Judge: Bizarre 2019 killing in Shiawassee County was first-degree, premeditated murder
CORUNNA − A Bennington Township man who admitted killing a Flint-area man and eating part of his body in late 2019 is headed to prison for the rest of his life.
Nearly a month after Mark Latunski pleaded guilty to open murder, Shiawassee County Circuit Judge Matthew Stewart on Wednesday determined Latunski committed first-degree, premeditated murder, which carries a mandatory penalty of life in prison without possibility of parole.
Stewart heard testimony and arguments on Tuesday and Wednesday before making his finding. The hearing was necessary because an open murder charge encompasses first-degree murder, second-degree murder and manslaughter.
Sentencing was set for Dec. 15.
"We are very happy to finally bring justice to (the victim's family), and we believed strongly all along this was a premeditated act and that (Latunski) was deserving of a first-degree murder verdict," Shiawassee County Prosecutor Scott Koerner said. "Hence, no plea agreement was offered to him."
Latunski's attorney, Mary Chartier, said she argued for a second-degree murder or manslaughter finding.
The bizarre case dates to Dec. 28, 2019, when the body of 25-year-old Kevin Bacon, of Swartz Creek, was found hanging in the basement of Latunski's home on West Tyrrell Road in Bennington Township.
Bacon had been reported missing on Christmas Day. His car was found in Clayton Township, near Swartz Creek in western Genesee County. Police learned he was planning to meet a man he knew from the dating app Grindr, and the messages he exchanged with Latunski led them to the Bennington Township house, state police said at the time.
The messages indicated it was a consensual dating encounter, they said.
Bacon was stabbed in the back and hung upside down in Latunski's basement, according to testimony in a warrant hearing. Latunski told investigators he stabbed Bacon in the back, slit his throat and hung him from the basement ceiling, a Michigan State Police detective testified.
Latunski also said he consumed part of Bacon's body, the detective testified.
Latunski pleaded guilty to open murder and mutilation and disinterment of a body on Sept. 22. At the time, Chartier indicated Latunski did so against the advice of his lawyers, who were expected to mount an insanity defense. Latunski was found competent to stand trial "multiple" times, she said.
"We were bound by our constitutional responsibilities to follow the wishes of Mr. Latunski, and we did," Chartier said in an email. "We think that a jury trial would have ended with a different result if Mr. Latunski had authorized us to proceed with our planned defense, but we understand and respect his wishes not to do so."
Koerner said Stewart heard testimony from four police witnesses and heard Latunski's police interview, which lasted for well over three hours, during the hearing this week.
Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Judge: 'Cannibal' killing in Shiawassee County was first-degree murder
