The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker

2023 - 1 - 11

Post cover — Image courtesy of "DualShockers"

Where Is Kai, The Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker, Now? (DualShockers)

The latest true crime phenomenon on Netflix (in a long, steady stream of true crime phenomenons) is a documentary about viral internet sensation turned ...

[‘Kai the Hitchhiker’ YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@KaitheHitchhikerforreal) between what seems to be Kai and various people involved in the making of a Netflix documentary. Kai (or Caleb Lawrence McGillvary) was convicted of the murder of 73-year-old lawyer Joseph Galfy in May 2019, and sentenced to 57 years in prison. The appeal was unsuccessful, based around some tenuous arguments, such as Kai suggesting that he should’ve been allowed to call on the judge as a witness, and also claiming he was subject to racial bias from the black sheriff (who used “hostile body language” against him) and the jury, who were mostly people of colour. The Netflix documentary charts Kai/Caleb’s swift and violent rise and fall. Kai hit the man over the head three times with a hatchet to stop his assault, hence he was dubbed “The Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker.” The homeless hitchhiker sprung to fame in 2013, when he gave

Where Is Kai 'The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker' Now? All About ... (Women's Health)

Kai The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker (Caleb McGillvary) went viral in 2012. A Netflix doc looks at his story. Here's everything to know about where he is ...

McGillvary said he was acting in self-defense to try to fend off a sexual assault after meeting Galfy in Times Square, per the [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-canada-011d9c525bbf105f604c8bbcca732954). He’s currently serving time in Trenton, N.J., according to At the time, claimed the verdict wasn’t justified by the evidence and that "prosecutors committed misconduct by mischaracterizing the evidence and McGillvary’s defense," the outlet said. McGillvary described to the reporter how McBride began threatening a woman who was trying to help the pinned man. McGillvary, who calls himself Kai, became a household name, and started to be referred to as “Kai, the [hatchet-wielding hitchhiker](https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/g29028290/best-true-crime-shows/)." McGillvary then said McBride started claiming to be Jesus Christ and crashed into a pedestrian in an intersection, pinned him against the back of a parked truck. The victim had several blunt-force injuries to his face, head, neck, chest, and arms, along with three skull fractures, four broken ribs, and severe contusions, abrasions, and bleeding, CBS New York reported. McGillvary also accused the judge of "improperly allowing highly prejudicial expert testimony." ](https://www.nj.com/news/2019/05/kai-the-hitchhiker-sentenced-to-57-years-in-prison.html)He was was sentenced to 57 years in prison, according to [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kai-the-hitchhiker-caleb-mcgillvary-sentenced-to-57-years-beating-death-today-2019-05-30/). Here’s what you need to know: [KMPH](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16oUKdOUstU&t=0s) and [Fox26](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xa0NfCdLk4&t=61s), where he described how he came to the rescue of some people after an altercation with a man who offered him a ride while McGillvary was hitchhiking. [shocked](https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a41722781/the-good-nurse-true-story-charles-cullen-amy-loughren/) to later learn that he was also going to prison for [murder](https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a42042587/texas-killing-fields-true-story-netflix-documentary/).

The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker just hit No. 2 on Netflix — stream it ... (Tom's Guide)

Netflix's tale of The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker shows how one viral sensation was hiding a secret. Here's what you need to know.

[Rolling Stone](https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/hatchet-wielding-hitchhiker-netflix-kai-caleb-mcgillvary-viral-murder-1234655636/) (opens in new tab) agrees, writing "It’s far more effective as an indictment against media rapaciousness, as well as their treatment of the homeless and mentally unwell." In 2013, Caleb "Kai" McGillvary got headlines for saving the day with his hatchet, in a big moment that turned him into a meme machine. And that's when the film shows us that McGillvary was arrested on murder charges. 3 in its third week, and then Netflix's latest big release, the Christian Bale-led mystery [The Pale Blue Eye](https://www.tomsguide.com/news/netflixs-the-pale-blue-eye-is-the-biggest-new-movie-of-the-week-watch-or-skip) is at No. That said, we've found enough to help you decide about it. And its title is so sensational that many will feel a need to watch. Behind it, you have [Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery](https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/glass-onion-a-knives-out-mystery-review-one-of-the-best-netflix-movies-ever) at No. [best Netflix movies](https://www.tomsguide.com/news/7-best-new-netflix-movies-that-are-90-or-higher-on-rotten-tomatoes-jan-2023), it is currently rubbing elbows with big names. And it's got a twist that you may see coming. The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker doesn't have a [FlixPatrol's tracking](https://flixpatrol.com/top10/netflix/united-states/2023-01-11/) (opens in new tab), The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker is a new Netflix documentary film with a title that begs to be watched. In a single day, The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker became a household name on

This is the full story behind Netflix's new true crime, The Hatchet ... (The Tab)

TW: One brief mention of rape. It's been a while since Netflix released its last true crime – but luckily now we've got our fix with The Hatchet Wielding ...

