Photo credit: The Goldwater

It all started when Kai was hitching a ride "straight out of Dogtown" to indulge two of his passions, surfing and skateboarding. During the ride the man confessed to Kai that he had raped a 14-year-old while in the Virgin Islands. The man further confessed that he was Jesus Christ and could do whatever he want. To demonstrate he pinned a utility worker up against a truck with his vehicle and proceeded to attack a female pedestrian. That's when Kai, thence known as "Kai, the hitchhiker" or "the hatchet wielding hitchhiker" came in with a "SMASH, SMASH, Suh-MASH," as he famously uttered in the viral news clip, he incapacitated the deranged would-be murderer with the flat end of his name-sake personal defense system and became something of a viral sensation and folk-hero.

Viral fame translated into appearances on the Jimmy Kimmel show and being featured in a segment for Stephen Colbert's show. From there he became a sort of celebrity in certain circles. At this point it was not uncommon for him to have people on the street recognize him and invite him to their place for the night or to party. Kai was, up until 2013, self-identifying as "home-free." In other words, nomadic existence foraging in woods or busquing in urban areas. An idyllic sort of life for a care-free soul. A dream, even.

In May of 2013, the dream came abruptly to an end and <a href="http://www.vocativ.com/335097/kai-the-hatchet-wielding-hitchhiker/index.html">a long, ongoing nightmare began</a>. Kai was hitching in New York's Times Square when a 73-year-old lawyer from New Jersey rolls up. "You look lost," the attorney said and invited him back to his place for the night. They took the trek to Union City, New Jersey where Kai alleges he was drugged and raped.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Accused murderer 'Kai the Hitchhiker' wages legal fight from jail <a href="https://t.co/2dfrHWJZpn">https://t.co/2dfrHWJZpn</a><a href="https://t.co/j2SAWJ6gB8">https://t.co/j2SAWJ6gB8</a></p>— Kai The Hitchhiker (@KaiTheHitchhik1) <a href="https://twitter.com/KaiTheHitchhik1/status/706901702880825345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2016</a></blockquote>

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Galfy, the lawyer, fed him and offered him a beer. Kai remembers it tasting especially bitter. Galfy explained it was a German beer so Kai assumed maybe it was just especially hoppy. When he came to the next day he felt a residue all over his face and was especially hungover with a metallic taste in his mouth. In conversation this week he remarked it was like his fillings had been taken out.

He remembers being shoved into the carpet, nearly suffocated. He remembers being bodyslammed by the much larger man. He remembers fighting the man off. He remembers the rug burns. What he doesn't remember is killing a man, and judging from the apparently genuine shock when he was told Galfy was dead, he was still in the drugged state when this happened.

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Kai's behavior following this does't fit the bill of a murderer on the run. He ended up at a Starbucks where a woman offered to buy him coffee. Witnesses say he drugged. There are ample stories of people under the influence of GHB or Ambien who managed to drive vehicles or go about their day. The multiple witnesses testimony was, for whatever reasons, withheld from evidence.

This isn't the only major discrepancy that points towards a gross miscarriage of justice, however. Despite explaining that he was drugged and raped, according to records from Union City investigators, the beer bottles were washed out rather than ran through a toxicology screen that might detect whatever date rape drug Kai alleges Galfy adulterated his beer with. Media reports that he was found dead in his bed, but official documents show he was actually found in the floor. Almost instantly, Kai, the lovable media darling became anathema to huge outlets like USA Today and Washington Post.

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And speaking of the media, there has been a virtual media blackout for over a year. Barring the Constitutional right to a swift trial is tantamount to cruel and inhuman punishment. And that's even if you don't take into account suppressing and destroying evidence, abuse by authorities and being locked down 23 hours a day, 7 days a week in isolation. Regardless of what you have done, that is <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/solitary-confinement-cruel-ineffective-unusual/">considered cruel, degrading and dehumanizing</a>. To hold someone, without trial, who is innocent and acted only in self-defense is abominable.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kai the hitchhiker hero who saved people from maniac was drugged and raped by Jersey prosecutors friend now evidence is missing PLEASE HELP</p>— MARK MATTHEW (@MMathew777) <a href="https://twitter.com/MMathew777/status/907430928347275269?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 12, 2017</a></blockquote>

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The sheriff was told what to collect, and what not to collect. The prosecutor was close friends with the deceased. No semen was found on the bed, but that's not where the rape occurred. The hairs found at the scene would corroborate Kai's account of being held face down after being drugged. The rape kit was performed on Galfy, not on Kai. However, semen and "unidentified blood" (presumably Kai's) was found on the alleged rapist's penis. They also refused to have him see a doctor to test him for drugs that could have effected the sort of blackout state that Kai experienced.

Kai has firmly debunked several points of the prosecution's case and even noted instances of perjury. Since being locked up, he has been voraciously devouring legal texts in order to help build his case. Despite all this his motion to dismiss, the civil suit and even the trial itself has not progressed since the initial indictment. The fact that this could happen in the United States is horrific.

“Once again they have pushed my trial back. They say it's going to be in spring of next year now… because they don't want me to see what's in the rapist’s hard drive. This is crazy! First they destroyed hella evidence then they lied to you and the grand jury and now they are imprisoning me without trial for five years. Any other state and I would be free already.

If anyone wants to help with some stamps I'm going to fire off a new salvo of letters to get the ACLU involved."

We here at the Goldwater are opposed to abuse of power and corruption and, like Superman, stand for truth, justice and the American way. As such, we will be following this case as closely as possible. I'm still in contact with Kai and will offer updates when available in hopes that eventually there will be more than the current chorus of crickets from the media. Meantime, if you'd like to help, Kai says just dropping a message at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Kai-the-Hitchhiker-Legal-Support-Page-1594410144211919/?ref=br_rs">Facebook page dedicated to his legal support</a> shows him that people still care. You can also buy books on his Amazon list or write him a letter.

Caleb McGillvary

Inmate #210329

Union County Jail

15 Elizabethtown Plaza

Elizabeth, NJ 07202-3480

Donate to Kai’s commissary here.

https://www.accesscorrections.com/#/

Inmate #210329