CHICAGO _ For much of his life, Nicholas Kollias played the role of the ideal son with a sheltered upbringing in suburban Chicago.
The Northbrook native lettered in three sports at Glenbrook North High School. After years of lessons, he'd become a skilled classical pianist. And in 2012, the middle child of a self-made businessman became the first in his family to attend college.
Despite his parents' misgivings, Kollias chose an out-of-state school, enrolling as a business student at the University of Rochester in New York, which has a renowned music program and where he could play Division III football.
Kollias was crushed when a knee injury sidelined him for senior season, but things were still looking up. He was on target to graduate in a few months, and he'd landed an internship with a wealth management company.
But in December 2015, Kollias' life and future were upended after a seemingly insignificant decision to tag along with a teammate who got invited to a gathering by a young woman. Over the next 40 hours, Kollias was held against his will, became the subject of a large-scale manhunt and was beaten, shot, sexually assaulted and tortured.
"I've been at the District Attorney's Office six years, four in the violent felony bureau," Monroe County, N.Y., assistant district attorney Christine Callanan said. "The facts and circumstances of this case are unlike anything I have seen and unlike anything I will ever see again."
