Michigan man chops off Grindr date's testicles and eats them, mutilated body found hanging in killer's secret room
SHIAWASSEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN: A man who allegedly killed another man after meeting him on dating app Grindr has been found mentally fit to be tried in a court of law. Mark Latunski allegedly killed Kevin Bacon in December 2019 before cutting off and eating his testicles. The 25-year-old victim’s hanging body was reportedly found inside a secret room in Latunski’s Bennington Township home basement on December 28. The gruesome discovery was made after Kevin’s father Karl Bacon reported him missing on December 25.
Public defender Doug Corwin told WILX-TV that Shiawassee County District Judge Ward Clarkson passed the judgment early Monday morning, October 5, deeming the 51-year-old accused fit to stand trial. Latunski’s trial will begin on October 23. After the Monday ruling, the victim’s father Karl expressed his happiness and said to MLive-The Flint Journal: “I’m glad that it’s moving along, finally we’re getting some movement. This whole COVID thing has put everything on hold.” He added: “We’re hoping he gets prison for the rest of his life. That’s what we’re going for.”
According to The Daily Mail, a Ypsilanti psychiatric hospital has been providing treatment to Latunski since June after he was shifted there from the county jail. In February, the suspect was found unresponsive in his cell but was transferred a few months after because of the coronavirus pandemic and the wait for a bed to open at the secured facility. Initially, in February, he was found unfit to stand trial, which gave a 15-month time to prosecutors to find him fit. While Corwin filed for an independent psychological test for Latunski on October 2 before the court’s decision. Previously, he had also submitted a report claiming his client was insane.
Kevin was a hairstylist studying at the University of Michigan-Flint, who was last seen on the evening of December 24 by his roommate Michelle Meyer. At the time of the initial investigation, Meyer told police that Kevin was going outside to meet a man he had matched with on Grindr. After that, he disappeared. Later, it was found that the man whom Kevin left to meet was Latunski. After checking his home, investigators found the victim’s naked body suspended upside down from the ceiling of the basement’s secret room.
At the time, Latunski confessed before investigators that he murdered Kevin by stabbing him in the back and slitting his throat. He also reportedly said that he used the same murder weapon to cut off the man’s testicles before eating them. He was then pressed with charges including one count of open murder and one count of mutilation of a human body.
Reports also stated that Latunski had a history of various mental illnesses and in the past he had stopped taking medications to treat the conditions, according to records from the 66th District and 35th Circuit courts. In August 2019, his former wife Emily also filed a motion against him demanding suspension of visitation rights to his children. The motion read: “[Mark Latunski] has a history of mental illness and has been hospitalized in the Owosso Mental Stress unit ... [and] has a history of going off his medication.”
Jamie Arnold, Latunski’s ex-husband, said he had no idea about his mental health issues until July when he was arrested for not paying child support. “To my knowledge, I couldn't force him to see a therapist or take medication. Never in a million years did I think he'd be capable of doing such a horrendous crime.” The husband of three years said that he left Latunski’s house in September. “In hindsight, it's easy to sit back and speculate but at the time you're going through it there are emotions and feelings involved. You don't want to think that the person you fell in love with is some crazy homicidal maniac. I pray that God is there for Kevin Bacon's family in their time of need and that He helps us all get through this, one day at a time,” Arnold added.
When Kevin’s remains were found, his namesake ‘Footloose’ star Kevin Bacon, shared a post for him on his Instagram account. He wrote, “For obvious reasons I'm thinking this morning about the friends and family of this young person Kevin Bacon. His life was taken from him much too soon. His love was hairdressing. I bet he would have done a great job on this mess on my head. RIP KB.”