The cannibal charged with killing and eating a college student named Kevin Bacon pleaded guilty Thursday Michigan to murder and mutilation, despite claims of insanity from his own counsel.
Mark David Latunski, 52, pleaded guilty before a Michigan judge to the December 2019 murder of the 25-year-old student. according to Michigan-based news channel MLive.
Bacon’s body was discovered on December 28 in a secret room in the basement of Latunski’s home, four days after friends and family last saw him alive.
The two had met on grindrwhich is described on its website as “the world’s largest social networking app for gays, bisexuals, transgenders and queers.”
Kevin Bacon (left) was brutally murdered in December 2019 by Mark David Latunski (right)
Mark David Latunski in his headshot photo
The 25-year-old was found with stab wounds and a slit throat with his ankles attached to rafters in the house.
In court, video made by MLive shows Latunski admitting the events that led to the 25-year-old’s death, including the horrific and inhumane acts that followed the murder.
“Did you use a knife to stab Mr. Bacon?” the prosecutor Latunski asks in the video. “Did you know that stabbing Mr. Bacon with a knife would certainly pose a very high risk of death or serious injury to Mr. Bacon?”
“Yes, I did,” responds the self-proclaimed cannibal.
Latunski told court that he stabbed Bacon in the back at his house, surprising his date.
“After Mr. Bacon was dead, did you remove any part of his body, especially his testicles,” she continues. “Did you move those testicles to the kitchen?”
“Yes, I did,” Latunski responds.
The conviction comes just weeks before the start of the trial of Latunski in October. The open murder charge includes both first and second-degree murder and the exact conviction will be decided on October 18.
First degree murder means life in prison with no chance of parole while second degree murder can mean life in prison with parole.
The admission of guilt came as a shock to some, including his own legal counsel, who had hoped to use an insanity defense during the trial.
“While this is not an outcome that (defense attorney) Mr Krause and I think it is in Mr Latunski’s best interests, we must follow Mr Latunski’s wishes,” Chartier said in court. “We have discussed this matter and he has always been very clear, more than once, several times, about his choice and his reasoning.”
‘It’s still a sad day,’ said Shiawassee County Prosecutor Scott Koerner told ABC 12. “But it’s a long time coming and I hope it brings closure and justice to the family.”
In October 2020, the cannibal was found mentally fit to stand trial after undergoing months of psychiatric care at a Michigan hospital, according to ABC12.
Mark David Latunski poses in a photo posted to his Facebook page before his arrest
Several months prior to that decision, another judge in Shiawassee County had ruled that the 52-year-old had no jurisdiction to stand trial and ordered him to undergo treatment.
Shortly after Latunski was arrested, police said it was not their first meeting with the man from Michigan.
In October 2019, a man visiting Michigan from New York called police when he ran away from Latunski’s home after allegedly waking up in the basement.
911 calls retrieved by The Flint Journal-MLive showed two different men on two separate occasions approaching the police and asking for help to get away.
The Michigan House Where Latunski Brutally Killed Kevin Bacon in 2019
“I want you to know like I’ve never experienced anything like this before. I don’t know if he drugged me. All you know is I’m locked in the goddamn basement, okay? Chained in the basement,” the man said in the October 2019 incident.
A police report indicated that on November 25, 2019, Latunski was stopped by officers when he tried to chase another man on the street, wearing nothing but a kilt.
At that point, the man he was chasing told the officer that he had fled Latunski’s house, fearing that the 52-year-old would hold him against his will, chained in his basement.
“I’m trying to get away from a scary guy,” the caller told the operator. “He had me tied up in his basement.”
Kevin Bacon’s Parents Are Still Awaiting Justice In Their Son’s Gruesome Murder
Latunski’s admission of guilt brings Kevin’s family and friends closer to justice and closure.
Kevin’s parents, Pam and Karl Bacon, spoke about the need for justice in October 2020 when the 52-year-old was deemed fit to stand trial.
Karl, who filed the missing person’s report for Kevin when he didn’t show up for Christmas breakfast, said he wants Latunski to rot in jail.
“We hope he gets jail time for the rest of his life,” he said. ‘That’s the purpose.’