Michigan "Grindr Cannibal" Pleads Guilty To Killing A Man & Eating His Testicles
A Michigan man accused of killing, dismembering, and eating the testicles of a man he met on the online dating website Grindr, has pleaded guilty.
52-year-old Mark David Latunski pleaded guilty in the 35th District Court before Judge Matthew J Stewart on Thursday.
Police attended the home of Mark Latunski on December 28, 2019, and discovered the mutilated body of Kevin Bacon, 25, hanging from his ankles with his throat cut and parts of his body removed. Latunski confessed to police that when Mr Bacon had arrived at his home after meeting on the dating app Grindr, he stabbed him in the back and slit his throat. After the victim had died, Latunski said he then hung him from the rafters, removed his testicles, and ate them.
On Thursday, Latunski pleaded guilty to charges of open murder and mutilation of a body. "Open murder" contains both first and second-degree murder. Another hearing will take place on October 18 where the decision will be made whether Latunski will be convicted of first or second-degree murder or manslaughter.
Mary Chartier, Latunski's attorney, intended to pursue an insanity defence for her client and recommended against him entering the plea.
Ms Chartier told the court: "While this is not an outcome that defense attorney Mr Krause and I think is in Mr Latunski's best interest, we do have to follow his wishes. "We have discussed this matter and consistently he's been very clear, more than once, multiple times, on his choice and on his reasoning."
If Latunski is convicted, he will likely be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Ms Chartier said that she believed her client would be better suited to being cared for in a clinical environment and not a prison, but she said that she respected his decision.
Michigan State Police Department Detective Sargeant James Moore testified: "He went upstairs, he saw, that in his words, 'it was a new moon'.
"Latunski said he normally eats Rocky Mountain oysters and said instead of eating the ones in his freezer, he decided to use the testicles of Kevin Bacon."
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