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"The never-dull story of Kai the Hitchhiker took a dark turn last week when the viral hero was unexpectedly arrested on murder charges. Since then, a small handful of online campaigns have tried to drum up support for the man who famously referred to himself as \"homefree\" \u2014 not homeless \u2014 and set him back on his untethered way. \nKai, less frequently known by his given name of Caleb McGillvary, was arrested at a Philadelphia bus terminal last Thursday. He is charged with killing a 73-year-old lawyer named Joseph Galfy, Jr., in Galfy's home in Clark, N.J. Police found Galfy's body in his house last Monday after he and McGillvary met in New York City. The cause of death was determined as blunt force trauma. \nMcGillvary skyrocketed to viral Internet fame in February after using a hatchet to save a utility worker and female bystander. \nMcGillvary had hitched a ride through Fresno, Calif., with a man named Jett Simmons McBride, who referred to himself as Jesus. After pulling into a gas station, McBride allegedly ran his car into a African American Pacific Gas and Electric worker, pinning him to his truck. He then proceeded to get out of his car and beat the 37-year-old worker. At this point, McGillvary found a hatchet in the car and used it to save the worker. \nA local TV interview shot at the scene quickly became an online sensation. McGillvary found brief national fame, appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live, where the talk show host presented him with a new surfboard for his act of valor.\nSEE ALSO: Shrouded in Viral Mystery, Kai the Hitchhiker Gains a Cult Following\n\nShortly thereafter, McGillvary began corresponding with a Georgia man named Terry Ratliff via Facebook and email, according to Ratliff. Ratliff, who made a YouTube remix of McGillvary's local TV interview, said they mostly talked about music and made plans to produce an original song. \nRatliff said he was shocked to learn of the murder charge against McGillvary this month. It inspired him to start a GoFundMe campaign with the lofty goal of raising $3 million for McGillvary \u2014 the amount prosecutors set for bail upon his arrest. \nRatliff realizes that number is likely a pipe dream, but said any money raised will go toward helping McGillvary's legal defense. \n\"I've spoken to some lawyers that might be willing to help, or might take his case pro bono,\" Ratliff told Mashable. \"A public defender would be the worst thing for him, someone with 50 or 100 clients and no time to really work on his case.\" \nSo far, Ratliff's GoFundMe campaign has raised just over $1,200 online in a week. Similar efforts by others have met similarly meager success.\nA Change.org petition started by a Las Vegas woman named Donna Miller has so far gathered just over 130 supporters out of a stated goal of $10,000. A Facebook group called Free Caleb \"Kai\" McGillvary From Persecution by the US Justice System, meanwhile, has just over 700 members although its plan of action is even more vague. \nMuch of the sympathy for McGillvary stems from a Facebook post he wrote a day after Galfy's alleged murder, but before the story became national news. In the post, which includes graphic language but little detail, McGillvary intimates that he'd been drugged and sexually assaulted. It finishes with a question: \"What would you do?\"\nIn interviews following his initial rise to fame, McGillvary said that he'd been abused as a kid as well. \n\u201CYou look in his eyes,\u201D Miller, who started the Change.org petition, told NJ.com, \u201Cand you can see he\u2019s a good kid.\u201D\nFor all his support, meanwhile, Ratliff acknowledges that he doesn't truly know McGillvary, with whom he'd corresponded extensively before the arrest but never met in person. \n\"Personally, he always seemed alright to me,\" Ratliff told Mashable. \"He seemed like a happy person who wasn't angry at anything. He seemed like a cool guy but, I mean, you never really know what anyone is capable of.\" \nHomepage Image courtesy Jessob Reisbeck via YouTube"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/05/24/kai-the-hitchhiker-online-support/>