Kai Lawrence.Photo: Courtesy of Netflix
Who is Kai Lawrence, how did his story take off, and how did his life go so tragically awry?
In February 2013, Lawrence, then a 24-year-old homeless surfer, gave a bizarreinterview with news station KMPHabout a disturbing incident that occurred when he was hitching a ride with a stranger to Fresno, Calif.
Lawrence claimed that while he was in the car with the driver, the driver admitted to raping a 14-year-old girl and then purposely hit a pedestrian with his truck before attacking a woman who came over to help.
Kai Lawrence.Courtesy of Netflix
Lawrence, who was still homeless, headed to New York shortly after his newfound fame. But within a few months in the city, he was arrested for killing a man named Joseph Galfy, whom he claimed had sexually assaulted him.
Galfy, a 73-year-old lawyer, was found dead at his New Jersey home in only his socks and underwear. He had been beaten to death.
Officers investigating the case found a sheet of paper with Lawrence’s name on it inside Galfy’s home, as well as a train ticket receipt leading them to surveillance footage of Galfy hugging Lawrence at the train station.
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When Lawrence was located at a Philadelphia bus station, he admitted to killing Galfy, but claimed it was self-defense following an alleged sexual assault. Investigators noticed inconsistencies in his story, and Lawrence was convicted of first-degree murder in 2019.
He was sentenced to 57 years in prison. He remains imprisoned in New Jersey today.
For more on Lawrence’s story, watchThe Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker,streaming now on Netflix.
source: people.com
