Warning: This story has graphic content.
A Michigan man who was allegedly murdered by his Grindr date last month was found by authorities hanging from his ankles, with his throat cut and parts of his body missing, according to court transcripts that reveal gruesome details of the Christmas Eve slaying.
Police said in court that Kevin Bacon’s accused killer, Mark Latunski, admitted to cutting off the 25-year-old’s testicles, and later eating them, after the murder, reports MLive, which obtained copies of the transcripts.
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Bacon was reported missing on Dec. 25 after his family became concerned when he didn’t come home for a family holiday breakfast. The hairstylist, who was a student at the University of Michigan-Flint, allegedly went to meet with a man he met through the popular dating app, Grindr, on Christmas Eve, according to his roommate.
Three days later, Michigan State police officers found Bacon’s body at Latunski’s home, about 30 minutes away from campus. Latunski, 50, was charged with one count of open murder and one count of mutilation of a human body on Dec. 30 after he allegedly admitted to fatally stabbing Bacon in the back and slitting his throat.
He is currently being held without bond at Shiawassee County Jail.
“My brother Kevin was taken suddenly from the people who loved him,” Bacon’s sister, Jennifer, said in a GoFundMe campaign.
According to the court documents obtained by MLive, Michigan State Police and the Clayton Township Police Department performed a welfare check on Latunski’s home on Dec. 28 after evidence indicated Bacon had been at the residence on Christmas Eve. Police previously found Bacon’s car at a Family Dollar store with his phone, wallet, and some clothes inside.
Upon entering the home, authorities found Bacon naked and hanging by his ankles from the ceiling. Latunski allegedly told police he murdered Bacon before tying a rope around his ankles and hanging him a rafter. The 50-year-old allegedly also admitted that he used the knife to cut off Bacon’s testicles.
Court records indicate Latunski has a lengthy criminal history, including a 2013 charge for allegedly taking two of his four children from their mother. While those charges were dismissed, his ex-wife filed an Aug. 22 motion to suspend the 50-year-old’s parenting time. In the motion, she states Latunski was diagnosed with depression and paranoid schizophrenia, and exhibits traits of a personality disorder.
“[Latunski] has a history of mental illness and has been hospitalized in the Owosso Mental Stress unit,” the motion states, adding he “has a history of going off his medication.”
Bacon’s father, however, told MLive he believes his son’s alleged murderer used “the mental health card” during his initial Dec. 30 arraignment.
“He has used the mental health card to get out of situations in the past and he’s attempting to use it again,” Karl Bacon said. “I would like to see him locked up for the rest of his life in some form or another.”
Bacon’s tragic death has garnered national attention from several celebrities, including actor Kevin Bacon and YouTuber and makeup star Jeffree Star. His funeral and a candlelight vigil were held on Friday, where nearly 300 people gathered with balloons outside the Swartz Creek High School.
“For obvious reasons, I’m thinking this morning about the friends and family of this young person Kevin Bacon,” the actor wrote on Instagram last week. “His life was taken from him much too soon. His love was hairdressing. I bet he would have done a great job on this mess on my head.”
Tweeting a link to the Bacon family’s GoFundMe page, Starr also expressed his grief about the slaying, writing he was “devastated” to hear someone “who lives their life fearlessly... was taken too soon.”
