CORUNNA, Mich. – A man who pleaded guilty to the brutal murder of a man named Kevin Bacon was sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars without the chance for parole.
Mark David Latunski pleaded guilty in September to killing, dismembering and cannibalizing Kevin Bacon in December 2019. Despite the guilty plea, it was up to a Shiawassee County judge to determine whether Bacon’s murder was first-degree murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter.
“The court finds that this is a crime of cold calculation,” Judge Matthew Stewart said in court, The Associated Press reported. “Kevin Bacon’s death was Mark Latunski’s design.”
Stewart ruled the death first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison, the AP reported.
Wednesday’s ruling followed a day and a half of testimony which featured the prosecutor revealing that Latunski had told police that he discussed buying a dehydrator to make jerky out of Bacon’s muscles, and intended to make bone meal out of his bones, MLive.com reported.
Michigan man pleads guilty for murdering, eating part of man named Kevin Bacon
Latunski’s attorney told the AP that first-degree murder didn’t fit the case, arguing that Latunski had a mental impairment, as evidenced by the fact that he allowed police inside his home, despite knowing the victim’s body was hanging from the ceiling.
Bacon was reported missing on Christmas 2019 by his family when he failed to arrive for breakfast, WJBK reported.
Police said Latunski admitted to killing and cannibalizing Bacon, whom he had met on a dating app, the AP reported.
Latunski was initially found incompetent to stand trial, but was allowed to enter a guilty plea after undergoing mental health treatment, according to the AP.
