(Gil McGillivary talks about his son Caleb Lawrence McGillivary who once was a star online but now is charged with murder in the United States. APTN National News will have more tonight.)
By Kenneth Jackson
APTN National News
It turns out the Internet sensation known as the Kai the “hatchet-wielding hitchhiker” facing a murder charge in New Jersey is Cree from northern Manitoba.
Kai is actually Caleb Lawrence McGillivary, 24, and he was born in Edmonton, Alta. said his First Nations father Gil McGillivary who lives just outside of Ottawa, Ont.
Gil McGillivary, 57, told APTN National News he hasn’t had a chance to talk to his son since his arrest May 16 for the murder of a 73-year-old New Jersey man.
APTN National News will air more of the interview tonight.
McGillivary became a star online when he used a hatchet to stop an attack in California.
A television interview he gave went viral and has receiverd nearly four million views since February.
Now he’s news for entirely different reasons and his father, who last saw his son at Christmas in 2011, said McGillivary is registered with Opaskwayak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba.
He’s tried to reach out to his son since his arrest in Philadelphia but couldn’t reach him.
“Caleb wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t go around killing people on a whim,” said Gil McGillivary, adding he is a residential school survivor from the 1960s. “I tried to contact the county jail he is and they won’t allow any contact in.”
McGillivary apparently posted on his Facebook page before his arrest that his victim and lawyer Joseph Galfy Jr. drugged and raped him. He then questioned what people would do in a similar circumstance.
Reports suggest McGillivary met Galfy in New York City’s Times Square May 11 and was staying at the older man’s home in New Jersey.
McGillivray’s father said he lost custody of his son when he divorced his mother who he said lives in St. Paul, Alta. Both remarried and he moved to Hawkesbury, Ont. several years ago.
He attends Algonquin College in Ottawa.
Before the move McGillivary surprised his dad at Christmas in 2011.
“I just seen him for a few days when he dropped in unexpectedly. It was quite the joy to have him show up at the door,” he said.
Gil McGillivary said his son didn’t get a proper education and spent time in a treatment centre as a child until he was 18-years-old.
He then became a drifter of sorts.
Now his father is speaking up in the hopes of helping his son.
actually he had a great education until he got himself kicked out of high school. he graduated with a G.E.D., and took a year of aviation, and his first year for his e.m.t on which he dropped out of. Gil did not lose custody when he divorced, but a few years after. Just to clarify.