Ethan Hunsaker Layton, Utah man kills Tinder date, Ashlyn Black- turns himself in. Arrested man has history of mental health issues along with suicidal thoughts.
A 24 year old Utah man is in custody after calling police to say he killed a 25-year-old woman he met a few hours earlier on the Tinder dating app.
Ethan Hunsaker of Layton called 911 at 3.19am on Sunday to report that he’d killed someone inside a home in the area of 1300 N. Reid Avenue.
During the call, Hunsaker told a dispatcher to tell officers to shoot him, according to an affidavit by an officer explaining his arrest. He also allegedly asked officers to shoot him after they arrived, the document said.
When officers arrived to the scene they found a woman- since identified as Ashlyn Black lying on the floor with multiple stab wounds to her torso, according to a Layton police release.
Emergency workers tried to resuscitate her, but she died of her injuries at the scene. Hunsaker said he met the woman on the dating app Tinder late Saturday night.
Unprovoked attack
‘The motive behind this homicide is under further investigation; however, the attack appeared to be unprovoked,’ police said.
Hunsaker and the woman began communicating Saturday night around 9pm. Husaker picked the woman up from her home and they went to a Layton bar together. A short time later they went back to Hunsaker’s home.
Hunsaker told police he woke up during the night with a woman laying on his left arm and he began choking the woman for about a minute and she fought back, according to a probable cause statement filed by police.
Cops said this was consistent with the marks on Hunsaker’s arms, neck and shoulders.
Hunsaker then walked into his kitchen and grabbed a pocket knife and stabbed the woman, who was lying on the floor. He stabbed her multiple times in her chest, side and back, cops say.
He then dialed police about 10 minutes later, KSL reports.
Cops reported that the date had been normal and there was no argument to incite the killing.
‘A monster has taken away the life of our little girl in a senseless crime’
Police said Hunsaker has a history of mental health problems. He told police he has ‘daily thoughts’ of suicidal and homicidal ideations.
Come Monday evening, Black’s family released a statement to the media Monday night.
‘A monster has taken away the life of our little girl in a crime as senseless as it was evil. Our hearts are broken and our lives are forever changed due to the despicable acts of another person. In just a few senseless and selfish minutes, a life of an amazing, fun loving young woman was taken, one who had a passion for being the voice of those who could not speak out for themselves. And a gift for working with those who have special needs. The lives of her friends and family are permanently altered. No time can fill the emptiness we feel, and the hole it has left in our hearts.’
Hunsaker has since been booked on suspicion of first degree murder and is being held in the Davis County Jail.
Layton police are asking anyone with information about the crime to contact them at 801-497-8300.
