Attorney for man suspected in murder, cannibalism says doctors say he's not competent for trial
SHIAWASSEE COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Mark Latunski, the suspect in a murder and cannibalism case in Shiawassee County, is not mentally competent for trial, according to his public defender.
Court-appointed attorney Douglas Corwin told FOX 2 on Monday that the doctors that performed the psychiatric evaluation informed him the results showed Latunski is currently not mentally competent to stand trial.
Corwin said there is a hearing to present the findings to the judge on Thursday. The judge will make the final determination if Latunski will be sent to trial or sent for treatment at a facility in Ypsilanti.
Suspect Mark Latunski
Latunski is charged with murder and eating part of 25-year-old Kevin Bacon's body after they connected on the dating app Grindr. Last week, he was found unresponsive in his jail cell after authorities said he had been on a hunger strike since he was arrested.
The 50-year-old suspect had been ordered to undergo a competency evaluation after wild claims that he was from a royal family out of Wales, the Thomas Clan. According to his attorney, Latunski was ordered to undergo mental health treatment from a judge four times in the past. One of the run-ins involved a custody issue with his four children.
Editor's note: the following details are graphic and may be distressing to some.
Court documents revealed disturbing details about how Bacon, of Swartz Creek, Mich., died. Police said he was found naked, hanging upside down from the ceiling of the home.
Latunski later admitted to police that he stabbed Kevin, slit his throat, and then hung him with a rope from the rafters. He also said he cut off a portion of his genitalia and ate it, the documents say.
It appears Bacon knew that Latunski was involved in a violent sexual fetish. They met up on Christmas Eve and Bacon's family reported him missing on Christmas Day after he reportedly didn't come home for a family breakfast.
| MORE COVERAGE:
Mich. man accused of murder, cannibalism after naked man found hanging from ceiling
Suspect in Grindr date murder believes he's royal, will undergo competency hearing
Latunski is currently facing one count of open murder and one count of mutilation of a human body
Investigators believe Latunski has engaged in this behavior with other people. Police believe potential victims could be out there but are too scared to come forward.