While an OnlyFans creator was focused on filming a BDSM fetish session for his followers – sticking women’s shoes on a man’s feet and wrapping him in Saran wrap – he was dying of suffocation.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit filed in San Diego Superior Court, Michael Dell lay in his Escondido home for at least eight minutes with a plastic bag wrapped around his head and sealed with duct tape while Michaela Rylaarsdam, a vibrator in hand, kept the cameras rolling.
She called 911 when she started turning blue. By then it was too late to save him.
The “Black Mirror”-like murder sent shock waves through the suburban community of Escondido, raising questions about how far producers can go in the name of captivating content.
Rylaarsdam, 32, was arrested in February 2025 and charged with murder. Last week, he entered a plea to a reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter, meaning he showed disregard for human life, but not with intent to kill, according to a spokesperson for the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.
He is expected to receive the maximum sentence of four years in state prison at a June 8 hearing, the spokesman said.
According to inmate records, Rylaarsdam is currently in custody at the Las Colinas Detention Facility in San Diego County, where he has been held without bail since his arrest.
Dell died in April 2023 at the age of 56. According to the affidavit, he met Rylaarsdam last month on Eros.com, a website frequently used for escort and stripping services.
Over the course of several weeks, he paid her more than $11,000 to engage in conversations with her, visit her home and perform acts of bondage, according to the affidavit.
His requests became extremely dangerous for him. The affidavit states he told Rylaarsdam, “Wrap her in Saran like a mummy.” He also wanted her to put Gorilla Glue in his eyes and stick a dildo in his mouth.
According to the affidavit, after a lengthy online discussion about his erotic desires, she arrived at his Escondido home around 6 p.m. on April 17, 2023. While there, she extorted at least another $1,000 from Dell, following encouragement from her husband, who urged her to continue obtaining money from him by engaging in erotic behavior via text.
Dale appeared intoxicated, but the 29-year-old OnlyFans creator filmed several hours of BDSM-focused content.
According to the affidavit, when detectives examined his phone, they found “numerous disturbing videos of Dale with a plastic bag over his head and duct tape around his face and head, apparently obstructing his breathing.” A video of him masturbating next to her wrapped body was taken at 10:10 pm “just minutes before” calling 911.
When Escondido police officers arrived, Rylaarsdam was performing CPR on Dale. He was unresponsive and not breathing.
Escondido Fire Department paramedics took him to Palomar Hospital. There, he was declared brain dead and taken off life support a few days later.
The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death to be asphyxiation and classified the manner as homicide.
