British model Chloe Ayling "collaborated" with her kidnapping for fame and money and even helped him write the ransom letter, her alleged kidnapper told an Italian court on Wednesday, February 21. The accused also claimed that the model told him that they could have a sexual relationship once the kidnapping ruse gets over.
Chloe also took ketamine voluntarily, staged a drugged photo of herself and promised to be the captor's girlfriend because she wanted to come into the public eye through the kidnapping plot, said Lucasz Herba before the court.
The 30-year-old also revealed during the trial that he and Chloe had planned to split the money they made from the kidnapping, according to a Daily Mail report. He added that the model even climbed into a large black bag "of her own accord in order to leave traces" of DNA.
Chloe, 20, made headlines after she claimed that she was kidnapped in Milan, Italy and tortured physically and psychologically her captors in July 2017. According to her account, she was tied to furniture for a week, set up to be auctioned on the 'deep dark web' and let go only when the kidnapper found out she had a two-year-old son, the actress had claimed.
Her story raised many questions when she went on to say that she had gone shopping with her kidnapper and slept in the same bed. Now, the alleged kidnapper has said that she was aware of the plan all along and even contributed to it.
"She knew when we met in Milan that the kidnap was not true," said Herba, who admitted to having booked her for a fake photo shoot there. "When Chloe and I met in the studio, I have told her the plan. We have remained talking for almost two hours."
The pair collaborated in writing the ransom note as his English is not good, the man told the court. The accused also said he wrote an email to Ayling's agent Phil Green with her help. The email mentioned that he was "a mid-high level hitman with Black Death", a criminal organization.
Herba told the court through a translator that he had befriended Chloe in 2015 on Facebook, after which they went out for dinner and dancing. Chloe had shared that she was frustrated with her lackluster modeling career and wanted money.
He added that she had talked about a film where an organization kidnapped and sold women and believed it would "be very useful so that people would know who she was."
Herba also mentioned Chloe's previous relationship with businessman Rory McCarthy, which she was hoping would solve her financial problems. He said "the idea of the kidnap was born" when the relationship ended badly. The model is reportedly dating Britain's Got Talent judge David Walliams now.
Herba talked about how the pair spent time during the kidnapping period. "Often we went out because there was nothing to do in the house," said Herba. "We went to buy stuff for her, she didn't even have a toothbrush." He added that they would also take walks in the uninhabited area of the village.
According to Herba, the pair decided to abort the kidnapping ruse because they were not getting enough publicity. Then they planned to blame other people for the crime and Chloe was to withdraw from any criminal procedure.
Chloe's lawyer Francesco Pesce maintained that the model had no involvement in the kidnapping. The prosecutor has asked Herba to be psychologically evaluated.
The trial has been adjourned until March.
