Michaela Rylaarsdam, the OnlyFans model who was arrested earlier this year, is set to stand trial for murder after 55-year-old Michael Dale died during a fetish experience in 2023.
Michaela and Michael engaged in BDSM play three years ago, which included putting a plastic bag over his head and multiple layers of duct tape. Last week, Judge Daniel Link heard half a day’s worth of testimony from both the prosecution and defence. Although he noted that the standard required at a preliminary hearing is considerably less than the proof beyond a reasonable doubt required at trial, he stated there was sufficient evidence to proceed with the trial process.
While Deputy District Attorney David Jarman, who is prosecuting the case, said the crimes constituted second-degree murder, the defence’s Daniel Cohen argued it was a “tragic accident.”
“She tried to save him,” he said, with the judge acknowledging how the case presented “a unique set of facts.”
“When does bondage and fetish turn into implied malice?” he asked. “I’ll fully admit I don’t know what a jury is going to do with this, if it even gets that far.”
No trial date has been set as of yet, but Michaela Rylaarsdam is due back in court later this month.
What actually happened between Michaela Rylaarsdam and Michael Dale?
Credit: Court TV
Michaela, a resident of San Bernardino County in California, was arrested in February 2025 after a months-long investigation into the death of Escondido resident Michael.
At the time, the affidavit stated that Michael had arrived at her home on April 17, 2023, when “Rylaarsdam decided to spend the next several hours with Dale and engaged in fetish behaviour at Dale’s request.”
For the grand total of $11k, Michael allegedly had Michaela “wrap him up in Saran Wrap like a mummy,” and glue a pair of women’s boots onto his feet. He also requested that she glue his eyes shut, but she refused.
Videos of the fetish encounter were found on Michaela’s phone, which she voluntarily handed over to the police.
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“The evidence showed that he hired her to perform bondage acts and fetish acts,” Deputy District Attorney David Jarman said at the time. “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.”
Emergency services were called around four hours later, with paramedics performing CPR at the scene. Though Michael was rushed to the hospital, he was declared brain dead the following day and taken off life support a few days later. His cause of death was ruled to be suffocation.
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Featured image credit: Court TV
