Gay Michigan hairstylist killed and mutilated after meeting up with Grindr contact
Mark Latunski is accused of luring and murdering 25-year-old Kevin Bacon
A Michigan man has been charged with murdering a 25-year-old gay man whom he allegedly lured using the dating app Grindr.
Mark Latunski, 50, was arraigned last week on one count of open murder and one count of mutilation of a human body in relation to the death of Kevin Bacon, a hairstylist and psychology student at the University of Michigan-Flint. Latunski could face up to life in prison if found guilty.
Latunski did not appear in the courtroom, but was arraigned via video. When asked if his name was Mark Latunski, he said that his name was “Edgar Thomas Hill” and that Mark Latunski was his nephew. He was appointed a public defender, and will be held without bond while he awaits trial.
Michelle Myers, Bacon’s friend and roommate, told The Flint Journal-MLive that Bacon told her he was meeting a man from a dating app around 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve. At 6:12 p.m., he texted, saying he was going to be out for a while, and wasn’t sure when he’d return, but was having fun.
Karl Bacon, Kevin’s dad, told MLive his son was supposed to come over for breakfast around 9 a.m. on Christmas Day, but never showed up. He became concerned and called police around 5 p.m.
Karl Bacon said he met with police in Swartz Creek, Mich., and later found his son’s car in the parking lot of a plaza near a Family Dollar store.
Inside the car, police found Kevin Bacon’s phone and wallet. They also found Kevin Bacon’s clothes in a bag in the backseat of his car, with only his car keys missing.
Police led to Latunski’s home on Dec. 28 after Facebook posts were relayed to the Clayton Township Police Department, Karl Bacon told MLive. There, they found Bacon’s body, hanging naked from the ceiling, and arrested Latunski.
According to police, Latunski confessed to stabbing Bacon in the back with a knife and then slitting his throat before hanging his body from the rafters on the ceiling. He also admitted to cutting off Bacon’s testicles and eating them, reports Lansing NBC affiliate WILX.
Latunski is next scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday morning for a preliminary examination to determine competency, and a pretrial hearing on Jan. 14.
Latunski was previously charged with kidnapping in 2013 for allegedly taking two of his four children from his ex-wife. Those charges were dismissed after several competency hearings.
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