ATLANTA — A woman who met a man on a dating app said he went from charming to violent as he beat and threatened to kill her for an hour as they rode around in his car.
Police in New York said they arrested the suspect Tuesday. Brittany Correri told Channel 2′s Tom Jones that she is fortunate to be alive.
“I felt that we connected. He made me comfortable,” Correri explained as she nursed a busted lip and ached from bruises all over her body.
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Correri shared a picture of her and Ben Fancher as they enjoyed their first date Nov. 11. Correri told Jones that they met that day on the online dating app called Hinge. It looked like a love connection.
“Super nice guy. Very nice. We were laughing throughout the whole night. Just having a great time,” she said.
After a night visiting restaurants and bars, Correri said Fancher became a different person.
“I’ve never been beaten so badly,” she said.
Correri said Fancher began punching and attacking her while they rode in his car.
“My biggest regret is getting in his car,” she said.
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Police said it went on for an hour. Correri said Fancher called her the N-word and was irate about her dancing with two black women at the bar.
“He threatened to shoot me. That I picked the wrong white boy,” she remembered.
Correri’s attorney said Fancher should face a hate crime charge.
“Race was at the top of his mind while he was committing this heinous act,” said attorney Michael Sterling.
Correri said a security guard saw Fancher attacking her on Howell Mill Road and yelled for him to stop.
“She’s my angel. I can’t wait to see her again,” Correri said of the security guard who rescued her.
She said the guard snapped a picture of Fancher attacking Correri, which spooked him and he drove off.
Correri doesn’t want this to happen to anyone else and wants Fancher off the streets.
“I just want him caught. He knows where we live,” she said through tears.
Fancher faces charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment and aggravated assault.
Correri’s attorney said Hinge bears some responsibility in this incident.
Channel 2 reached out to the dating app and has not heard back. Hinge did post on Correri’s social media it is sorry this happened, and it has taken immediate action.
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