'Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker': Clark Murder Story Turns Netflix Documentary

CLARK, NJ — Clark residents may recall the story of a Canadian hitchhiker who gained Internet fame in 2013 but later fell from grace when he was found guilty of beating a 73-year-old attorney to death inside his Clark home.

Now nearly ten years after the murder, Netflix has released a new documentary, "The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker," that chronicles the infamous true crime story.

Caleb "Kai" McGillvary was convicted of first-degree murder in 2019 in connection with the beating death of attorney Joseph Galfy Jr. following several hours of jury deliberation spread over two days and a four-week trial.

On May 13, 2013, Clark Police found Galfy’s partially clothed body beside his bed on Starlight Drive in the township, according to Union County prosecutors.

McGillvary was identified as a suspect following an investigation and was later found in Philadelphia three days after the killing when an employee of a coffee shop there recognized him and contacted police. He had reportedly cut his hair and fled the state following the crime.

McGillvary first met Galfy in New York City’s Times Square, only about a day and a half before Galfy’s death.

Read more: 'Kai The Hitchhiker' Guilty Of Beating Clark Attorney To Death

But before McGillvary was known for this gruesome murder, he was widely known as an Internet meme. McGillvary, who was homeless at the time, was interviewed by a local news team after he saved a woman's life by attacking her assailant using a hatchet and "smashing" him on the head with it.

McGillvary even appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel show and Justin Bieber's team reached out to him. Check out the viral clip below:

McGillvary was arrested for murder just a few months after entering the spotlight.

McGillvary claimed that he fought against Galfy in self-defense, alleging that he was drugged and raped by Galfy. However, Dr. Junaid Shaikh of the Division of the County Medical Examiner contradicted it.

Shaikh pointed out that Galfy was 5'5," weighed 230 pounds, and had a stent in his chest due to a heart condition. He also sustained numerous serious blunt-force injuries to his face, head, neck, chest, and arms, including three skull fractures, four broken ribs, and severe contusions, abrasions, and bleeding, according to the report.

Additionally, a wide range of inconsistencies were revealed at trial including McGillvary 's initial statement he gave police shortly after his arrest and comments he made while testifying at trial.

Superior Court Judge Robert Kirsch called McGillvary “crafty, cunning, disingenuous and manipulative,” as well as “a powder keg of explosive rage,” according to NJ.com.

McGillvary was sentenced to 57 years in prison in May of 2019. In 2021, McGillvary tried to appeal the court's decision but failed. He claimed that the jury's verdict was not justified by the evidence presented and that prosecutors committed misconduct by mischaracterizing the evidence and McGillvary’s defense, according to the Associated Press.

The appeals court cited the medical examiner's testimony, which showed that Galfy's injuries were the result of "far more than just an effort to thwart a sexual advance," according to Bustle.

According to public records, McGillvary is currently in New Jersey State Prison in Trenton and will be eligible for parole in Oct. 2061. He turned 34 in Sept. 2022.

You can check out a trailer for the Netflix documentary, which is out now, below:

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