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Cohasset, MA – A man died Thursday night after he stabbed a woman he met on the dating app Tinder and police used their Tasers to subdue him.
Erich Stelzer, 25, was actively assaulting the woman with a knife when police arrived and the victim sustained substantial stabbing and slashing injuries, according to WCVB.
According to the victim’s GoFundMe, she was “beaten, stabbed, majority of hair ripped from her head,” and suffered broken bones.
Stelzer was described by some media outlets as a YouTube bodybuilder. The Erich Stelzer YouTube account had 273 subscribers with numerous workout videos posted, the most recent were from a year ago.
“Police came and (used Tasers on) him four times. Four times,” said Harry Stelzer, the father of Erich, on his Facebook page, according to WCVB. “He died on the way to the hospital. 25-years-old. He was my life. This is not over.”
Police did not release how many times the Tasers were used on Stelzer.
“Now aren’t they tough enough to put him in handcuffs? Tase him two times? Put him in a state of mind where he has no control over his bodily functions and then just handcuff him?” Stelzer said, according to WBZ.
An official with the district attorney’s office said Stelzer was given immediate medical attention by emergency medical paramedics at the scene and while he was being transported to the hospital, he became unresponsive and was later pronounced dead, according to WCVB.
“I’m extremely proud of the job my officers did,” Cohasset Police Chief William Quigley said, according to WCVB. “They acted heroically and absolutely saved a life. While it’s sad there’s a loss of life, they did great work.”
Erich Stelzer’s family said they were trying to get him help for mental health issues in the days before the attack, according to WBZ.
A Stelzer family attorney said Erich Stelzer was having delusions and suffering from paranoia, WBZ reported.
Stelzer’s family said they called police and EMTs on Christmas Day and the EMT’s assessment was that Stelzer didn’t need help because he was “lucid enough to know his own name and date,” WBZ reported.
The family said they hired a group of people to bring Stelzer to a facility to be treated but the attack happened before they could make that happened, WBZ reported.
Police said Maegan Tapley, 24, would survive the attack by Stelzer.