Mark Latunski: Cannibal who devoured Kevin Bacon faces life sentence after gruesome details of feast revealed
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some. Readers' discretion advised
CORUNNA, MICHIGAN: Mark Latunski pleaded guilty last month to killing and mutilating a college student named Kevin Bacon who he met on a dating app called Grindr. Bacon's body was discovered in Latunski's basement in December 2019, only four days after his friends and family had seen him alive before Christmas eve. The 52-year-old faces life in prison without parole after the judge handing out the sentence was convinced that it was premeditated murder.
According to reports, it was up to a judge to determine whether the death of Kevin Bacon, 25, was first-degree murder or a different type of homicide. Shiawassee County Judge Matthew Stewart said, "The court finds this is a crime of cold calculation. Kevin Bacon's death was Mark Latunski's design. The self-proclaimed cannibal was initially found incompetent to stand trial, but that was changed after his mental health treatment. On the other hand, Defense attorney Mary Chartier claimed that first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison, did not fit this case as Latunski let the police come into his house while being fully aware of the fact that Bacon's body was hanging from the ceiling.
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Mark Latunski: Michigan man who ate Grindr date's testicles to be in court in early 2022
Latunski pleaded guilty to the charges of open murder and mutilation of a body on Thursday, September 22, in front of Judge Matthew J Stewart of the 35th Circuit Court. The prosecutor asked the accused in a video, "Did you use a knife to stab Mr Bacon? Did you know that stabbing Mr Bacon with a knife would most certainly create a very high risk of death or great bodily harm to Mr Bacon?" The self-proclaimed cannibal replied, "Yes I did." The prosecutor continued asking, "After Mr Bacon was dead, did you remove part of his body, specifically his testicles? Did you move those testicles to the kitchen?" Latunski replies, "Yes I did."
Latunski met Bacon on 'Grindr', which is a dating app for gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. He took Bacon by surprise by attacking him from behind and after that, his body was hung from his ankles, his throat cut and parts of him were eaten, as reported by MLive. The guilty plea was nothing short of a shock even to his own counsel. Chartier said in 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 Mr. Latunski's 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." ABC12 previously reported that the cannibal, after undergoing months of psychiatric care at a hospital in Michigan, was deemed mentally fit to stand trial.