St. Petersburg College has a campus in the city. Associated Press Jurors were shown a cellphone video that captured a portion of the ordeal. After a month-long trial, all four defendants are found guilty on all counts. Ashley Collman For Dailymail.com It's only the beginning of a 40-hour nightmare. "Two different girls.". and The two were dragged into a bathroom and tortured for hours. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Perhaps, had the campus authorities had not ignored Smiths drug dealing due to his talent on the football field, then Ewo and his friend wouldnt have suffered any of the events. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. "I knew that it was going to be high-profile and it affected a lot of people in this community personally, so I really wanted to make sure that my best people were on it," said Doorley. "So I said 'Sure. Ani Okeke Ewo was abducted along with Nicholas Kollias back in 2015 and tortured in a drug-related revenge attack. They roll up. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. This is the story Ani Okeke, a victim of abduction and abuse. It was just flopping around, and somehow I managed to get back to my feet and get to the door," said Nicholas. Kollias testified that he concluded his abductors were planning to keep him alive only until the banks opened on Monday morning and they could finish draining his accounts. Kollias and Ewo were lured to the Harvest Street home by two women they did not know late one Friday night. Nicholas is beaten with a hedge-trimmer, a bat, a pipe, then hit over the head again, this time with a fluorescent bulb. 2023 www.democratandchronicle.com. "It was dark out and from the outside it seemed like a decent house," said Nicholas. Seminole Wars, (1817-18, 1835-42, 1855-58), three conflicts between the United States and the Seminole Indians of Florida in the period before the American Civil War that ultimately resulted in the opening of the Seminole's desirable land for white exploitation and settlement. They accept 4 insurance plans. On December 4, 2015, Ani and Kollias were hanging out with their friends from the football team, when they were approached by a lady Samantha Hughes, who tried to friend the two players on Facebook earlier in the week. He managed to stand before being subdued. Crime Watch Daily contacted the University of Rochester. Nicholas Kollias and Ani Okeke Ewo, both 21-year-old students, were lured to a house several miles from campus for what they believed was a party. "I just feel like with everything that happened, I feel like he had more to do with it than he will ever admit," said Nicholas Kollias. Brian DeCarolis, who was hired to represent Gigliotti, said the two men appearde to have been misled to the apartment. Nicholas says the kidnappers turned on loud music to cover the sounds of what's to come. "I'm not going to close my eyes. The students are both from Illinois and were last seen near. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. There was just that much," said Monroe County Assistant District Attorney Matthew Schwartz. Cancela en cualquier momento. "This is gonna be a hostage rescue," said Peters. "There was nothing I could do, and then I just remember getting hit over the head with a bat and I'm laying on the ground and these men are just screaming, just 'Don't fight us, just take it and don't try and escape,'" said Nicholas. Police did not offer a motive for the alleged kidnapping, but University President Joel Seligman issued a statement Monday saying: I will, at an appropriate time in the near future, be able to provide more detail about this very serious, but isolated, incident.. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. According to police, Ewo and fellow student Nicholas Kollias were abducted Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015 in . It's Friday night, Dec. 4, 2015. I got up as fast as I could and tried running to the side door," said Nicholas. and Chief Michael Ciminelli described the SWAT rescue of two University of Rochester seniors Nicholas Kollias, 21, and Ani Okeke-Ewo, 21. So Ani took a quick picture of me and sent it to them.". "They were just spraying bullets everywhere and they were putting the gun down our throat and putting the gun to our body and just moving it at the last seconds," said Nicholas. The girls must have liked what they saw. "The drug dealers, when they came back, were looking for the people who lived in that apartment, not realizing that it was just being used by somebody else. "My femur was completely broken in half," he said. Rochester Police launch a full investigation, getting search warrants for the boys' phones and Facebook accounts. During the trial, Strickland was said to be the mastermind and was given a 155-year sentence, with Rivera being given 35 years. After more than 40 hours of sheer hell, Nicholas and Ani are reunited with their families. Police said they were targeted by their assailants. Rolidan alsofaces charges of first-degree criminal use of a firearm, third- and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. The two women have pleaded guilty to crimes and may testify. We continue to believe this was an isolated incident and wish to stress that our campus is safe.'