New on Netflix this week: a throwback to the 2010s as this familiar face Suh-mashes his way into your living rooms in The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker.
On a mild California day in 2013, a Fresno television reporter bumped into a hitchhiker with a story to tell. Lawrence “Kai,” as he called himself, gave a first-hand account.
The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker on Netflix.
Hatchet? Check.
A creepy perp? Check.
Heroic man of the hour? Check.
73-year-old boyfriend? Wait, what?
Ok, ok. The 73-year-old boyfriend wasn’t a part of the story at the time, but he’s why we’re getting a Netflix special about “Kai” The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker.
No, Lawrence’s “smash, smash, Suh-mash” isn’t what put him on Netflix this week as The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker. This story is about a man, a hatchet, and a homicide.
The origins of The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker
Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, born September 5, 1988, was a Canadian hitchhiker that, by his account, stopped a driver who’d picked him up earlier in the day from attacking a bystander after the car they were in crashed. Confused? Us to!
Allegedly, Lawrence “Kai” managed to hitch a ride with the California driver who, as Kai tells it, admitted to raping a 14-year-old during their drive. According to Kai, no sooner did the driver admit to the heinous crime when he lost control of his vehicle, rammed another pedestrian, and pinned him between two cars. Kai says he rushed to help the victim, but as he was working to free him, he saw the driver get out of the car and make a move on a female witness who’d pulled up to take pictures.
According to Kai, the driver attacked her and put her in a “bear hug.” Kai says he believed the situation warranted action, so he pulled out his hatchet and hit the driver in the back of the head with the blunt end three times. Smash. Smash. Suh-mash!
The original clip of his story garnered millions of views on YouTube and even led to a Gregory Brothers parity (which also exceeded 10 million views).
However, Kai’s fame and smash style, once a media darling, ultimately put him on the wrong side of the hatchet in just three months.
In May 2013, Kai was arrested on murder charges after prosecutors alleged that he took the same hatchet to the skull of a 73-year-old man in New Jersey. Kai argued that it was self-defense. According to Kai, the 73-year-old man drugged and raped him while he was asleep. When he learned of the betrayal, he got smashy.
Kai says the man was too ugly for the sex to be consensual.
“Do you know how many hot chicks—never mind. Even if I was gay, do you know how many hot guys wanted to fuck me after that shit in California? I’m not even being vain. It’s just a fact, like—no offense, but he [Galfy] was not a looker.”
But the police didn’t buy it, and neither did the jury.
Where’s The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker now?
Although Kai was arrested in 2013, he didn’t actually get a trial until 2019. Fans of Kai argued it was inhumane to keep him incarcerated for over five years; there was even a legal defense fund created for the smasher.
Ultimately, Kai elected to represent himself at times in court and was noted to be combative, to the point of almost being removed from the trial. He is now serving a 57-year sentence, eligible for parole at 85 percent of time-served.
However, the judge thought the sentence was light, stating, “when you become eligible for parole, you will still be younger than Mr. Galfy was when you murdered him.”
On Netflix, you can see Kai smashing this weekend in The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker.