A Massachusetts YouTube star who was arrested while stabbing his Tinder date died in police custody on Friday. According to NBC News, Erich Stelzer, 25, died in an ambulance en route to a hospital after he was tased by multiple officers.
Stelzer, a 6-8, 300 lb. bodybuilder, posted weightlifting and dieting advice on YouTube and Instagram.com.
Cohasset police responded to a domestic disturbance call at Stelzer’s residence on Thursday night. When police entered the house on Church Street, they saw Stelzer actively stabbing Meagan Tarpley with “weapons including a knife.”
Police hit Stelzer with stun guns “in an effort to rescue the victim and disarm Stelzer,” according to a statement from the local DA’s office.
Peggie Krippendorf, a spokeswoman for the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office, said, “The female victim was able to escape from Stelzer and was taken to a local area hospital for treatment.”
Krippendorf said EMT’s “immediately” began to provide medical treatment to Stelzer when he became unresponsive in the ambulance and was pronounced dead at the local hospital.
Police say Tarpley, a 24-year-old veterinary technician, suffered multiple stab wounds, a broken hand, and an eye injury during the attack. She was stabbed and beaten about the head and face.
Stelzer’s family said he met Tarpley on the Tinder dating app. Her mother, Susan Tarpley, told NBC Boston she didn’t know how long they dated.
His father, Harry, said Stelzer suffered from mental illness, including delusions and paranoia, and they were trying to have him committed to a mental health facility when the attack occurred.
An attorney told NBC Boston that Stelzer suffered from “delusions and extreme paranoia” and had been in the care of mental health professionals for about a month.
Harry mourned his son on Facebook.com on Friday night. “I received some real bad news last night. My youngest child Erich Stelzer died last night. There was a violent confrontation at his house last nite. Police came and tased him 4 times. 4 times,” he wrote.
An investigation into Stelzer’s death is ongoing.
