Suspect in Grindr date murder believes he's royal, will undergo competency hearing
SHIAWASSEE COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A competency hearing has been granted for a Michigan man who's accused of violently murdering his Grindr date and then eating part of his body.
Suspect Mark Latunski appeared in court via video Wednesday morning. His defense attorney requested a mental competency hearing and the judge granted the request.
"He believes he's named someone else. He believes he's from a royal family out of Wales, the Thomas clan. And just the nature of the crime itself, you've got to send him for this evaluation," said Latunski's defense attorney Douglas Corwin on Wednesday. "He's been very cooperative with our department, both of us have spoken with him. My investigator and I have gone in and talked to him. He's cooperative, very polite. Other than the, I call them grandiose stories, he appears to really believe them."
Corwin tells us 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.
This competency evaluation will take 60-90 days. Latunski will stay in the Shiawassee County jail until then.
Latunski is currently facing one count of open murder and one count of mutilation of a human body after the death of 25-year-old Kevin Bacon.
Bacon and Latunski met up on Christmas Eve after connecting through the dating app Grindr. Bacon's family reported him missing on Christmas Day after he reportedly didn't come home for a family breakfast.
Bacon's body was eventually found on Dec. 28 at Latunski's home in Shiawassee County, about 24 miles east of Swartz Creek where Bacon is from.
Mark Latunski (top right) is accused of murdering Kevin Bacon, cutting off part of his genitals, and eating it - inside his home in Swartz Creek.
Earlier this week court documents revealed some disturbing details about the crime.
Editor's note: the following details are graphic and may be distressing to some
Those court documents reveal disturbing details about how Bacon died. Police said he was found naked, hanging upside down from the ceiling of the home.
Latunksi later admitted to police that he stabbed Bacon, 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's gut-wrenching to hear the details and we are just beside ourselves," Bacon's father, Karl Bacon, said.
It appears Bacon knew that Latunksi was involved in a violent sexual fetish.
"What was released (Monday) shows that Kevin had a dark side," Karl Bacon said. "He obviously got into something that he wasn't prepared for."
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.
Fox 2 reported on this story from Southfield, Mich.