18 year-old Holden White (pictured above) was found by police at the residence of 19 year-old Chance Seneca on Sunday morning, June 21. White was lying in a full bathtub with stab wounds to his neck, deep cuts to his wrists, strangulation wounds and blunt force trauma to the back of his head.

It is believed Seneca had tortured White for an unknown amount of time before calling 911 and declaring he had murdered a man. It is understood the pair had been speaking through Grindr for about a week prior to agreeing to meet at the home of Chance Seneca.

White was rushed to Lafayette General Medical Centre in a critical condition where he was placed on a ventilator. Seneca was arrested at the scene by police and has been charged with attempted second-degree murder. He is currently being held at the Lafayette Parish Correctional Centre on a $250,000 bond.

A police spokesman said they are not treating the incident as a hate crime, however, the family of Holden White believe that the attack which almost killed their son was motivated by homophobia due to the severity of Holden’s injuries and the fact that Seneca’s Facebook profile picture was of Jeffrey Dahmer. Also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal, Dahmer was a convicted serial killer and sex offender who murdered and dismembered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991.

White’s family are seeking justice for their son and hope that the investigators will treat the case as a hate crime given the horrific circumstances. His family have also set up a gofundme page to help with the costs of Holden’s recovery. He is expected to need intense physical and emotional therapy. So far $46,361 has been raised.

Another case that has been linked to Grindr in the US happened on Christmas Eve last year when Kevin Bacon, a 25 year-old Michigan man was murdered and partially eaten by his Grindr date in another horrific case.