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Hatchet-wielding hitchhiker Kai arrested for murder

The YouTube sensation rose to fame earlier this spring for rescuing two Californians.

 

Mike Fenn

Internet Culture

Posted on May 17, 2013   Updated on Jun 1, 2021, 3:42 pm CDT

Only a few months ago, he was a hero. Now, he is being charged with murder.

According to philly.com, Kai, the beloved hatchet-wielding hitchhiker, was apprehended on May 16 in Philadelphia. He is a prime suspect in the murder of 73-year-old New Jersey lawyer Joseph Galfy, Jr.

A press release issued by the Prosecutor’s Office of Union County, New Jersey stated that Galfy was found dead on May 12 in his Clark, N.J., home as a result of blunt force trauma to the head. The Prosecutor’s Office told philly.com the two men had met in Times Square the previous day for a “sexual encounter.”

On May 14, Kai wrote on his Facebook page “what would you do if you woke up with a groggy head, metallic taste in your mouth, in a strangers house… walked to the mirror and seen come dripping from the side of your face from your mouth, and started wretching, realizing that someone had drugged, raped, and blown their fuckin load in you? what would you do?”

Kai rose to fame in February after rescuing two California citizens who were attacked by a motorist claiming to be Jesus Christ. His fans have been reacting to the news on both the original YouTube video and his Facebook page. 

“i support kai…that guy locked him up, drugged him and raped him…kai did the right thing,” YouTube user 2112puzzle wrote.

“lol I wonder if when he beat that guy to death who allegedly drugged him, if during the beatdown he started shouting SMASH SMASH SA-MAAASH,” YouTube user random86syringes commented.

“He’s no killer. As you can see from his past, he does what he believes is right & obviously someone harmed him,” Sarah Cascio wrote on Facebook.

Facebook user Terry Ratliff, who was supposed to write a song with Kai, began an account on gofundme.com to help raise the $3 million needed for the hitchhiker’s bail. So far, only $66 has been raised.

“well Kai has been arrested… so he’s gonna need some help with his legal fees. feel free to donate to the fundraiser. If this offends you, then disregard this post,” Ratliff wrote on Facebook.

After he is processed in Philadelphia, Kai will be held at the Union County jail in Elizabeth, N.J.

H/T to philly.com / Screengrab via YouTube

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*First Published: May 17, 2013, 8:58 am CDT