The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker Wiki, Biography
Netflix is adding another documentary, The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker, to its rapidly growing library. The upcoming January documentary follows a “shocking” chronicle of a “happy-go-lucky” nomad, Kai’s rise to fame, followed by his steep downward spiral. How did Kai go from being a viral celebrity to someone jailed for murder? The Netflix documentary has all the answers.
Who is the hitchhiker armed with an axe?
The axe-wielding hitchhiker’s real name is Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, better known as Kai the Hitchhiker. Kai is a Canadian who went viral in February 2013 after being interviewed by a Fox News reporter in California following a heartbreaking incident. After the interview with him, Kai became an internet sensation overnight, but was soon charged with murder in May 2013.
His fame waned and he spent nearly five years in solitary confinement in the Union County Jail while awaiting trial. He was forced to spend 23 hours a day, seven days a week, in solitary confinement during his time in prison, a punishment that was a serious violation of his constitutional rights.
How did The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker rise to fame?
Caleb was a hitchhiker who rose to fame with a trip he pulsed, which ultimately resulted in him saving the lives of a utility worker and a woman in Fresno, California in 2013. He was hitchhiking with a stranger named Jeff Simmon McBride. when Lawrence claimed the former collided with another vehicle before attacking a young woman.
Sensing that the woman’s life was in danger, Lawrence took an ax from his backpack and repeatedly struck McBride in the back of the head to save the woman. Recounting the incident in an interview with Fox News, Lawrence described the ax blows by yelling:
“Crush, Crush, Crush”
His interview took the internet by storm and became a viral meme, drawing millions of viewers. Kai was even a guest on The Jimmy Kimmel Show and an episode of The Stephen Colbert Show for his bravery that elevated him to stardom.
What caused Kai’s downfall?
Sadly, months after Kai went viral on the internet as The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker, he made headlines again, but this time for the wrong reason. He was convicted of the murder of 73-year-old New Jersey attorney Joseph Galfy.
During his trial, Lawrence claimed that he was drugged and that he had fought Galfy in self-defense. Things only got worse when the original video from February was brought back into the public spotlight. Kai, The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker, was sentenced to 57 years in prison following his 2019 trial. He is still serving his sentence and reportedly lost his 2021 attempt to have his murder conviction overturned.
More on The Hitchhiker Wielding an Ax from Netflix
Netflix will chronicle Kai’s life in an upcoming documentary with a tagline that reads:
“A happy-go-lucky nomad becomes an unlikely hero through viral stardom before a downward spiral lands him in prison for a murder he says was self-defense.”
The documentary is scheduled for release this month on the Netflix streaming platform.