The location where Kai Lawrence was interviewed

Place of Interest in Fresno, California, United States

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Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker - Interview Location

This is the location where Kai Lawrence was interviewed.

It is situated on the northwestern corner of West McKinley Avenue and North Marks Avenue in Fresno, California.

Kai, whose real name is Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, became affectionately known as "Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker" after he defended a woman by striking her attacker over the head with a hatchet.

The attacker was a man named Jett Simmons McBride, who had picked Kai up earlier that day. While the pair were driving along together, McBride reportedly told the hitchhiker that he was Jesus Christ and that he could get away with anything that he wanted to.

Bizarrely, he then proceeded to drive his car into a road worker at this corner.

Following the collision, Kai jumped out of the vehicle to try and aid the victim. At the same time, another female bystander also ran over to help.

The woman in question did not realize that the crash was intentional. As a result, she attempted to assist McBride, who was still sitting in his car.

At that point, McBride suddenly attacked her and put her in a bear hug.

When Kai saw McBridge manhandling the woman, he grabbed a hatchet from his backpack and struck him over the head.

Shortly after the incident, the homeless drifter gave an interview to a KMPH reporter named Jessob Reisbeck, during which he colorfully reenacted how he had "smashed" the woman's assailant on the back of the head.

Later that evening, Reisbeck decided to upload the full version of the interview to YouTube.

The following morning, the reporter woke up and realized that the video had gone viral.

From that point on, Kai became an Internet sensation. Musicians remixed his interview into songs, and Internet users turned him into a meme. He even appeared on the talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

Sadly, Kai's story did not end well.

TV producers found him too erratic and scatterbrained to work with, and his efforts at launching a music career never really panned out.

As his short-lived fame began to dwindle, he went back to doing what he knew best: drifting across the United States.

In May of 2013, he was arrested for murdering a 73-year-old attorney named Joseph Galfy at his home on Starlite Drive in Clark, New Jersey.

Although Kai claimed that Galfy had raped him and that he had acted in self-defense, the jury believed otherwise.

In April of 2019, he was found guilty of first-degree murder. One month later, he was sentenced to 57 years in prison.

Where was Kai Lawrence interviewed?

Below, you will find the address and the GPS coordinates for this location.

GPS coordinates

The latitude and longitude coordinates for the corner are:

36.764747, -119.844401

Map

To view directions on how to get there, you can use the Google Maps shortcut below:

Google Maps Link

Address

The full address for this location is:

North Marks Avenue
Fresno
California
CA 93722
United States

Directions

The corner of West McKinley Avenue and North Marks Avenue is situated in the West Side neighborhood of Fresno, California. It lies to the west of the Golden State Highway.

Details about the general area

Fresno is a city in California's San Joaquin Valley. It lies about 120 miles southeast of San Jose and San Francisco.

Photos

Photos of the corner and other related images.


Google Street View

West McKinley Avenue

This Google Street View image of the corner between West McKinley Avenue and North Marks Avenue was taken in February of 2021.

Since then, the area has undergone a number of changes.

Then and now

Then and now.

Although the location has changed a lot, the fence at the back still exists.

This location belongs to the following categories:

Celebrities
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