Naman Shrestha
In the summer of 2017, 20-year-old British model Chloe Ayling was abducted in Milan, Italy, and taken to a secluded farmhouse in the Piedmont region, several hours away from Milan. It turned out that a Polish man named Łukasz Herba was responsible for her sudden abduction. All the intricate details of the entire ordeal and the trial of the kidnapper are dramatized in the BBC’s ‘Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story,’ a six-part British biographical drama series.
Łukasz Herba Claimed He Fell in Love With Chloe Ayling
In 2017, Łukasz Pawel Herba worked as a computer programmer in Oldbury, England, when he devised a plan to lure a 20-year-old British model named Chloe Ayling under the pretense of a modeling photoshoot. When the first plan of setting up a meeting with her in Paris failed, he reached out to her modeling agent, Phil Green, again using the alias Andre Lazio, and set up a new photoshoot in Milan, Italy, on July 12, 2017. Right before their scheduled appointment at the studio, Łukasz drugged and kidnapped her, with the help of another accomplice, allegedly his brother, Michal Herba, wearing a balaclava.
Łukasz reportedly placed Chloe in the trunk of his car and drove down to a secluded farmhouse several miles away from Milan. For the next six days, he kept her handcuffed in his captivity. As per Chloe, during that time, he told her he was a part of a Romanian organization called the Black Death and was given the job of selling her on the dark web. He offered to free her if she was able to raise €300,000 for her ransom. He emailed her agent about the same. As the days went by, he allegedly began developing feelings for his hostage and asked her if she wanted to share a bed with him.
Łukasz also put forward a proposal in front of her, allegedly stating that they could even get into a relationship in the future. She reportedly played along with it and pretended to like him, too. Meanwhile, they even headed out to nearby shops and businesses, where, according to court records, witnesses claimed that they appeared to be a couple. When Łukasz realized that the ransom amount was far-fetched, he drove her to the British consulate and released her from his captivity. After the British model explained the entire situation to the authorities, the Polish kidnapper was taken into custody and charged with Chloe’s abduction.
Łukasz Herba is Currently Incarcerated at an Italian Prison Facility
About a year later, Łukasz Herba stood trial for the abduction of Chloe Ayling. The prosecutors brought the survivor to the court as their star witness, who claimed that she was lured to Italy under the pretense of a photoshoot, drugged with ketamine, and held hostage by the defendant at an isolated farmhouse in the Piedmont region. Meanwhile, the kidnapper defended himself and claimed that he had first met Chloe in 2015 on Facebook, after which they had allegedly talked about hatching a kidnapping scheme to make her rich and famous. He further claimed that he was in love with her and agreed to help her.
Łukasz said, “I never hurt the girl. I was not violent with her…I was in love and I was hoping that once her fame took off that she would repay me with feelings and we would share the money.” However, he admitted that he had invented the Black Death and alleged that he received help from his brother, Michal, who didn’t know about the scheme initially. When asked to explain his reason behind not telling the authorities the alleged involvement of Chloe in the scheme, he claimed that it was because he believed that she would admit the truth herself. The prosecution also focused on the investments he had made for the kidnapping, including traveling, property rentals, and two ski masks. He had also reportedly instructed his brother to thoroughly clean the trunk of the car and ensure no trace of Chloe’s hair could be found.
Finally, on June 11, 2018, Łukasz Herba was found guilty of abduction and trying to secure a ransom over the dark web. Ultimately, he was sentenced to a total of 16 years and nine months in prison for his crimes. After the verdict, his defense counsel were left disappointed as the court didn’t consider the fact that Chloe had come out of the ordeal unharmed. He and his defense attorneys expressed their intention to appeal his conviction and sentence. In 2020, after an appeal, his sentence was reduced to 12 years and one month. As of today, Łukasz is serving his time at an Italian prison facility, awaiting his parole date.
Read More: Where is Chloe Ayling Now?
