'Kai The Hitchhiker's Mom Says She's Tried To Reach Out To Her Son
The Netflix documentary The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker details the stunning viral fame and quick fall of a young man named Caleb McGillvary, a.k.a. “Kai the Hitchhiker.”
McGillvary went viral in 2013 after he used a hatchet to help save a woman from an attack, afterwards giving an expletive-laced interview with KMPH and Fox26. In the interview, which blew up on the Internet and spawned memes, McGillvary talked about using the blunt side of his hatchet to protect the woman, describing the blows he delivered as going, “smash, smash, suh-mash.”
But McGillvary was arrested months later on charges that he beat New Jersey lawyer Joseph Galfy to death. McGillvary claimed that he was acting in self-defense to try to fend off a sexual assault after meeting Galfy in Times Square, per the Associated Press, but prosecutors said he made inconsistent statements and noted that Galfy suffered from extensive injuries. In 2019, McGillvary was sent to jail for 57 years, according to CBS News.
But what is McGillvary’s backstory and what happened with his family? Here’s what you need to know.
Who is Caleb “Kai” McGillvary?
McGillvary was a 24-year-old hitchhiker who was picked up by a man named Jett Simmons McBride while hitchhiking in California in 2013. According to McGillvary, McBride claimed to be Jesus Christ before crashing into a person at an intersection, and pinning the person against the back of a parked truck.
McGillvary said McBride began threatening a woman who was trying to help the pinned man, and he pulled out his hatchet to help.
Where did he grow up?
McGillvary claimed to be from West Virginia, but he actually grew up in Canada, according to NJ.com.
Who were Caleb McGillvary’s parents?
McGillvary’s parents are Shirley Stromberg and Gil McGillvary. The couple divorced when McGillvary was just four years old, and they told The Star-Ledger that their son struggled with behavioral issues, spending years in hospitals and treatment facilities.
"Caleb had a real tough life," Gil said.
What was their relationship like?
Kai told the local news reporter in his viral interview that he didn’t have family. “As far as anyone I grew up with is concerned, I’m already dead,” he shared.
The Star-Ledger said that McGillvary was “estranged” from his family, and Gil noted that his son was in treatment homes until he turned 18, at which time the centers “cut him loose and washed their hands of him.” Gil added, “Caleb made accusations that he was physically and mentally abused at one of the homes. The system let my son down.”
Shirley said that McGillvary was a “delight” as a little boy, and that he graduated from high school. She also said she hadn’t spoken to her son for more than a year when he became a viral sensation.
Where is his family now?
McGillvary is currently in prison for the murder of a New Jersey man until 2061, and family has largely stayed out of the spotlight. His father, Gil, was living in Ontario when he last spoke to the press. Shirley, however, appears in the documentary, and talks about her relationship with her son.
“Not really understanding what was going on, the medical field wondered if he had ADHD and things like that, but in the end there wasn’t one diagnosis," she says, per The Sun.
Shirley also claims that she has tried to reach out to McGillvary several times, but he has not responded.
For more information, you can watch The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker, which is streaming now on Netflix.
You Might Also Like
