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A teen was tortured, strangled and left for dead naked in a bathtub with his hands nearly sawn off in a monstrous attack after meeting a man on gay dating app Grindr.
Holden White was tortured until his attacker believed he was dead on June 20, 2020, The Sun reports.
The 18-year-old from Lafayette, Louisiana, suffered six stab wounds to the neck, a blow to the back of his head and deep cuts to his wrists.
Chance Seneca, 19, is currently in prison awaiting trial charged with second-degree attempted murder. He has entered a plea of not guilty.
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The pair had spoken on Grindr for over a month before deciding to meet in person.
Recalling the harrowing events, Mr White told CBS17: “Everything seemed fine. Nothing seemed weird, and we decided after a month of talking we should like to meet.”
The pair went to Mr Seneca’s house where they started playing video games in the 19-year-old’s bedroom.
But after Mr Seneca left the room to fetch something, Mr White suddenly found himself fighting for his life as he was being strangled him from behind with a cord.
The teen struggled until every blood vessel in his face ruptured before his vision and memory blacked out.
As he came to, he found himself naked in a bathtub as his left wrist was being sliced open.
Surrounded by his own blood, Mr White faded in and out of consciousness while his attacker watched.
Mr White recalled: “I was saying my final words to myself which were just, ‘Stay calm.’”
As he lost consciousness again, his attacker reportedly called the police, telling them he had killed a man.
But Mr White was still alive.
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COVERED IN BANDAGES
The teen was rushed to hospital where he was in a coma for three days.
He remembered waking up in hospital with a breathing tube in his throat and bandages covering much of his body.
As well as appalling injuries to his neck and head, Mr White’s wrists had been cut so deeply his hands were nearly sawn off.
Two days after he woke, he was questioned by Lafayette Police about what had happened.
No rape kit was provided as Mr White recovered from his horrific injuries.
He remained in hospital for nearly a month, but the young man was determined to recover.
Just three weeks after leaving the hospital, he returned to his work, however he had to leave soon after because of his hands.
He has since regained the full function of his right hand, while his left hand remains partially numb.
Now, seven months after the horrific attack, Mr White is pressing for hate crime charges.
He told News 10: “You can’t let other people control your story because it’s your story.
“If you have a traumatic experience happen to you, it’s OK to be sad about it but you need to not stay sad the whole time.
“You have to move on.”
Mr White said he will continue to use Grindr for dating – but will only meet people in public places now.
And last week, the 18-year-old started his first new job since the attack.
HATE CRIME INVESTIGATION
Mr White believes he deserved more answers from police as to what happened, but won’t receive any additional details until he hears them in court.
He said the FBI is investigating the accusation of hate crimes against Mr Seneca, who will appear in court for a pre-trial hearing on March 3.
Convinced the attack against him was a hate crime, Mr White said: “He chose to go on the app Grindr.
He added: “He knew what he was doing. This was pre-planned.
“It will always be a hate crime to me.”
A GoFundMe page set up to help Mr White’s recovery has raised over $130,000.
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission
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