Man ‘violently cut up into pieces’ with a machete after Grindr hook-up goes horribly wrong
The killing is the latest in a series of gruesome crimes linked to Grindr (MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty)
A man in New York City is believed to have been violently hacked to death with a machete during a Grindr hook-up.
Juan Alonso, 50, has been charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon after police were called to an apartment in the Bronx on Sunday evening.
Alonso’s flatmate had returned home to discover the victim’s naked body and Alonso, machete in hand, standing over him, police say.
Bronx victim was ‘cut up into pieces’.
The victim, whose name is not yet public, is believed to have met the alleged killer on Grindr.
A police spokesperson said that officials “are investigating whether there was a dispute over not liking certain sex activities and it escalated”.
Alonso has been hospitalised for a psychiatric evaluation, according to reports.
Hook-up app Grindr has been linked to a string of violent crimes (Photo: Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Building superintendent John Gonzalez told the New York Daily News the victim was “cut up” and left “on the floor in pieces”.
He added: “I asked [Alonso] what happened when they were putting him in the squad car.
“He said he was trying to defend himself. He said he was in the bed sleeping — and when he woke up, there was someone was on top of him trying to rape him… he was out of it.”
Gonzalez added: “He was a good guy. I always talked to him. He always was calm. He didn’t look like the type of guy who would do something like that.”
Grindr has been linked to a series of gruesome murders.
The incident is only the latest in a series of gruesome murder cases linked to Grindr.
Kevin Bacon, a 25-year-old Michigan hairstylist, was killed, hacked into pieces and eaten after travelling to a Grindr hook-up on Christmas Eve last year – with his family only realising something was wrong when he failed to turn up on Christmas Day.
Mark Latunski was judged incompetent to stand trial over the killing on mental health grounds in March.
Meanwhile, in the UK, 18-year-old Brian Healless was sentenced to life in prison for brutally murdering another teen he had met on Grindr by stabbing him more than 100 times.
Grindr said previously: “Safety is not merely the responsibility of users, and Grindr is continuously seeking to develop and improve its security features – not only to protect users, but also to provide them with critical safety information needed to ensure a safe experience.”
