OnlyFans creator convicted in client’s bondage suffocation death

ESCONDIDO, Calif. (TCN) -- A 32-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter for the 2023 death of her OnlyFans client.

On April 17, 2023, 55-year-old Michael Dale paid OnlyFans creator Michaela Rylaarsdam for a sexual fetish meet-up, the North County Pipeline reports. Police say that during their encounter, Dale was bound in plastic wrap like a mummy, had his eyes glued shut, had women’s boots glued onto his feet, and had a plastic bag placed over his head. Rylaarsdam said he had requested these things, but once she noticed he was not breathing or responding, she attempted to perform CPR and dialed 911. Dale was transported to the hospital, where he later died.

According to the prosecution, Dale died from oxygen deprivation, NBC San Diego reports. A video obtained by prosecutors showed Dale with the bag over his head and duct tape on his mouth while his hands were bound. People reports Dale’s manner of death was ruled a homicide and that the bag had been on his head for at least eight minutes.

The Escondido Police Department conducted an investigation that lasted several months, per the Pipeline. During their investigation, authorities reviewed a series of text messages between Dale and Rylaarsdam in which Dale detailed his requests and paid Rylaarsdam over $11,000. Complex reports that the video Rylaarsdam created of the incident was meant to be shared on her OnlyFans page.

According to detective Chris Zack, the requests did not include having a bag put on his head, People reports. In addition, Dale’s roommate testified at Rylaarsdam’s preliminary hearing that he heard Dale asking her to stop what she was doing and offered her more money to do so; Rylaarsdam reportedly texted images of Dale bound in plastic wrap to her husband. 

Rylaarsdam’s attorney, Dan Cohen, told the New York Post, “I think there was no intent to kill and no attempt to cover this up. … And she acted appropriately when she realized this was a problem. There is definitely a consensual element — not only something he consented to, something he was actively seeking.”

Rylaarsdam was arrested in February 2024 and charged with second-degree murder, according to the Pipeline. NBC San Diego reports that she pleaded guilty May 6 to involuntary manslaughter and will be sentenced in June to four years in state prison.

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OnlyFans creator pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Escondido fetish death — San Diego Union-Tribune

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