Man Accused Of Stabbing Woman Dies After Cohasset Police Tase Him, DA Says
COHASSET (CBS) - A Cohasset man arrested for allegedly attacking and stabbing a woman died while being taken into custody, the Norfolk District Attorney's Office said Friday.
Officers were called to a home on Church Street around 10 p.m. Thursday for a report of a "disturbance." They say they found a man who lived there, 25-year old Erich Stelzer, stabbing and slashing a 24-year-old woman.
A source told WBZ-TV Stelzer was acting bizarrely, suffering from a "possible mental health issue" or at least in an "altered mental state" during the alleged attack. That source says officers tased him six times.
"In an effort to rescue the victim and disarm Stelzer, Cohasset Police Officers used tasers to subdue Stelzer," D.A. spokesperson Peggie Krippendorf said in a statement. The Cohasset police chief confirmed to WBZ-TV his officers used a Taser X2 on Stelzer, not a stun gun.
The woman escaped and was taken to the hospital. She is expected to survive. A source told WBZ the two had met through the dating app Tinder.
"Stelzer was immediately provided medical attention by EMTs. During transport to a local area hospital, Stelzer became unresponsive and was later pronounced dead," Krippendorf said.
Harry Stelzer, Erich's father, says he feels sorry for the victim, but has consulted with an attorney because he feels the police went too far in subduing his son.
"Now aren't they tough enough to put him in handcuffs? Tase him two times? Put him in a state of mind where he has no control over his bodily functions and then just handcuff him?" Stelzer said in an interview with WBZ.
Stelzer says he did not know if his son had a weapon during the incident. "I heard that too but until I hear the report I can't substantiate that," he said.
The woman's name has not been released. An SUV was towed away from the home overnight.
"I'm sorry to the girl who was victimized," Harry Stelzer said. "I don't know what happened."
"It's unfortunate you never want to see anybody get hurt and you certainly don't want to see someone die over something," said neighbor Fred Siegel. "It's unfortunate that it happened and who knows why it happened."
No other information is available at this point in the investigation.
