Famed home-free hitchhiker who gained public eminence for his act of heroism earlier this year is now facing charges for murder
Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, 24, also known as “Kai the Hitchhiker”, has been indicted of murdering 73-year-old lawyer Joseph Galfy, a partner in the Kochanski, Baron & Galfy, PC lawfirm. According to BBC, Galfy’s body was found lifeless this Monday after his absence from work sparked some concern. An autopsy revealed he was bludgeoned and died by blunt force trauma. His bail is currently set at $3 million.
“He is being sought on murder charges for the killing of Joseph Galfy Jr., the Clark attorney found dead in his Starlite Drive home Monday afternoon,” prosecutor Theodore Romankow publicly commented yesterday morning, recorded by The New Jersey. However, investigators had found no evidence of forced entry into the house nor any evidence of anything stolen.
Yahoo! News notes that McGillvary and Galfy had been spotted together in Times Square two days prior to his death discovery, then remained at Galfy’s residence in Clark, New Jersey for two days. Police had stated that when they found him, he was only in socks and underwear at the time. Authorities had then tracked McGillvary’s travels to Ashbury Park, Glassboro southern New Jersey, and lastly Philadelphia where his presence was reported to authorities and he was detained. It is unclear whether or not the homicide was a self-defense response following a sexual encounter or possibly rape scene, but McGillvary’s recent Facebook posts after to the incident seemed to imply just that.
McGillvary’s last status update on Tuesday read, “what would you do if you awake in a stranger’s house and found you’d been drugged and sexually assaulted?” A response posted hitting him with a hatchet in reference to his act of heroism earlier this year, and McGillvary’s last comment on the post read, “I like your idea.”
McGillvary was known earlier this year for his interview where he described bludgeoning the man whom he had been hitching a ride with after he had claimed he was Jesus sent to save the earth and drove over a Pacific Gas and Electric utility worker and attacked a woman on site. His video went viral quickly and gained him internet prominence.
There is currently a Facebook group following called Free Caleb Kai McGillvary From Persecution by the US Justice System garnering support to release McGillvary from the charges set against him. Public opinions include, “wait! is being charged for wen he hit the dude with the hatchet!? he saved tht girls life!!!!!”. The group can be found here at Facebook. One post used McGillvary’s own saying from the interview, “No matter what you've done you deserve respect, even if you make mistakes, you lovable, doesn't matter your looks, skills, or age, or size, or anything, your worthwhile. No one can ever take that away from you.” McGillvary is known to describe himself as “home-free” and not homeless.
Galfy’s funeral services began yesterday at Higgins Funeral Home in Watchung, New Jersey and will conclude today, May 17 2013 at Our Lady of the Mount R.C. Church. He is survived by his brother, James Galfy and his wife, Diane of Warren, his nieces and nephews, Jennifer and her husband, Steve, Suzanne, Elizabeth and her husband Vinny, and his great nephews and niece Kevin, Caitlin and Colin, posted by the Clark-Garwood Patch.