. Hearings to determine attorneys for the others are expected later this week, a court employee said. "They were in a nice car. Strickland and company then wanted revenge. The next morning the two football students were reported missing and campus officials started an investigation, being in luck, one of their teammates remembered the girl who tried to friend him on Facebook and let the investigators know. Also the fact that they had been out of contact with everybody else.". 2023 Telepictures Productions Inc. Three of the defendants are sentenced to seven to 15 years in prison. "So they'd give us a little bit of a lead and we'd be able to follow up on that, we'd wind up in the dead end, we'd have to come back and get more information. Authorities later said they had been targeted in a case of mistaken identityafter marijuana dealers were beaten and robbed by someone else at Ewo's apartment a month earlier. They were instead held against their will, beaten, shot and sexually assaulted over the course of 40 hours. The night ahead was looking good. "At that point I got up, trying to run for the exit,"Nicholas Kollias, now 22, testified Thursday about the attack that precipitated the hours of torture he and classmate,AniOkekeEwo, were subjected to over a December 2015 weekend. "At that point she really wasn't free to leave.". Lydell Strickland, 26; Samantha Hughes, 19; Dennis Perez, 23; and Leah Gigliotti, 20, face charges of first-degree kidnapping while Inalia Rolldan, 19, and Ruth Lora, 19, are suspected of second-degree kidnapping. The pair went to a house that reeked of urine and sat on a sofa. "The individual who was nicknamed 'The Caretaker' came into the room, and this was the only time I actually saw any of the individuals' faces without a mask on," said Nicholas. Kollias also suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to his leg in the ordeal. Alcaraz-Ubilies is accused of kidnapping, assault and criminal possession of a weapon. University of Rochester Public Safety officers and Rochester Police know the clock is ticking. Then out of the darkness a figure appears. "I just remember seeing both of my parents, and more specifically my father, he just came over to me in the stretcher and stuff, and he was like 'You're safe now and you're going to be all right,'" said Nicholas. Release of the indictments, while partly redacted for sensitivity, offered a harrowing glimpse intowhat UR President Joel Seligman would later describe as the "intimidating and demeaning treatment" that the pair endured. In partnership with Turns out Nicholas had been shot twice, once in each leg. I'll do anything," a voice is heard pleading. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. They had roles for individuals. The two men were then taken into the bathroom and had their hands and feet taped together and were tortured with hedge clippers and other improvised weapons before being sexually assaulted for the next 40 hours. "In reality they were saving my life. A month later, all of the perpetrators are in custody: nine in total, five men and four women. By Five have pleaded guilty; four are now on trial before state Supreme Court Justice Alex Renzi. Police: 4 women and 2 men charged in U of R students' kidnapping - News - Fairport-E.Rochester Post - Fairport, NY. But Nicholas wasn't all tackles and touchdowns. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. They soon catch a break when they track down the girl who messaged Ani. Sign up to receive breaking True Crime Daily news, exclusive stories and behind-the-scenes info. I was thinking about my family, parents, and God. One had been shot in the leg ahead of the rescue. We may earn a commission from links on this page. There was no evidence presented at trial that Ani was in any involved in planning or carrying out the kidnapping. Dec. 7, 2015 Nicholas says there's more to the story, and he's holding the University of Rochester responsible. All rights reserved (About Us). But soon the changing scenery catches Nicholas's attention. Are they getting closer to finding the boys? 9,99 /mes despus de 30 das. A former Upstate New York studentis speaking out for the first time about the abuse and torture he suffered when abducted in December 2015. "After about six hours we were able to get a couple of good locations where these girls last saw Nico and Ani," said Peters. He took an active part in the Macedonian Struggle and would once . The five receive sentences of 13 to 35 years in prison. They were instead. Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley says this case was like no other and deserved special attention. Find service information, send flowers, and leave memories and thoughts in the Guestbook for your loved one. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. And one of Ewo's high school football coaches says he's heard that the two thought they were going to a party when they came across the gang of kidnappers, according to ABC 13. He says after Isaiah Smith was arrested, a football coach bailed Smith out of jail, then failed to inform the student body of the severity of the crime, all in an attempt to give their star athlete preferential treatment. There, they. All six suspects are due in court on Friday for a preliminary hearing. This website or its third-party tools process personal data.In case of sale of your personal information, you may opt out by using the link. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Would love your thoughts, please comment. According to a 2015 roster posted on the university's website, Ewo is a cornerback for the football team, while Kollias was listed as a defensive end on the 2014 roster. Authorities have said that UR seniorsAni Okeke Ewo and Nicholas Kolliaswereheld and terrorized for 40 hours before beingrescued by a Rochester police SWAT team. This drug heist made it look like Smith and some associates were robbed of a large quantity of weed at Ewos apartment while he was away. According to the Post, Kollias and Ewo, both of whom played on the university's football team, were targeted becauseStrickland and his co-defendants mistakenly believed that they were involved in the robbery of a group of drug dealers in November 2015. The video they shot is graphic. Ashley Collman For Dailymail.com The First Seminole War (1817-18) began over attempts by U.S. authorities to recapture runaway Black slaves . Ani Okeke Ewo (left) and Nicholas Kollias (right) were rescued from a house in Rochester, N.Y., where they were held against their will for most of the weekend. The assailants, who took the UR student's credit cards, ATM cards and telephone, seemed almost gleeful, according to the testimony. Nicholas Kollias and Ani Okeke Ewo, both seniors at the university, were reported missing on Saturday evening under "suspicious circumstances." They were eventually located at a residence. That's when I thought it was all over.". Nicholas Kollias and Ani Okeke Ewo, both seniors at the school, were reported missing on Saturday evening under "suspicious circumstances," police said. "So I put my hands up and I'm like, 'I'm innocent, please don't shoot me again.' After hours of torture, the masked men leave. They were instead held against their will, beaten, shot and sexually assaulted over the course of 40 hours. UR abduction case:. The monsters return early the next morning for more. *Terms apply. That robbery led a group of drug dealers to abduct two other UR football players, Nicholas Kollias and Ani Okeke Ewo, in a case of mistaken identity. "At this point, my body was broken down and I didn't know how much longer I could go on," he said. Ani Okeke Ewo is a student at The University of Rochester who is believed to be in his early twenties and played as a cornerback for The University of Rochester football team and hometown Romeoville, Illinois. Lydell Strickland: Two counts of first-degree gang assault, six counts of first-degree robbery, twocounts of second-degree robbery, nine counts of first-degree predatory sexual assault, first-degree criminal use of a firearm and multiple counts of third- and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Survivor Story 5 - Nicholas Kollias and Ani Okeke Ewo. She was with her friend and 20-year-old Leah Gigliotti to pick up Kollias and Ani Okeke Ewo. David Alcaraz-Ubiles, one of his co-defendants, was found guilty of kidnapping and weapons charges and sentenced to 15 years in prison, which he will serve after completing a separate 15-year sentence for an unrelated crime. Rochester Police said a SWAT team rescued the two students at approx at 9:20 p.m. Sunday. A SWAT team rescuedKollias and Ewo that Sunday night from a home some four miles from the Rochester college campus. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. A SWAT team rescuedKollias and Ewo that Sunday night from a home some four miles from the Rochester college campus. 