Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker

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In the video, Kai describes the hatchet attack as a "Smash, smash, suh-mash!"

Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker is an internet viral video featuring a hitchhiking man who calls himself "Kai". It was released on February 2, 2013, by a reporter from a local news station in Fresno, California. The video went viral and received national attention in the press.^[1] Kai Lawrence, later identified as Caleb Lawrence McGillvary (born September 3, 1988)^[2] from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, would cite the fall-out from the video as part of his defense against a homicide charge that was filed in New Jersey a few months after the video was released.

Viral video

The video is by local Fox affiliate KMPH-TV in Fresno, California. The video is an eyewitness account by a man calling himself "Kai" who describes what happened (according to McGillvary) soon after the course of events and while still on the scene. McGillvary recounts he had been hitchhiking and was picked up by Jett Simmons McBride,^[3] who McGillvary describes as weighing 300 pounds (140 kg) and who claimed to be Jesus Christ. As they are driving, McBride tells McGillvary he once raped a 14-year-old girl in the Virgin Islands while on a business trip. McBride then crashes into a pedestrian at an intersection, pinning the pedestrian against the rear of a parked truck and the front of the vehicle McBride is driving. McGillvary jumps out of the car to help the pedestrian while McBride remains in the car. When a bystander arrives on the scene to help, McBride jumps out and attacks her in a bear hug. Sensing the woman's life might be in danger, and believing the man could snap her neck "like a pencil stick", McGillvary removes a hatchet from his backpack and repeatedly strikes McBride in the back of the head. In the video McGillvary describes the hatchet blows with the words "Smash, smash, suh-mash" while he reenacts the over-head swings. McGillvary recounts he was interrogated by police and set free.

The video was uploaded to YouTube on February 2, 2013, by Jessob Reisbeck, who had conducted the interview for KMPH.^[4] As of January 14, 2023, the video had over 8 million views. The Gregory Brothers sampled the interview and turned it into a song; as of October 27, 2019, the music video had garnered over 10 million views.^[5] In January 2020, McGillvary was interviewed on Inside Edition, where scenes from the viral video were replayed; this video segment uploaded to YouTube had over 7.5 million views as of November 2022.^[6] As a result of the viral nature of the original video, McGillvary received extensive offers from various news and entertainment sources seeking interviews and appearances. This resulted in McGillvary appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on February 11, 2013.^[7]

Murder conviction

McGillvary was arrested on murder charges on May 16, 2013, for the death of New Jersey attorney Joseph Galfy. McGillvary maintained he fought against Galfy in self-defense. According to McGillvary, he had been drugged and raped by Galfy after he offered McGillvary a place to stay for the night. McGillvary stated that the police claimed the sexual encounter was consensual and the murder premeditated; however, McGillvary said that after the viral video in California, he had no need to have sex with men like Galfy, whom McGillvary described as unattractive, stating "Do you know how many hot chicks—never mind. Even if I was gay, do you know how many hot guys wanted to fuck me after that shit in California? I'm not even being vain. It's just a fact, like—no offense, but he [Galfy] was not a looker".^[8]

After the murder charges, the video views increased substantially broadening its viral reach.^[9] Fans of the video, who considered McGillvary a hero for saving the woman, raised a legal fund.^{[10][11][12][13][14]} McGillvary was imprisoned for over five years awaiting trial which began April 1, 2019.^[15][16] McGillvary took the stand in his own defense and was combative during cross-examination; he had an outburst during his defense lawyer's closing arguments nearly leading to his expulsion from the courtroom.^[17] A jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and he was sentenced to 57 years in prison. He is to serve 85 percent of that term (roughly 43.5 years, after accounting for 5 years of pre-trial confinement) before the possibility of parole, with the judge telling McGillvary, "when you become eligible for parole, you will still be younger than Mr. Galfy was when you murdered him." Galfy was 73 at the time of his death.^[18][19][20] McGillvary appealed the conviction, alleging 15 instances of "misconduct, abuse of discretion, and ineffectiveness of defense counsel", but the murder conviction was upheld by the New Jersey Appellate Court in August 2021.^[6][21]

Netflix documentary

On January 10, 2023, Netflix released a documentary chronicling McGillvary's story, including interviews with Reisbeck, members of Kimmel's staff, McGillvary's family, and law enforcement figures involved in his case, among others.^[22] In the immediate days following the documentary's release, media interest in McGillvary's case increased.^[23][24][25]

References

External links

• Kai, Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker, YouTube video
• A retrospective on the video