ELIZABETH -- A drifter and internet celebrity accused of killing a Clark lawyer in his home was acting in self defense against a sexual assault from the deceased man, a defense attorney said in court Monday.
Caleb McGillvary, known by the nickname "Kai the Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker," declared he was not guilty as he walked passed news photographers when he entered the courtroom.
"Innocent of all the charges against me," McGillvary said, his mane of brown hair flowing around his face and down to his shoulders - largely covering a tattoo on his right cheek. He appeared for a hearing in state Superior Court in Union County on a motion from his lawyer to dismiss the case.
McGillvary is accused of the May 12, 2013 killing of 73-year-old Joseph Galfy. The 28-year-old defendant is from Canada, but gained fame on social media while traveling across the United States.
The arrest came just weeks after the McGillvary was christened a hero by a Fresno, Ca. television station and as a result appeared on nearly every national news broadcast and the Jimmy Kimmel show. His fans immediately cast their support for the YouTube hero and began a campaign online to have him freed from jail.
McGillivary and Galfy met in Times Square in New York City on May 11 and went back to Galfney's home, authorities said. McGillivary has claimed that he was drugged and assaulted.
Authorities said McGillvary fatally beat Galfy, then walked to the Rahway train station and traveled to southern New Jersey where he met a fan from his Facebook postings. On May 13, friends of Galfy asked police to check on him, and officers found him dead in his home.
Officers found messages on Galfy's cellphone that led them to idenitfy McGillvary as a suspect, authorities said. They said McGillvary also put a post on Facebook referring to a sexual assault. The defendant was arrested days later as he was about to board a bus in Philadelphia.
His lawyer, John Cito, argued Monday before Judge Regina Caulfield that prosecutor's had presented evidence to the grand jury that is not relevant and is prejudicial, and said prosecutor's had failed to present evidence supporting McGullivary's claim of self-defense.
Cito said police found evidence that Galfy had viewed websites with adult content, had passwords for websites on his computer, and that Galfy had contact information for young men on his cellphone. The lawyer said there was also evidence of sexual activity at the house.
"Something must have occurred of a sexual nature," Cito said. He said McGillvary "was fending off a sexual assault," and that information was never presented to the grand jury.
Union County Assistant Prosecutor Scott Peterson said there was no evidence suggesting a struggle at the house. "If there was, it wasn't much of one. It appears that it would have been one-sided," Peterson said.
Cito also noted prosecutors told a grand jury of a print out of a list of sex offenders that was found in McGillvary's dufflebag. "They made him out to a vigilante seeking out sexual predators," the attorney said.
Peterson countered that everything in the dufflebag was presented to the grand jury.
Caulfield said she would give her decision on the motion to dismiss the charges on April 13.
Since his arrest, McGillvary's fans have posted on social media comments recorded from his phone calls from the jail, or recordings of him singing and describing his legal battle in a rapid-fire speech, as he rushes to get in as much as he can in the 15 minutes allowed for each call.
However, over time much of that support has waned.
While being held in the Union County jail, McGillvary said he has studied law. He filed several motions in his criminal case and filed state and federal lawsuits, both claiming authorities violated his right to due process by destroying evidence and failing to collect evidence that would prove his claim that the victim attempted to sexually assault him.
He rejected at least two other lawyers who had been assigned to him before Cito took over the case.
Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.