Kai McGillivary told Inside Edition in an exclusive jailhouse interview that he is not guilty of murdering a man he said he killed in self-defense.
Kai McGillvary was a Canadian Hitchhiker traveling in America who turned into a viral sensation in 2013.
After finding a woman being assaulted, the drifter jumped into action and saved her from the attack, but it was his actions after that really got him noticed.
“I’m Kai, K-A-I, straight out of dog town,” he said after the incident in a television interview.
The video went viral, and his notoriety lead to an appearance on “The Jimmy Kimmel Show.”
But only three months later, Kai’s life took a very different turn.
And today, he’s a convicted killer.
“This situation is hell,” Kai told Inside Edition in an exclusive jailhouse interview.
In his first sit-down since being found guilty of murder, Kai spoke of how he ended up behind bars and of his fight to prove he is innocent.
Three months after he appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel,” Kai hitchhiked across country and wound up in New York's Times Square, where he met 74-year-old lawyer Joseph Galfy.
“He walked up to me and said ‘you look lost, where are you heading?’ I told him that I was going over to New Jersey and he gave me a ride over to his place,” Kai said.
He took the man up on his offer and spent two nights at his home. He claims he was drugged and then sexually assaulted. Then he said he fought back in self-defense.
“I sat up and punched him in the face,” he said. “He was on top of me, and he shoved me into the bed and I was trying to get away from him and I couldn't get away and I was punching him.”
A jury did not believe Kai acted in self-defense.
Kai said he was not aware of how badly he injured Galfy.
“No, I had to get out of there, when I woke up and he was on top of me, I panicked, I didn't realize he got killed, I didn't know that,” he said.
When asked why he didn’t call police if this was a case of self-defense, Kai said: “I’m an illegal immigrant, they aren’t going to investigate.”
Kai still insists he is innocent and believes critical evidence was ignored or destroyed in his case. He said he is filing an appeal.
“Who's the real person, is it Kai the hitchhiker who people saw on the video, or is it Kai the murderer?” he was asked.
“Definitely not Kai the murderer,” he replied. “I definitely never murdered anyone.”
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