A 53-year-old Michigan cannibal has been found guilty of murdering a young man he met through the dating app Grindr.
Mark Ratonski and Kevin Bacon died in December 2019 and faced life in prison.
He had previously admitted killing the 25-year-old, eating parts of his body and hanging the dismembered naked body upside down from the ceiling of his Bennington town home.
A further two-day court hearing this week to determine whether the killing was premeditated ended Wednesday, during which Shiawassee County Judge Matthew Stewart ruled: “The court considers this a cold-counting crime.
“Kevin Bacon’s death was a design by Mark Ratonsky.”
Mr. Bacon was last seen on Christmas Eve, when he told his roommate he was leaving to meet someone he met on Grindr.
His family reported that he went missing on Christmas Day.
According to Mlive.com, Shiawassee County Attorney Scott Koerner said the killing was premeditated, telling the court that Latunski had told police he had discussed buying a dehydrator to jerky Mr. Bacon’s muscles.
He also reportedly told them that he had severed part of the deceased’s genitals and ate it.
His lawyer, Mary Chartier, argued that Latunski did not intend to kill Mr Bacon, noting that he allowed police access to his home while the victim’s body was hung by the ankles in his basement.
Ratonsky’s home in Bennington, Michigan.Image: Associated Press
She insisted he did not understand the gravity of his crime.
“He didn’t measure the consequences at all,” she said.
First-degree murder is punishable by life in prison.
Ratonsky will be sentenced on December 15.