Utah Man Calls Police After Fatally Stabbing Tinder Date, Arrested

A man in Utah who placed a 911 call saying he killed someone inside his residence was arrested in connection with the stabbing death of his Tinder date Sunday (May 24).

Police responded to his residence near 1300 N Reid Avenue and located the female victim lying on the floor, having sustained multiple stab wounds to the torso, police said in a statement. Paramedics had a failed attempt at resuscitating her and she died at the scene. Police didn’t immediately identify the 25-year-old victim.

Ethan Hunsaker, 24, was arrested without incident and charged with one count of first-degree murder. Hunsaker, who was cooperative with the law enforcement said, he met the victim late Saturday night after connecting on the popular dating application Tinder. Police said the attack appeared to be unprovoked and the exact motive of the murder was under further investigation.

Hunsaker told police that he picked up the woman from her home, went to a bar together, and brought her to his apartment thereafter, Fox 13 reported, citing a probable cause statement. He reportedly admitted that there hadn’t been an argument before the attack and he suddenly began choking her so as to kill her. Hunsaker said he grabbed a knife in the middle of the scuffle and stabbed her several times.

Police said Hunsaker asked cops to shoot and kill him, and admitted to having recurring suicidal and homicidal thoughts, according to the publication.

Hunsaker was being held at Davis County Jail and it was not immediately clear if he had obtained an attorney. Police were opposed to the suspect getting bail, citing “the safety of the public.”

According to the statement, the police will release the findings of further investigation gradually.

In February, a New Zealand man was sentenced to life for choking a British backpacker to death after he met her on Tinder. The pair matched on the dating application and went for bar-hopping before the attack. The 28-year-old suspect initially pleaded not guilty to the murder charges, saying she died due to a sex game going wrong. A jury unanimously rejected the defense and handed him a non-parole period of 17 years for killing the 22-year-old victim.