Louisiana man sentenced for attempted murder of gay man he connected with on Grindr – Daily Advertiser

Editors note: The following contains graphic descriptions of a crime.

A Lafayette man was sentenced Wednesday to 45 years in federal prison for kidnapping and attempting to murder a gay man as part of a months-long scheme to kidnap and murder gay men.

The court reached its sentence on many factors, including its determination that Chase Seneca, 21 intentionally targeted the victim and other gay men because of their gender and sexual orientation, according to a news release.

“No one should ever be subjected to the type of horrendous actions that this defendantinflicted upon the victim in this case,” said United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown. “Thevictim never thought that he would find himself falling prey to a predator in such a way.

“Hate crimes are a top priority for the Department and this office and we take these kind of casesvery seriously. It is important that we all remain vigilant and cautious as we use the internetin our everyday lives to avoid situations that may lead to destructive behavior of otherstowards us.”

“The facts of this case are truly shocking, and the defendant’s decision to specificallytarget gay men is a disturbing reminder of the unique prejudices and dangers facing theLGBTQ+ community today,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the JusticeDepartment’s Civil Rights Division.

“The internet should be accessible and safe for all Americans, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. We will continue to identify and intercept the predators who weaponize online platforms to target LGBTQ+ victims and carry out acts of violence and hate.”

According to evidence introduced at sentencing and in an earlier hearing where thedefendant pleaded guilty, Seneca in June 2020 used Grindr, a dating application for gay andbisexual men, to kidnap and attempt to murder a gay man.

Specifically, Seneca used Grindr to propose meeting the man, with the intent of murdering and dismembering him, and then drove him to an isolated house, took out a handgun, instructed him to put onhandcuffs, and then used several methods to attempt to murder him.

According to court documents, believing that the victim was dead, Seneca then attempted to dismember him. After his arrest, Seneca admitted that he had planned to continue murdering gay men until he was caught or killed.

He acknowledged that he kidnapped and attempted to murder the man tosatisfy a compulsive murder-fantasy. Seneca had become fixated with the idea of killing gaymen, and this fascination led him to spend months designing a murder-kidnapping schemethat mirrored the murders of gay men committed by the notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.

According to court documents, Seneca intentionally targeted gay men, as Dahmer had done. Seneca had also intended to eat and preserve the bodies of his victims, as Dahmer had done.

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