Shivangi Sinha
In July 2020, 911 responders arrived at a house on Blackstone Ridge Court in Las Vegas, Nevada, to find a woman named Herleen Dulai brutally beaten to death. She had severe contusions and bruises on her body and was pronounced dead before any medical assistance could be administered. While her body was at the coroner’s office, her phone rang, and it was her parents who were informed of her passing. This news shocked them, as they had spoken to her multiple times daily, and she seemed perfectly fine during their last video call. The episode ‘Sin City Clickbait’ of ID’s ‘Deadly Influence: Social Media Murders’ details the gruesome nature of the murder and apprehension of the perpetrator responsible for such a crime.
Herleen Dulai’s Had Been Brutally Beaten Before Her Death
Born on April 22, 1991, Herleen Dulai was the daughter of Indian immigrants. Her father was an aerospace engineer, and her mother held two master’s degrees. She grew up in Northern California with two older siblings and was adored by her family. She was bright, cheerful, and very affable. However, those close to her describe her as someone who was very emotional and had grown up with many insecurities. Herleen always aspired to have a secure and flourishing future, so she enrolled at Temple University in 2010 and graduated in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences.
In 2017, Herleen moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, to further her studies. It was there that she found her community. She joined A.C.E. Fitness, and while on her fitness journey, she became close friends with the owner. Soon, she started working as a trainer at the gym, and it seemed like she was confronting her mental health issues and insecurities head-on. In 2019, Herleen made a video claiming she had a brain tumor and had undergone chemotherapy. However, many of her close friends denied that the tumor was cancerous, and her family stated they did not know about this health issue.
Regardless, Herleen had made the gym her focus and began leading initiatives such as a youth program. By early 2020, she had stopped working at the gym and was seeking her next career move, hoping to find something that would captivate her interest. Only a few months after she had stopped working at the gym, on the morning of July 16, 2020, 911 responders arrived at a house on Blackstone Ridge Court in Las Vegas after receiving a call. They found Herleen with a swollen face, numerous bruises, and blood in her hair, which had matted it.
Herleen’s body was covered in melted wax, and there was a significant amount of blood at the scene. Before medical examiners could assist her, Herleen was pronounced dead. The coroner’s report detailed extensive injuries, including a gum injury so severe that a piece of her tooth was found in her stomach and hemorrhages all over her body. The cause of death was determined to be a combination of blunt force trauma to her head and asphyxiation. Additionally, as per reports, a combination of drugs, caffeine, and alcohol was detected in her system.
Herleen Dulai’s Killer Called 911 and Admitted to Killing Her
The person who made the 911 call and was found in Herleen Dulai’s house was Akshaya Anthony-Dixit Kubiak. A practitioner of psytrance, he worked as a gigolo for Cowboys4Angels in Las Vegas and gained some popularity after being featured on Showtime’s reality series ‘Gigolos.’ He took the stage name Ash Armand and amassed a significant following due to his physique and good looks.
Herleen met Akshaya sometime in May or June 2020 and had been in regular contact with him. It remains unclear whether she was paying him for his company or if they had a romantic connection, but they spent much time together. He introduced her to psytrance therapies, which he claimed would help her overcome her mental health issues. Akshaya occasionally drove the car Herleen’s parents had bought for her, and some of her friends had seen them together. Before meeting Herleen, he had been in a relationship, and his ex continued to live with him even after their breakup.
On July 15, the day before Herleen was killed, she went to Akshaya’s parents’ house to pick up his chihuahua for dog sitting while he was planning a trip to Miami, Florida. She took the dog and went to his condo, where Akshaya’s ex-girlfriend had left after being told by him that Herleen had a lot of negative energy that he would help her get rid of. She also called her father from the house, which sounded normal to him. The following day, when he called 911, he told the operator there had been a struggle and that he had temporarily lost his mind.
When the medical examiners arrived, Akshaya told them he did not remember what had happened because both of them had taken psychotropic drugs and were engaged in a spiritual routine. He claimed that Herleen had attacked him, showing a cut mark on his palm as evidence of her aggression. Akshaya said he might have feared his life was in danger and hit her in self-defense, ultimately killing her. However, he insisted he had not intended to do so. The police who first arrived at the scene noticed blood marks in the bathroom and suspected there had been an attempt to clean up before he called 911. He surrendered to the police and confessed he did it; hence, he was arrested immediately.
Akshaya Kubiak is Serving His Sentence in Nevada Today
Upon his arrest, Akshaya Kubiak was charged with one count of first-degree murder. In September 2020, he pleaded not guilty to the charge. This was surprising given his cooperation with the police and admission that he had harmed Herleen Dulai. In September 2021, he changed his plea to guilty for two felony counts of voluntary manslaughter and mayhem. During his sentencing hearing, Akshaya maintained that he had always been respectful of women and had never intentionally harmed anyone. He claimed he had blacked out during the incident with Herleen. He received a sentence of 8 to 20 years in prison for the charges. Currently 42 years old, Akshaya is serving his sentence at the Southern Desert Correctional Center in Nevada and will be eligible for parole in 2028.
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