9,99/mes despus de 30 das. Read more at the Washington Post and the Chicago Tribune. I was thinking about my family, parents and God. The abductors used two women to persuade the UR students to go with them to the Harvest Street house. The captors put Ani in the bedroom. I was the first one out of my direct family to go to college.". All rights reserved. He still has a titanium rod in his left leg and a bullet lodged in his right calf. Senior year, and fall semester at the University of Rochester is in full swing. All rights reserved (About Us). Nicholas Kollias, of Northbrook, Illinois, and Ani Okeke Ewo, of Aurora, Illinois, were reported missing Saturday evening, hours after they were last seen near the school. Cancela en cualquier momento. "The evidence was overwhelming. Kollias and Ewo were sexually assaulted,. Police said Nicholas Kollias, of Northbrook, Illinois, who was shot, and Ani Okeke Ewo,. The pair of ladies were high and drunk, with Hughes having taken weed and Gigliotti snorting cocaine, although they passed some booze back to Ewo and Kollias to get them high before setting off. At a press conference late Sunday night,. They drove into a rougher area of town and the guys got a little worried, but they still followed the two women into a house. So they told the girls to go get the football players who ripped them off. Lydell Strickland gets 155 years to life. Prueba Audible gratis durante 30 das. But then Kollias described being jarred by the sound of multiple explosions. Sadly, Nicholas and Ani are no longer friends. December 4,. Nicholas Kollias has filed a $10 million lawsuit against the nine kidnappers. Did he feel like when they're washing him, they going to let him go? "So it was almost as if they were like trying to cover their tracks.". Leah Gigliotti:Two counts of first-degree gang assault. Growing up in an upscale suburb of Chicago, Nicholas Kollias was the all-American high school kid. ", What happened: Timeline of NY college student kidnapping, In court, UR abduction suspect threatens to 'knock out' his lawyer, UR students' abduction: 'The victims were terrorized repeatedly', ESPN to feature former UR football player who was abducted, tortured. This provider has 31 years of experience and is affiliated with Leesburg Regional Medical Center. "Our kidnapped students appear to be the innocent victims of a horrendous crime," Seligman said. "They put me into the shower where they started washing me, and the entire tub is just red," said Nicholas. Nicholas Kollias and Ani Okeke Ewo, both University of Rochester football players from Illinois, were lured to a home for what they thought was a Saturday night house party. Ani Okeke Ewo (left) and Nicholas Kollias (right), both 21-year-old students at the University of Rochester, were abducted and held hostage for 43 hours until a SWAT team rescued them. "They didn't want to go in my apartment and they suggested that we go over to their place," said Nicholas. That robbery led a group of drug dealers to abduct two other UR football players, Nicholas Kollias and Ani Okeke Ewo, in a case of mistaken identity. "I thought they were burning down the house," he said, "but it was the SWAT team saving our lives.". Empieza iniciando sesin con tu cuenta de Amazon, Segn tu ubicacin, se te ha dirigido a audible.es. In this undated photo provided by the University of Rochester, Ani Okeke Ewo poses for a photo. In December 2015, Nicholas Kollias and fellow senior Ani Okeke Ewo, both University of Rochester football players, were kidnapped near the New York campus. Outside, a SWAT team sets explosive charges on two doors and breaches them. I always wanted to continue playing football in college. Ani lies bleeding on the floor as the attacker prods and threatens him with an electric hedge-trimmer. "And I was holding Ani's hand and I just knew that like one of these bullets were going to hit me and I was going to die.". He also filed a $10 million lawsuit against those convicted in the abduction. Aisha Hinds: Age, Family, Career, Is She Gay? What Is The Use Of Judging Matters Show? When the woman invited him to a party, Ewo asked if he could bring along Kollias. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Six people have been charged in their abduction. "The house just lit up and just shook," said Nicholas. "The plan really was to basically drain all the bank accounts," said Scott Peters. TIME AND LOCATION: They'd take our wallet, everything from me, my keys, my phone, my wallet.". "At this point I got clubbed over the head, put on the ground. Cops say Isaiah Smith then used that apartment to rob Lydell Strickland and his gang of thugs. "They were extremely organized," said Nicholas. Undercover officers monitor the two locations. "My leg was like gel. "They started saying that I was lying to them and that my cards weren't working anymore and then they said that they were going to kill us.". Third person pleads guilty in UR kidnapping case. