Postal Worker Got Engaged Just 10 Days Before He Was Found Fatally Trapped in Mail Handling Machine

A Michigan postal employee who died after becoming trapped in a conveyor belt system at a mail distribution center had gotten engaged just 10 days earlier, according to loved ones.

Nicholas John Acker, 36, of Trenton, Mich., was discovered stuck in a machine at the USPS Detroit Network Distribution Center in Allen Park on Saturday, Nov. 8, WDIV reported.

Authorities were called to 17500 Oakwood Blvd. around 12:25 p.m. local time. The outlet reported that he had likely been deceased for 6 to 8 hours before emergency responders arrived.

“We want to know what happened and how long he was there,” said his fiancée, Stephanie Jaszcz, in an interview with WDIV. “We want to know how he even ended up there and why doesn’t anybody know where he was at?”

A spokesperson for USPS said the service was deeply saddened by the loss of the employee and that their thoughts were with his family.

Allen Park Police Detective Lt. Jason Dobbertin told the Detroit Free Press that the death does not appear suspicious.

Jaszcz shared that Acker previously served in the Air Force for nine years and had been working as a mechanic at the Allen Park facility for about a year.

“He was just one of those kinds of people whose sweetness and thoughtfulness weren’t just traits — they were his way of life,” she told WDIV. “He was very generous… It was always his time and his heart. He made everyone feel valid and seen.”

A GoFundMe was created to support Jaszcz following Acker’s death. The fundraiser notes that the couple had just celebrated their engagement and were planning a life together.

“Stephanie and Nick shared a home, their dreams, and their love — along with their sweet puppies who meant the world to them,” the message reads, adding that Jaszcz is now facing challenging financial changes after losing her partner.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, Nov. 9, she expressed her grief: “Nick, I don’t know how to do this without you… You were my safe place, my steady… And now everything feels off-kilter, like the ground forgot how to hold me.”

“It’s not fair,” she added. “You weren’t supposed to be taken from me. We had plans. We had rhythms. We had a life stitched together with inside jokes and quiet mornings and the way you always knew when I needed you to just hold my hand.”

According to his obituary, Acker is survived by his parents and his brother.