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Former Australian TV Host Who Sent Bomb To Model’s Home, ‘Faked His Own Death’ Arrested After 17 Years On The Run

By Tara West
Published on: 10:05 PST, May 29, 2016

An almost fantastical story began in Australia back in 1998, when an Australian television host had a falling out with a male model and his female model companion over an alleged $80,000 debt. The relationship would spiral to the point that the television host would allegedly send a bomb to the home of the models, fake his own death and flee the country to escape prosecution. The tragic story would end with one model dead, one turning to a life in the drug underworld, and an arrest 17 years after the crime was first committed.

A former Australian television host has been arrested after 17 years on the run. Roberto Saenz de Heredia was charged with attempted murder back in 1998 after he allegedly sent a bomb to the home of male model Brett Boyd following a dispute over money. The bomb blast severely injured Boyd, causing him to lose his left eye and 80 percent of his vision in his right eye. The male model was left with scars over his face, and he eventually committed suicide in 2008. However, before de Heredia could be tried for the attempted murder, he fled Australia after “faking his own death.”

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The Daily Mail reports that Roberto Saenz de Heredia was charged with attempted murder in 1998 after he sent a makeshift bomb to model Brett Boyd and Simone Farrow. The models, Brett and Simone, reportedly owed de Heredia $80,000 and had fallen behind on their debt. Therefore, de Heredia allegedly sent the bomb in retaliation. Boyd would be the one to open the package and would sustain severe facial injuries. Boyd would lose his left eye, 80 percent of the vision in his right eye, and his right thumb.

Following the bomb delivery, de Heredia was a prime suspect and was released on bail as charges were filed. However, the story didn’t end with de Heredia’s immediate arrest. Instead it would be Boyd who was arrested after he was discovered hiding outside of the police station where de Heredia was slated to appear for his bail hearing. Boyd was discovered hiding near the station with a machine gun and was arrested before he could follow through with his alleged plan to shoot de Heredia.

Just a few weeks after Boyd was arrested with the machine gun, de Heredia was shot in the shoulder and arm by an unknown assailant while he entered his Sydney home. Shortly after he was shot, de Heredia’s vehicle was found abandoned with blood covering the vehicle. Police initially thought that de Heredia had been murdered. However, a body was never found, and investigators ultimately ruled that it was all a setup and that de Heredia had “faked his own death” in a bid to escape the attempted murder charges.

Eventually police found that de Heredia was using multiple fake passports which he obtained in the United Kingdom to travel. The passports were allegedly used “regularly” from 2011 until present with de Heredia working in Spain as a foreign exchange trader under a different name. However, de Heredia’s run from the police finally ended after 17 years when he was held at London’s Gatwick Airport for using a fake passport.

The arrest occurred on April 27, 2016, and Australia is working with the United Kingdom to have de Heredia extradited back to Australia to face the attempted murder charges. Brett Boyd will not see de Heredia face charges for attempting to murder him as he committed suicide in 2009. Former model Simone Farrow will not be present for the trial either, as she is currently in jail on charges of importing methamphetamine and ice into Australia from the United States, where she alleged worked as a drug kingpin. Farrow left Australia to live in the United States following the horrifying bomb ordeal and attempted to begin a career as a model and pop singer. However, Farrow instead found herself working heavily in a drug syndicate.

[Image via Shutterstock]

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