A woman from San Bernardino County is facing a second-degree murder charge after a 55-year-old man who paid her to engage in fetish acts, which she filmed for her OnlyFans page, reportedly died as a result of the encounter.
Police said that Michael Dale, a resident of Escondido, first contacted 31-year-old Michaela Brashaye Rylaarsdam in March and April of 2023 after spotting her on a website typically used for escort and stripper services, The Orange County Register reported.
In texts and messages reviewed by investigators, the 55-year-old requested Rylaarsdam wrap him in Saran wrap like a mummy and glue women’s boots to his feet.
Rylaarsdam reportedly told investigators that the eventual meet up, on April 17, 2023, was the first time she had ever engaged in fetish behavior.
The encounter, according to The Register’s reporting, was reportedly between two adults consenting to what appeared to be bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadism and masochism, also known as BDSM.
According to an affidavit for an arrest warrant prepared by police, at around 6 p.m. when Rylaarsdam arrived at the Escondido home where Dale rented a room, the 55-year-old appeared intoxicated. Despite that observation, Rylaarsdam decided to move forward with encounter, authorities said.
At around 10 p.m. that night, police received a 911 call and responding officers found Rylaarsdam performing CPR on the 55-year-old. According to one of the victim’s roommates, the 31-year-old woman was on the line with the 911 dispatcher, who was coaching her through CPR.
That roommate, who did not want to be identified, described Rylaarsdam as “super freaked out” during the ordeal.
Dale, who was rushed to the hospital, was declared brain dead the next day and was taken off life support several days after that, according to The Register. His alleged cause of death, according to authorities, suffocation and lack of oxygen to the brain.
According to the affidavit, Rylaarsdam turned her phone over to investigators who noted videos of the 55-year-old fighting to breathe with duct tape over his mouth, his legs secured in plastic wrap, wrists bound and fingers covered with duct tape and a bag or wrappings over his head that he was unable to remove.
The document further alleges that as Dale was unresponsive, Rylaarsdam was engaged in a sex act nearby, allegedly creating content for her OnlyFans page, a site where creators sometimes interact with subscribers.
The 31-year-old woman, according to police, denied placing the bag over the victim’s head.
San Diego Deputy District Attorney David Jarman, who is prosecuting the case, said the evidence supports a second-degree murder charge.
“The evidence showed that he hired her to perform bondage acts and fetish acts. There is no indication that he asked her to obstruct his breathing, asked her to put tape over his mouth, asked her to put a plastic bag over his head,” Jarman said, adding that the bag, which had additional tape around it, was there for around eight minutes.
David Cohen, Rylaarsdam’s defense attorney, said that, clearly, there was no intent to kill, and added that the evidence will show she called 911, gave CPR and cooperated with investigators.
“I think there was no intent to kill and no attempt to cover this up,” Cohen said. “And she acted appropriately when she realized this was a problem.”
Imperatrix Nox, a dominatrix on the board at the Los Angeles BDSM venue Threshold, who is not involved in the case, told The Register that the BDSM community encourages education and training in fetish activities and that participants are “extremely safety conscious.”
“Some fantasies are better left in the fantasy realm,” she told the O.C. outlet. “Some people cross that line, and that’s when things tend to go sideways.”
As for Rylaarsdam, she is currently being held without bail and has pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder charge.
