Man downloaded Grindr and was killed by match who ate his body parts
Mark Latunski, 53, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the premeditated murder of Kevin Bacon, 25, who he met on Grindr
A depraved cannibal used a dating app to lure a 25-year-old man to his home where he brutally murdered him, hung his body in his basement, and ate parts of his remains over the Christmas period.
Mark Latunski, a 53-year-old man from Michigan, downloaded the dating app Grindr in December 2019 and made contact with Kevin Bacon.
The deeply disturbing turn of events, where Latnuski ate parts of Kevin's corpse in what a judge called a "crime of cold calculation."
The deranged killer also hung his victim's body upside down inside his Bennington Township home, and admitted to severing and eating part of Kevin's genitalia.
Shiawassee County prosecutor Scott Koerner told the court that the killing was premeditated, revealing that Latunski had informed police he had discussed buying a dehydrator to turn Kevin's muscles into jerky, according to Mlive. com, reports the Daily Star.
Bacon was last seen on Christmas Eve, when he told a housemate he was heading out to meet someone he had connected with on Grindr. Heartbreakingly, his family reported him missing on Christmas Day.
His defence lawyer Mary Chartier argued that Latunski had not planned to kill Mr Bacon, pointing out that he willingly allowed officers into his home, where the victim's body was found hanging by the ankles in the basement.
An experienced detective said that the murder scene was the most harrowing sight of his entire career, according to CBS, with the images remaining seared into his memory following Latunski's confession. "I was pretty surprised," said Michigan State Police Det. Sgt. James Moore, reacting to Latunki's guilty plea in 2020.
Moore led the investigation into Bacon's death.
"I had not seen anybody in person located in that manner that Kevin was found," Moore said. "So it was definitely not something that I normally would respond to."
Shiawassee County Judge Matthew Stewart ruled: "The court finds that this is a crime of cold calculation.
"Kevin Bacon's death was Mark Latunski's design."
Latunski's lawyer Mary Chartier said her client did not understand the gravity of his crime.
"He did not measure the consequences at all," she said. First-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
That was Moore's reaction to Mark Latunski entering a guilty plea to open murder. Latunski confessed to killing Kevin Bacon and consuming parts of his body in 2019.
Shiawassee County Prosecutor Scott Koerner noted that Latunski appeared composed as he entered his plea. "He was pretty reserved, pretty stoic, not a lot of emotion, short answers," Koerner said.
"It was really gruesome and horrific," Koerner said. "I guess they're the words that come to my mind."
Koerner described the case as historic, marking the first occasion in Shiawassee County that someone has pleaded guilty to open murder. Koerner said the case would remain with him permanently, while Moore suggested it would prove deeply challenging for all those involved.
"Don't be afraid to reach out and talk to people about what you're thinking, what you observed, and get some help if you need it," Moore said.
Shiawassee County Judge Matthew Stewart determined that the killing constituted premeditated first-degree murder, and Latnuski was handed a life sentence without the possibility of parole in 2022. Latnuski was also given a concurrent sentence of 11 months on a charge of disinterment and mutilation of a dead body.