Ash Armand was the star of a hit reality show. Four years later, he was arrested for murder.

Showtime's controversial reality show Gigolos showcased the racy, opulent lives of five male escorts living in Las Vegas in the 2010s.

Viewers were drawn into what appeared to be a world of luxury, expensive cars, and wealthy clients. But four years after the finale, one of those escorts was arrested for murder.

Ash Armand, known as the group's "zen master," was sentenced to eight to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and mayhem for the July 2020 beating death of Herleen Dulai.

Armand, whose birth name is Akshaya Kubiak, wasn't just another face on reality television.

He was raised in a loving family, both in Maine and Japan, alongside his two siblings, per Refinery 29.

According to his mother's letter to the court, "From when he was a little boy, Akshaya grew up immersed in the healing traditions and philosophies of the East & West."

Watch the trailer for Sin City Gigolo: A Murder in Las Vegas. Article continues after video.

Armand joined the Gigolos cast in season three after starting work with the agency Cowboys4Angels in 2012, remaining on the show for four years until it ended in 2016.

But reality television, as we know, often blurs the lines between entertainment and truth.

What viewers didn't see was the complex web of relationships that existed off-camera, including Armand's friendship with 29-year-old Herleen Dulai.

Born in Northern California and a Temple University graduate, Dulai was working as a personal trainer in Las Vegas and led a youth group.

According to her obituary, "She touched every soul she came into contact with and left a sparkle. She [is] remembered for her twinkling smile, contagious laughter and comforting hugs."

Image: Showtime

The night of July 15, 2020, Dulai went to Armand's house where the pair took psychedelic mushrooms, lit candles, prayed, and watched Avatar.

At 10 a.m. the following morning, Armand called 911, saying, "It is going to sound insane because it is insane... There was a struggle. I temporarily lost my mind."

When paramedics arrived, they found Armand attempting CPR on Dulai, claiming she had experienced a heart attack. But first responders found no evidence of cardiac arrest.

Instead, Dulai had been beaten, with blood spattered around the room. Dulai's autopsy revealed evidence of extreme violence — her official cause of death was blunt force trauma and strangulation.

Armand claimed that Dulai attacked him first after they took the psychedelic mushrooms together and that he "blacked out."

"When the police get here, I'll surrender," Armand told the paramedics.

During his sentencing hearing in December 2021, he said, "I have never hit a woman in my life, and I certainly never wanted to hurt Herleen."

However, the extent of her injuries raised questions that haunted the courtroom. As Dulai's family asked at trial: what kind of assault could possibly make the level of violence Armand enacted necessary?

In September 2021, Armand pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and mayhem, reportedly to spare Dulai's family the trauma of a trial.

He was sentenced to eight to 20 years in prison. The case sent shockwaves through the reality TV community and raised important questions about the psychological impact of participating in reality television, particularly shows that focus on controversial or stigmatised professions.

Image: Getty

The docuseries Sin City Gigolo: A Murder in Las Vegas recently started streaming on Stan.

It revisits the case through interviews with former cast and crew about their experiences with Armand, giving viewers the opportunity to examine the show with the knowledge of what ultimately happened to one of its stars.

Director Barbara Shearer claimed that though Armand was guilty, there was more to it.

"Bottom line is they got the right guy. I'm not in any way saying that didn't happen. We have the right guy, but were corners cut? Yes. Was there a rush to judgment? Yes," he told TV Insider.

Armand has been serving his sentence at a Nevada correctional centre since 2021. Since being behind bars, his story has taken an even more disturbing turn.

In May 2025, he was named as one of the escorts who allegedly participated in Sean "Diddy" Combs' "freak offs," which prosecutors define as "elaborate and produced sex performances."

For viewers who followed the show, Armand's fall from grace has been a sobering reminder of how little we truly know about the people we watch on television.

Sin City Gigolo: A Murder in Las Vegas is now streaming on Stan.

Feature Image: Getty.