entirely.
Consider the cost of your selfish need to get high.
Consider the consequences of your choices on those loved ones around you.

Herleen’s family will never get their sister/daughter/aunt back. Their pain has been almost unbearable. Don’t add another casualty because you selfishly want to get high and escape reality and responsibilities.

This concludes this case. There are no further updates below, other than this message.

I will circle back in the future if he gets released early.

* * *

ਤੰਦਰੁਸਤੀ (Healing)

The Gift of our Wounds: A Sikh and a White Supremacist Find Forgiveness After Hate

Sikh Ways of Grieving

By Simran Jeet Singh
What does your faith teach about happens to people when their lives end?

The Sikh tradition (Sikhi) gives no clear explanation on what happens to people when their lives end. Sikhi does not place emphasis on afterlife, and instead, encourages people to focus on what can be achieved within our present lives. According to its religious teachings, this human life is a unique opportunity to connect with the Divine, to realize our potential, and to serve those around us.

How do religious leaders comfort the dying? How do lay people comfort the dying?

Sikhi believes that every individual has the same opportunity to develop a relationship with Divinity, and therefore there is no clergy in the Sikh tradition. Sikhs comfort the dying according to their wishes. Many Sikhs prefer to listen to religious music (kirtan) and recitation (path) during their final moments, and many also choose to spend final time with their loved ones.

How do members of the community traditionally respond to the death of one of their members?

Sikhi views death as a part of life and the Divine Order (hukam). According to Sikh traditions, death is not a time for mourning, but instead a time for gathering, remembering, and celebrating. Community members traditionally respond to the death of one of their members by organizing worship services in which people come together to praise the Divine and reflect on the life of the individual who passed away.

Is there a service to memorialize the dead? What is it like?

When a Sikh passes away, family and community members (sangat) gather together for worship. While the themes of the worship service may vary, people generally take this as an opportunity to express love and gratitude. Sikh worship primarily draws from the Sikh scripture (Guru Granth Sahib) — which is written in verse — and is typically conducted with collective singing and recitation.

What rituals of mourning are there in your faith? Is there a particular amount of time allocated for grieving?

The Sikh tradition teaches that life is to be lived with everlasting optimism (chardi kala). Therefore there is no ritual for mourning or grieving, even in a situation of a loved one’s passing.

What text or passage would you suggest to a member of your faith community who is grieving?

A scriptural composition traditionally sung at the time of one’s passing is Sohila. This composition, which is also a core part of Sikh liturgy, reflects on themes related to life, death, and celebration. The community has sung Sohila collectively since the formative moments of the Sikh tradition, and it continues to provide guidance and solace to those who reflect on its messages.

What words would you share to comfort members of our community who may be mourning?

Upon losing a loved one, it may be comforting to reflect on the transience of life and to remember that we are simply guests in this world. It may also help to reflect on concepts of humility, acceptance and graciousness. This ideas are exemplified throughout the Sikh scripture, including in this prayer from Guru Ramdas: “O Divine, you are the True Creator and my Divine Master. Whatever you please is what comes to pass, and whatever you give is what I receive.”

Is there a tradition from your faith that might be comforting for people of other faiths?

I find the Sikh tradition of framing death as an occasion for celebration to be incredibly comforting and powerful. This approach focuses on the positive contributions of one’s life and allows us to better preserve the memories and feelings of our loved ones. Celebrating rather than mourning also pushes us to count our blessings in a time of emotional vulnerability and helps us bring stability and solace into our lives, families, and communities.

Much love and compassion to Herleen’s and Akshaya’s family.

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