UR kidnapping victim rebuilds life in Chicago

CHICAGO (AP) - A 23-year-old man is rebuilding his life in Chicago after his future was upended during a violent encounter while he attended college in New York state.

The Chicago Tribune (full article here) reports Northbrook native Nicholas Kollias was a senior at the University of Rochester when he decided to tag along with a friend who was invited to a gathering by a young woman on Dec. 4, 2015.

Over the following 40 hours, Kollias was held against his will, became the subject of a large-scale manhunt and was beaten, shot, sexually assaulted and tortured. The men were eventually rescued by a SWAT team.

Kollias graduated a semester early, now works at a financial services firm and finds solace in playing piano. He continues physical therapy with a titanium rod in his left leg and a bullet still in his right calf.

The nine suspects arrested in connection with the abduction and torture were convicted of various crimes and allotted sentences ranging from seven years to 155 years in prison.