Michigan man gets life sentence for 2019 killing, mutilation

CORUNNA, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan man who acknowledged killing another man and hanging the victim’s mutilated body from the ceiling of his home was sentenced to life in prison Thursday.

A Shiawassee County judge sentenced Mark Latunski, 53, to life in prison without the possibility of parole on a first-degree murder charge for killing 25-year-old Kevin Bacon, of Swartz Creek, in December 2019.

Latunksi was also sentenced to 11 months to be served concurrently on a charge of disinterment and mutilation of a dead body.

He pleaded guilty to murder in September for killing Bacon, leaving it to Shiawassee County Judge Matthew Stewart to determine if it would be classified as first-degree or second-degree murder. Stewart determined in October that the killing was premeditated first-degree murder and that Latunski would face life without parole.

Family members reported Bacon missing when he didn’t show up for breakfast on Christmas Day 2019. His mutilated body was found three days later, hanging from the ceiling of Latunski’s home in Bennington Township, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Detroit.

Police said Latunski admitted to killing Bacon, whom he had met through the dating app Grindr, and eating parts of his body.

Latunski was initially found incompetent to stand trial, but that status changed after mental health treatment and he was ordered to trial. He pleaded guilty before a trial could begin.