Scary New Details About Fitness YouTuber Erich Stelzer Who Died After Attacking His Tinder Date
His father believes police used excessive force to subdue him.
YouTube A YouTube bodybuilder died when police used a stun gun to subdue him after he stabbed his Tinder date multiple times Thursday night. She is expected to survive.
Cohasset police responded to a disturbance call around 10 p.m., Thursday to find Erich Stelzer, 25, who posts fitness videos to YouTube, viciously attacking a 24-year-old woman with weapons including a knife.
She was able to briefly escape from Stelzer's reach when authorities arrived. Police jumped to her aid and tased Stelzer to restrain him.
“In an effort to rescue the victim and disarm Stelzer, Cohasset Police officers used Tasers to subdue Stelzer,” the Cohasset Police Department said in a statement on Facebook Friday. “Stelzer was immediately provided medical attention by EMTs. During transport to a local area hospital, Stelzer became unresponsive and was later pronounced dead.”
His date, identified by her mother as Maegan Tapley, sustained extensive stab wounds. According to her mother, Maegan is going to live but will likely lose an eye.
"She's going to mend, she's going to be all right. It's going to take time to recover," Susan Tapley told NBC Boston. "She'll need plastic surgery and an eye specialist."
The pair met on the dating app Tinder and ended up at Stelzer's home that night, where she was stabbed repeatedly in the face. Both families want answers but have received few so far.
Stelzer's family was concerned for his mental health prior to the alleged attack as he had been experiencing paranoia and delusions, according to an attorney for the family. Family members reportedly called police and EMT's on Dec. 25 but an assessment concluded Stelzer did not need medical attention because he was “lucid enough to know his own name and the date.”
The family said they hired a team to bring Stelzer to a facility for treatment but the Thursday attack occurred before that happened.
A source told WBZ-TV Stelzer was acting strangely that night, suffering from a “possible mental health issue” or an “altered mental state” during the alleged stabbing. His father wants to know why authorities used such force on his son. Harold Stelzer told NBC 10 Boston that police tased his 6-foot-seven, 300-pound son four times.
“I know that one hit is substantial. Two will knock you down. There were four cops there. Can’t they handcuff him?” he questioned.
Harold said he feels sorry for the victim but is seeking an attorney because he believes police used "excessive" means to control his son.
"My son was in that house healthy, and 15 minutes later, he's dead," he said. "I want to apologize to the girl who was assaulted, but until I find out from the police what happened, I'm not making any judgments."
An autopsy will be conducted to determine Stelzer's cause of death. State police are investigating the incident.
Sarah Gangraw writes about all things news, entertainment and crime. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.