Joseph Galfy's house

This is the house where "Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker" murdered Joseph Galfy.

It is located at 46 Starlite Drive in Clark, New Jersey.

In February 2013, a homeless drifter named Caleb "Kai" McGillvary defended a woman in Fresno, California, by striking her attacker over the head with a hatchet. Following the incident, he gave an interview to KMPH News, which subsequently went viral.

From that point on, he became known as "Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker." His popularity as an Internet meme reached such heights that he even appeared on the late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Although a TV network toyed with the idea of giving Kai his own reality series, they eventually realized that his behavior was far too erratic and outrageous. They also found it nearly impossible to get him to focus on anything.

Consequently, his 15 minutes of fame faded away, and he went back to drifting across the United States.

On May 13th, 2013, a 73-year-old attorney named Joseph Galfy didn't show up for a scheduled court appearance in New Jersey. When his secretary failed to reach him on his cellphone, she called his neighbor, Bob Ellenport, and asked him to check if anyone was home.

After walking over to Galfy's house on Starlite Drive, Ellenport could see that two morning newspapers were still on the porch.

When police officers visited the house to perform a welfare check, everything seemed to be in place. It was neat and organized, and there were no signs of forced entry.

However, once they reached the master bedroom, they immediately saw Galfy's badly beaten and half-dressed body on the floor.

During a search of the house, investigators came across a piece of paper beside a laptop in the living room. The paper had a phone number and "Lawrence, Kai" written on it. After Googling Kai's name, they found the viral YouTube video of his interview in Fresno.

In the master bedroom, they discovered a train ticket with the previous day's date on it. When the police reviewed the security cameras at the train station, they saw footage of Kai talking to Galfy beside one of the ticket machines. At one stage, Kai even leaned in to hug the 73-year-old.

On May 16th, 2013, the New Jersey police publicly announced that they had issued a warrant for the hitchhiker's arrest. They also warned that he might be armed and dangerous.

Although Kai attempted to change his appearance by cutting his long hair, an employee at a Starbucks in Philadelphia recognized him and called 911. Shortly afterwards, the police arrested him at a nearby Greyhound station.

Following his arrest, he claimed that Galfy had sexually assaulted him and that he had punched the attorney in self-defense. However, his story did not square up with the details.

Firstly, there were no reports that Kai had any defensive wounds.

Secondly, Galfy's injuries were so extensive that the medical examiner concluded he had been stomped to death, not punched.

Thirdly, the police had seen surveillance footage of Kai reaching out to hug his alleged attacker.

Lastly, the hitchhiker had willingly returned to the same house where he had been allegedly drugged and raped.

On April 24th, 2019, Caleb "Kai" McGillvary was found guilty of first-degree murder. One month later, he was sentenced to 57 years in prison.

He is currently incarcerated at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton. He will not be eligible for parole until 2061.

Photos

Photos of the house and other related images.

46 Starlite Drive

Image source: The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker

This image of 46 Starlite Drive appeared in the Netflix documentary "The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker," which was released on January 10th, 2023.

Notably, the property is not visible on Google Maps, as the owners decided to blur it on Street View.

The house was built in 1978. It is 1,840 square feet in size and has three bedrooms.

Public records show that it was last sold for $530,000 in November 2013, which was six months after Galfy's murder.

Self-defense claim

Caleb "Kai" McGillvary claimed that Galfy had raped him on the night of May 11th, 2013. However, the surveillance footage from the morning of May 12th showed him hugging his alleged abuser and standing around seemingly unphased.

The fact that he willingly chose to go back to Galfy's house later that day further undermined his claim of self-defense.