Cannibal who murdered Grindr date and ate his testicles to serve life in prison: 'Evil does exist'

Warning: graphic content

A self-professed cannibal in Michigan will spend the rest of his life in prison after he admitted to killing a man half his age and then consuming parts of the dead man's corpse.

In September, Mark Latunski, 53, of Bennington Township, Michigan, pled guilty to brutally murdering 25-year-old hairdresser Kevin Bacon of Swartz Creek on Christmas Eve 2019. The two men had met on the gay dating app Grindr, and Latunski somehow lured Bacon to his home that evening, perhaps under the pretense of a sexual encounter. There, Latunksi viciously stabbed Bacon in the back, slit his throat, and then hung Bacon's naked body upside down from his basement ceiling.

At some point, Latunski removed Bacon's testicles and ate them. He also considered curing some of Bacon's muscles to eat later as jerky, though that appears not to have happened.

Family members reported Bacon missing after he did not show up for a family breakfast on Christmas Day. Bacon's roommate told investigators that Bacon had discussed meeting a Grindr date the night before, information which eventually led police to Latunski's residence.

Latunski had originally pled not guilty to the charges by reason of insanity. However, he changed his plea to guilty just before his trial was set to begin in September. On December 15, Shiawassee County Circuit Judge Matthew J. Stewart sentenced Latunski to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the first-degree, premeditated murder of Bacon. In addition, Latunski will concurrently serve an 11-month sentence for the disinterment and mutilation of Bacon's corpse.

Bacon's family expressed their sorrow and anger during the victims' statements portion of the hearing.

"Our world has been shattered," Bacon's mother, Pamela Bacon, said in a prepared statement read by a victim's advocate. "Even though we have such great memories of our son, our lives will never be the same or will our family. I don't understand why anyone could want to hurt our son, especially in such a horrific and unbelievable way."

"In your sick, twisted mind, you probably think you didn't do anything wrong, but in reality, you took our world away," she later added. "This Christmas, I hope you suffer like we have. I hope you feel pain because you are all alone with all the years yet to come."

While Bacon's father, Karl Bacon, admitted that his son likely "had a dark side," he said in a statement he will always cherish his son's memory.

"I'm going to remember him how everyone else remembers him, that he's a good person who was passionate and cares for people," Karl's statement said.

"Evil does exist, and it touched us," the statement added.