{"id":405431,"date":"2026-01-11T03:39:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T03:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/405431\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T03:39:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T03:39:18","slug":"didier-cohen-arrest-australias-next-top-model-judge-allegedly-kidnapped-his-dad-in-a-drug-psychosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/405431\/","title":{"rendered":"Didier Cohen arrest: Australia\u2019s Next Top Model judge allegedly kidnapped his dad in a drug psychosis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Australian TV star and model Didier Cohen faces serious charges in the US after allegedly breaking into his father\u2019s LA home and assaulting him and his partner.<\/p>\n

Online court records show Mr Cohen spent several months in custody following his arrest on June 26, the day of the alleged offences at a Malibu mansion.<\/p>\n

The 40-year-old has pleaded not guilty to nine charges including first degree burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, kidnapping and threats to commit a crime with intent to terrorise.<\/p>\n

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The charges carry penalties of between two and eight years in prison.<\/p>\n

Mr Cohen is alleged to have attacked his dad David, 72, and his father\u2019s partner Avesta Saaty, 52, with a glass bottle and threatened to kill them, the Daily Mail reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A source close to Mr Cohen claimed to the Daily Mail that he went into a \u201cdrug-induced psychosis\u201d from LSD before the incident, which \u201cgot out of control\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe intended to meditate and walk on the beach, but fell into a drug-induced psychosis. It lasted for 14 days, and when he came out of it, he was in jail,\u201d the source claimed.<\/p>\n

\"DidierDidier Cohen arrives at the Fashion Aid marquee at the Kennedy Twilight Beach Polo on February 17, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. Credit: Sam Tabone\/WireImage<\/p>\n

Mr Cohen, who now goes by Meyer Love Moquin, was released on bail in November to live in a mental health diversion clinic, with online records stating a US$300,000 surety bond was lodged.<\/p>\n

He was born in the US but made his name Down Under where he became a judge on hit TV show Australia\u2019s Next Top Model.<\/p>\n

The criminal allegations against him came months after it was revealed his Pacific Palisades home had burnt down in LA\u2019s devastating 2025 wildfires.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur home burned down today,\u201d his former girlfriend Isabela Aznar wrote in January 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of our belongings that we\u2019ve ever acquired in our lives are gone except for one suitcase each.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked so hard \u2013 invested so much time, money, energy and love into creating our dream home and intentionally building a fresh start together only to watch it all burn down after one month.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DidierDidier Cohen showcases designs by Cotton On on the catwalk as part of the the Mercedes-Benz Fashion festival Sydney 2012. Credit: Matt King\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Didier Cohen is an American-born Australian DJ\/producer who has appeared on various TV shows around the world.<\/p>\n

He is due to face court again in March.<\/p>\n

The Daily Mail reports documents filed at Van Nuys Courthouse in west LA set out the allegations against Mr Cohen, including that his actions \u201cinvolved great violence, great bodily harm, threat of great bodily harm, and other acts disclosing a high degree of cruelty, viciousness and callousness\u201d.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege he was meant to be caring for his father and allegedly caused \u201cunjustifiable physical pain and mental suffering\u201d during the incident.<\/p>\n

Mr Cohen is also accused of \u201cinstilling fear\u201d and vandalising Ms Saaty\u2019s car, the Daily Mail reports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Australian TV star and model Didier Cohen faces serious charges in the US after allegedly breaking into…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":405432,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,2331,44],"class_list":["post-405431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-culture","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}