Name Caleb McGillvary | ||
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Full Name Caleb Lawrence McGillvary Born September 3, 1988 (age 35) ( 1988-09-03 ) Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Other names Kai the hatchet-wielding hitchhiker, Caleb Kai Lawrence Yodhehwawheh, Kai Lawrence, Caleb Kai Lawrence, Kai Stormbird, Kai Nicodemus Parent(s) Gil McGillivary (father) Nationality Canadian Crime First degree murder Criminal penalty 57 years in prison Similar Johnson Aziga, Paul Bernardo, Nelson Hart | ||
Kai the hatchet hitchhiker arrested for killing 73 year old man
Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker is an internet viral video featuring a hitchhiking man identified as Kai Lawrence. It was released on February 2, 2013 by a reporter from a local news station in California. The video went viral and received national attention in the press. Kai Lawrence, later identified as Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, would cite the fall-out from the video as part of his defense in a murder that occurred in New Jersey a few months after the video was released.
Contents
- Kai the hatchet hitchhiker arrested for killing 73 year old man
- Kai Stormbird Any Other Way
- Viral video
- Murder charges
- References
Kai Stormbird -- Any Other Way
Viral video
The video is by local Fox affiliate KMPH in Fresno, California. It is an eyewitness account by a man calling himself "Kai" who describes what happened (according to Kai) soon after the course of events and while still on the scene. Kai has been hitchhiking and is picked up by a man who weighs 300 pounds and claims to be Jesus Christ. The man tells Kai he once raped a 14 year-old girl in the Virgin Islands while on a business trip. The driver then crashes into a pedestrian, pinning him against a truck. Kai jumps out of the car to help the pinned pedestrian while the driver remains in the car. However, when a woman arrives on the scene to help, the driver jumps out and attacks her in a bear hug. Sensing the woman's life may be in danger, and believing the man could snap her neck "like a pencil stick", Kai removes a hatchet from his backpack and begins to repeatedly strike him in the back of the head. Kai describes the hatchet-wielding attack as a "Smash, Smash, SUH-MASH" while re-enacting the over-head swings. The attacker then staggers away and begins masturbating at a nearby school before the police arrived and take the man into custody. Kai is interrogated by police and set free.
The video was uploaded to YouTube on February 2, 2013 by Jessob Reisbeck who also conducted the interview for KMPH.
Murder charges
Kai was arrested on murder charges in May 2013 for the slaying of New Jersey attorney Joseph Galfy. He has been in prison since then and is still awaiting trial. Kai maintains he fought against Galfy in self defense. According to Kai, Galfy attempted to rape him after offering Kai a place to stay for the night. Kai stated that the police claimed the sexual encounter was consensual and the murder premeditated, however Kai said that after the viral video in California, he had no need to have sex with men like Galfy, who Kai described as unattractive, stating "Do you know how many hot chicks—never mind. Even if I was gay, do you know how many hot guys wanted to fuck me after that shit in California? I’m not even being vain. It’s just a fact, like—no offense, but he [Galfy] was not a looker".
After the murder charges, the video views increased substantially adding to its viral impact. Fans of the video, who considered Kai a hero for saving the woman, raised a legal fund.