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A US man accused of killing another man and hanging the victim's mutilated body from a ceiling pleaded guilty on Thursday to murder, apparently against the advice of his lawyers.
Mark Latunski appeared in Shiawassee County court, nearly three years afterKevin Bacon, 25, was killed in Bennington Township, 145km northwest of Detroit.
A judge will hold a hearing on October 18 to determine if the case will be classified as first-degree or second-degree murder. First-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
Police said Latunski, 52, admitted to killing Bacon, whom he had met through the dating app Grindr, and eating parts of his body.
Defence attorney Mary Chartier was interested in pursuing an insanity defence at trial, MLive.com reported.
"While this is not an outcome that Mr. Krause and I think is in Mr. Latunski's best interest, we do have to follow Mr. Latunski's wishes," Chartier said, referring to co-counsel Kurt Krause. "We have discussed this matter and consistently he's been very clear, more than once, multiple times, on his choice and on his reasoning."
Latunski was initially found incompetent to stand trial but that status changed after mental health treatment.
