Trial set for February 10th for Fatal OnlyFans Encounter

on September 12, 2025

Update:  Felony Readiness Conference scheduled for Feb. 10 2026 9:30AM at the San Diego Superior Court

Michaela Brashaye Rylaarsdam, 31, is a California woman and OnlyFans creator charged with second-degree murder in the 2023 asphyxiation death of Michael Dale, 55. The incident occurred during a paid BDSM fetish session at Dale's rented room in Escondido, California, which Rylaarsdam filmed for her social media content.

In a preliminary hearing held on September 3, the judge heard about Dale pleading for his life as he was dying from the fetish activity he allegedly paid for. Dale's roommate overheard his pleas and helped to render aid and call 911 on the night he died. However, Rylaarsdam had been recording the encounter and texting her husband before rendering aid at much too late of a time. It is unclear how the victim could speak but could not breathe. The depravity of the initial encounter would also render the case criminally actionable, as mayhem was being committed during the event, hence Penal Code §189 and not Penal Code §187.

Details of the case

The incident: On April 17, 2023, Dale paid Rylaarsdam $11,000 for a fetish act involving her "mummifying" him in plastic wrap and duct tape. During the encounter, prosecutors allege that Rylaarsdam wrapped Dale's head in plastic wrap and placed a plastic bag over his head, causing him to suffocate.

Video evidence

A video recovered from Rylaarsdam's phone allegedly shows Dale struggling to breathe for several minutes while Rylaarsdam continued to film.

Response

Rylaarsdam called 911 after realizing Dale was unresponsive and was attempting CPR when police arrived. Dale was later pronounced brain-dead and removed from life support.

Arrest and charge

Rylaarsdam was arrested in February 2025 and charged with second-degree murder. She has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.

Defense argument

Rylaarsdam's attorney claims the activities were consensual and that she did not expect Dale to die. However, prosecutors have pointed to the video evidence and text messages exchanged with her husband during the incident, alleging they show a disregard for Dale's well-being. The victim pled for his life and even offered to pay to be released but was ignored. The video of her masturbating on camera while Dale was unresponsive shows that Rylaarsdam did not act on his distress within reason if it had just been sexual play.

Another issue the defense has raised was the other medical conditions of the victim as some sort of contributing factor, however, the chronic conditions of type 2 diabetes, hypertension and hepatitis are all treatable and would not have been a factor in his immediate death from asphyxiation. 

Case Information

Defendant: Michaela Brashaye Rylaarsdam

Court No.: CN463804 

Arraignment Date: 9/25/2025 

Time: 8:30 AM

Court Information: San Diego County Superior Court - North County Regional Center

325 South Melrose Drive, Vista, CA 92081

Charge: Second degree murder

Arraignment is the formal process in a criminal trial where the defendant is brought before the court to hear the charges against them and to enter a plea, such as guilty or not guilty. This is typically one of the first steps in the legal proceedings following an arrest.

Problems with the Defense's Case

The charge of second degree murder is not being allowed to be pled down likely due to the circumstances of the victim's death. Michael Dale at one point pled for his life. Even in the face of his ridiculous erotic asphyxiation fetish requests, the encounter should not have been fatal. The encounter was taped by the defendant even as he pled for his life. Lastly, drugs and alcohol were not a factor in the lax response of the defendant. Rylaarsdam has no defense of impairment for her actions or response which is likely why the charges were not diminished to involuntary manslaughter or manslaughter.

Cases of Note

People v. Gudiel, 107 Cal. App. 5th 848, 328 Cal. Rptr. 3d 578 (2024)

Petitioner, who was serving prison term of 15 years to life for his conviction for second-degree murder, sought resentencing. The Superior Court, Los Angeles County Judge Stephen A. Marcus, denied the petition and appealed. The Court of Appeals held that substantial evidence supported petitioner's conviction for implied malice second-degree murder, and, thus, petitioner was ineligible for resentencing.

Sentencing and Punishment

Killing while committing other offense or in course of criminal conduct satisfies the reckless indifference standard for felony murder special circumstances is qualitatively different than the conscious disregard standard for implied malice second degree murder. The reckless indifference standard actually requires a subjective awareness of a higher degree of risk than the conscious disregard for human life standard.

The Law

The following are the laws that should or could eventually be introduced or pled to in the case of the death of Michael dale.

California Penal Code § 189

Homicide

(a) All murder that is perpetrated by means of a destructive device or explosive, a weapon of mass destruction, knowing use of ammunition designed primarily to penetrate metal or armor, poison, lying in wait, torture, or by any other kind of willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing, or that is committed in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpetrate, arson, rape, carjacking, robbery, burglary, mayhem, kidnapping, train wrecking, or any act punishable under Section 206, 286, 287, 288, or 289, or former Section 288a, or murder that is perpetrated by means of discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle, intentionally at another person outside of the vehicle with the intent to inflict death, is murder of the first degree.

(b) All other kinds of murders are of the second degree.

(d) To prove the killing was “deliberate and premeditated,” it is not necessary to prove the defendant maturely and meaningfully reflected upon the gravity of the defendant’s act.

(e) A participant in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of a felony listed in subdivision (a) in which a death occurs is liable for murder only if one of the following is proven:

(1) The person was the actual killer.

(2) The person was not the actual killer, but, with the intent to kill, aided, abetted, counseled, commanded, induced, solicited, requested, or assisted the actual killer in the commission of murder in the first degree.

(3) The person was a major participant in the underlying felony and acted with reckless indifference to human life, as described in subdivision (d) of Section 190.2.

California Penal Code § 193

Involuntary Manslaughter

(a) Voluntary manslaughter is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 3, 6, or 11 years.

(b) Involuntary manslaughter is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for two, three, or four years.

(c) Vehicular manslaughter is punishable as follows:

(1) A violation of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 192 is punishable either by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year or by imprisonment in the state prison for two, four, or six years.

(2) A violation of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 192 is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year.

(3) A violation of paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 192 is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 4, 6, or 10 years.

California Penal Code § 205

Mayhem

A person is guilty of aggravated mayhem when he or she unlawfully, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the physical or psychological well-being of another person, intentionally causes permanent disability or disfigurement of another human being or deprives a human being of a limb, organ, or member of his or her body. For purposes of this section, it is not necessary to prove an intent to kill. Aggravated mayhem is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for life with the possibility of parole.

California Penal Code § 152

Accidental death; knowledge and concealment; misdemeanor; punishment

(a) Every person who, having knowledge of an accidental death, actively conceals or attempts to conceal that death, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(b) For purposes of this section, “to actively conceal an accidental death” means any of the following:

(1) To perform an overt act that conceals the body or directly impedes the ability of authorities or family members to discover the body.

(2) To directly destroy or suppress evidence of the actual physical body of the deceased, including, but not limited to, bodily fluids or tissues.

(3) To destroy or suppress the actual physical instrumentality of death.