In Netflix's newest hit documentary, The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker, the streamer examines the cost of viral Internet fame through the lens of a rather unusual local news story, and a young man who was celebrated as a hero.
In 2013, Caleb McGillvary, a hitchhiker, went viral after he used a hatchet to help save a woman from an attack. McGillvary, who calls himself Kai, became a household name and started to be referred to as “Kai, the hatchet-wielding hitchhiker." He was even meme-ified after he described his "smash, smash, suh-mash!" hatchet-wielding technique during a live TV news segment.
But now, Netflix is digging into the darker side of his rise to fame, which ended with a jail sentence for the murder of a New Jersey man in 2013.
Here’s what you need to know about the true story behind the documentary.
Is 'The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker' based on a true story?
Yes! McGillvary (a.k.a. Kai) is a very real person, and the story the documentary tells is factual.
McGillvary first appeared on the news in the aftermath of a brutal attack. In the video, he's carrying a backpack and talks about his life on the road, hitchhiking. Kai told news reporters he caught a ride with someone who later started attacking a woman who was trying to help an injured man.
Where did the incident occur?
This event unfolded in Fresno, California.
What did the hatchet wielding hitchhiker do?
Before giving an expletive-filled interview to local news cameras, McGillvary hit the man he caught a ride with over the head with the blunt side of a hatchet three times.
The man had picked McGillvary up in his car, and McGillvary told reporters that the man started saying lots of disturbing things (like claiming he was Jesus Christ). The man then smashed into a utility worker with his car, per Vice, and started to attack a woman who came to aid the worker.
“He smashed (his car) into this f***ing guy right there, pinned him in between that f***ing truck… buddy gets out, and these two women are trying to help him," McGillvary says in the viral interview. "[The driver] runs up, and he grabs one of them. A guy that big could snap a woman’s neck like a pencil stick.”
And then there was the viral moment. Kai says, “So I f***ing ran up behind him with a hatchet. Smash, smash, suh-mash!”
Here's the video evidence:
McGillvary later gave an interview with police, per Vice.
Did the hatchet wielding hitchhiker actually go to jail?
Yes, but for something else entirely.
In May 2013, Kai was arrested on charges that he beat New Jersey lawyer Joseph Galfy to death. Kai said he was acting in self-defense to fend off a sexual assault after meeting Galfy in Times Square, per the Associated Press.
However, he was later found guilty and sentenced to 57 years in prison, according to CBS News.
Where is the hatchet wielding hitchhiker today?
While Kai did try to get his murder conviction overturned in 2021, he still remains in a Trenton, N.J. prison, according to NJ.com. He was 24 at the time of the viral interview, and is now 34.
What did the doc leave out?
As with all criminal cases, this is a complicated one. The documentary ends after McGillvary's arrest and shows that he is serving a prison sentence, but doesn’t get into details about the murder trial.
After his arrest, fans raised money for McGillvary's legal fund, per Cosmopolitan. While he admitted to attacking the man, McGillvary pleaded not guilty to a murder charge, claiming self-defense.
According to NJ.com, Kai has struggled in prison and even attempted suicide at one point. He has also spent time studying the law and filing state and local lawsuits claiming his right to due process was violated.
For more info, check out The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker, streaming on Netflix now.
Jacqueline Tempera is an award-winning writer and reporter living in New Jersey with her many pets. She is a business owner and a double Scorpio who loves all things astrology and reality television. She is passionate about body diversity and representation, mental health, and the fight to end sexual assault and harassment. To learn more about Jackie, follow her on Instagram @jacktemp or visit her website at jackietempera.com.
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