To this day, Kai maintains he was lured, drugged and raped by the 73-year-old, after he offered him a place to stay for the night. “I was in the passenger side of this fucker’s car,” he recounted in the interview. Kai was arrested for the murder of attorney Joseph Galfy, which happened the night before. This is the entire true story behind Kai, the Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker. The backstory of Kai Lawrence, real name Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, is largely unknown. He became a beloved figure almost overnight, as well as the human representation of good, clean, pure vibes.

Stream It Or Skip It: 'The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker' on Netflix ... (Decider)

Violence marks this doc about a good samaritan-turned-murderer. But is viral fame the real killer?

As one online commenter posts in the wake of Kai’s murder conviction, “fame is a double-edged hatchet.” What Hatchet feels most interested in is how the forces at work in viral fame can become insidious, or a propellant that fuels an inferno, whether or not that was ever the intention of the social media tumult. [Leave Britney alone!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqSTXuJeTks)”, a YouTube clip that’s actually referenced in The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker as an example of this entirely normalized phenomenon? Just as Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker is more about the personality and viral spectacle that connects two acts of violence, it also features Convicted despite his claims of rape and self-defense, the people Kai encountered during his proverbial fifteen minutes of fame are left to wonder if their endorsements and encouragements contributed to his rapid transformation from a hitchhiking nomadic hero into an infamous killer with prison as his permanent address. Three months after his viral surge, Kai was linked to the death of a New Jersey attorney, tracked through his thriving social media presence, and eventually arrested and charged with the man’s murder.

Where is Kai from The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker now as gripping ... (woman&home)

The Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker tells the tale of how internet stardom was soon supplanted by decades in prison for Kai.

[Texas Killing Fields](https://www.womanandhome.com/life/news-entertainment/texas-killing-fields-haunting-true-story-behind-the-unsolved-murders-explored-in-gripping-netflix-docuseries/) and Michael Peterson in [The Staircase](https://www.womanandhome.com/life/news-entertainment/what-is-the-staircase-about-and-where-is-michael-peterson-now-as-hbo-brings-this-disturbing-true-story-to-life/), Kai the Hitchhiker maintained his innocence and so it’s perhaps no surprise that he did try to appeal his sentence for murder. The answer is no - he was found guilty of the murder of Joseph Galfy in 2019 and is in prison now. His original interview that went viral was given in California where the incident with McBride happened. Her specialist areas including literature, the British Royal Family and knowing all there is to know about the latest TV shows on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and every streaming service out there. Kai was arrested for the crime and according to The hitchhiker was put on trial for the murder with At the time of the verdict acting Union County Prosecutor Michael Monham declared, “This was a brutal, vicious, senseless crime, and we are pleased that the interests of justice have been served. Back in 2013 when the sinister events of the documentary took place he was homeless and hitchhiker and he rose to the ranks of internet stardom after he saved a woman who was facing attack from taxi driver, Jett Simmons McBride. Ultimately, he was sentenced to 57 years in prison in 2019 when he was 30 years old. The hitchhiker was later filmed by a local California TV news crew and after being asked about his actions he said that he simply went “smash, smash, suh-mash” with the hatchet. Delving into the shocking true story, The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker documentary might well appeal to true crime fans who hoped to see justice served in McBride went on trial for his actions and according to

The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker review: Mind of an unhinged social ... (Firstpost)

The docu-film impresses with its focus on the media and social media rush to create heroes and influencers.

The jail term has given a permanent address to “home-free” Kai, as the film notes. Mission Manju is a spy thriller inspired by one of the most heroic missions of an Indian RAW agent. A person interviewed in the film rightly talks of the media and social media’s need to deliberate over who they project as a hero, of the necessity to “know who you are glorifying publicly”. Follow us on [also read] [Entertainment](https://www.firstpost.com/category/entertainment) [Here's when Sidharth Malhotra and Rashmika Mandanna will launch the trailer of their much-awaited film Mission Majnu](https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/heres-when-sidharth-malhotra-and-rashmika-mandanna-will-launch-the-trailer-of-their-much-awaited-film-mission-majnu-11934582.html) “Everyone in the world wanted a piece of this kid,” says Reisbeck, as Hollywood and reality TV come knocking. The filmmaker’s focus is on dissecting Kai as a maverick who rises to stardom from nowhere, triggering off popular imagination over those three months before his downfall. He clearly loves being on the edge, is an iconoclast who doesn’t think twice before taking a leak on a sidewalk star of the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in front of The Roosevelt hotel. Or was he merely an unhinged homeless man with a flamboyant personality that news television and social media recklessly accorded footage to, for the sake of trending news? He urinates on a signboard of Jimmy Kimmel Live, too, moments before going into the show for a hearty chat with Kimmel himself. For, the film does more than recount the tale of a hero who would turn a villain. He recalls the car’s driver, a six foot-plus white man weighing over 300 pounds, as claiming to be “Jesus”, on earth to deliver all people from the Blacks. Caleb, a hobo who prefers to be known as Kai, had hitched a ride around Fresno, California.