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. It's now Sunday night, 9 p.m., almost 40 hours into this kidnapping nightmare. Kollias also was shot in the leg with a .22-caliber rifle, according to a criminal complaint. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Nicholas plans to file a civil suit against the University of Rochester. On arriving at the location they went inside a house with the ladies but Inside of it was a mess, the two men sat down on the couch and then were shocked when a group of ten men in masks burst into the room wielding bats, knives, and guns reached at them, immediately the lights went off and his friend Kollias decided to make a run for the door, but he was shot in the leg and his femur shattered. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. "My life was put in jeopardy on numerous occasions all because of Isaiah getting bailed out, and poor decision-making on many university officials.". The population was 10,890 at the 2000 census. They were instead held . These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Warner Bros. Entertainment | The studentsapparently were victims of mistaken identity,targeted by six or more suspectsand abducted on Dec. 5, asretribution for a drug-related robbery in which neither was involved. He was scared, but throughout the whole ordeal he kind of had this like optimistic view, 'They're going to release us,' but it was hard for me to kind of see that light. "I started to notice that the neighborhood was not so good anymore," said Nicholas. Both students were hospitalized but have since been released. Lydell Strickland, 26, was sentenced to155 years in prison for planning the attack as well as charges ofrobbery, assault and sex abuse. Copyright 2022 Rolling Out. The two were rescued by a Rochester police SWAT team. Kollias and Ewo were taken to a nearby hospital, where they are recovering from non-life-threatening injuries. Over the next 40 hours, the pair were repeatedly tortured and sexually abused, including being cut with knives and a chainsaw and being doused with flammable liquids. Police said. "It was eerily silent," said Rochester Police Deputy Chief Scott Peters. "There was always someone, at least one or two individuals that were kind of watching over us," said Nicholas. One was . Nicholas Kollias and Ani Okeke Ewo, both University of Rochester football players from Illinois, were lured to a home for what they thought was a Saturday night house party. According to Kollias, the lights went off and a group of men rushed into the dark room and 40-hours of hell began. "A normal person that you meet up with is not gonna tell that to the police, so we knew that it wasn't normal.". "I was just kind of feeling worse, not optimistic at all that we would be found.". "There were just multiple banks all over the city of Rochester that Lydell Strickland was seen using Nicolas's TD Ameritrade card," said Monroe County Assistant District Attorney Christine Callanan. He was shot in the other leg, and continually beaten with knives, bats, and even a chainsaw, he said. When the kidnapping turn out to be a mistake of identity and resulted in complex deceit where drug dealer Smith had arranged an earlier fake robbery earlier. Earlier Monday night, police said they recovered the BMW SUV that they believed the two were traveling in before they were abducted. Despus, 9,99/mes. Ani Okeke Ewo has never been considered anything other than a victim. Five men and four women, all Rochester-area residents in their late teens and early 20s, were convicted of kidnapping and other crimes. Ewo and a female acquaintance had been flirting via Facebook, and that woman had invited them over. Remembering the horror, Kollias alternated between an occasionally firm voice and long silent pauses, as he led jurors through the brutality of the weekend. But there was one key piece of evidence the jurors would see. "I sat down on this couch in the living room and next thing I knew it was just, the lights went out and about five to 10 men in just masks come out just screaming, so many loud noises, and just they're all armed with bats and bars and knives, guns, and the first thing that just pops in, I mean, fight or flight. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent.

Idp Dynasty Trade Calculator, Rose Hoffman Obituary Gus, How To Locate Game Files On Epic Games Launcher, Lucy Thomas Singer Biography, Animal Symbol Of Victory, Articles N

nicholas kollias and ani okeke ewoNo comment

nicholas kollias and ani okeke ewo