The True Story of Kai the Hitchhiker is Finally Told.
When RAW TV studios in London reached out to me in February of last year about making a documentary about Kai for Netflix I was thrilled at first. the idea of a chance to get the FULL story out to a large audience seemed like just what we needed to get some justice. In 5 years of covering the story I sometimes feel like I'm banging my head against a wall and my platform is limited so I can't get this incredible story of corruption and conspiracy out to the audience it deserves. Sadly, despite having heard from me directly some of the things that led to a federal judge ruling Kai had sufficiently alleged a conspiracy to deprive him of his due process last July the Netflix doc left a lot to be desired to say the least. And the worst part is knowing they know better.
I want the chance to set the story straight. I want people to know how crooked the Union County political and judicial system is. Kai is certainly the most high profile victim of this crooked system, but from what I've seen in my research he's certainly not the only one. As for his specific case: potential witness payouts, Union County prosecutor's having their friends intervene in RICO investigations for their Genovese crime family affiliated family members, conflicts of interest, destroyed evidence, signs of sexual assault, there's too much to mention in a few paragraphs which is why the book clocks in at around 450 pages once you count short contributions from Alissa Fleck, Wendy S Painting PhD and BZ Douglas, and the appendix, index and extensive end notes.
What's in it for you
Creating this book cost a lot of money. There was a lot of work that had to be outsourced like transcribing interviews, design and layout for the book and ebook, In 2022 alone over $5,000 was put towards this book. Unfortunately, I was also paying off medical debt from a spinal surgery the prior year and I'm currently in between jobs since November so I don't have the kind of cash available to spend on advertising I'd like to. Not to mention BZ Douglas and Darren Herridge have been working for free helping get the final bits of design on the book done. They will also be designing ads and promo material and setting up truestoryofkai.com launch page for the book. If we don't reach the full goal will not be able to outlay much on ads and at least a portion will go to see that BZ and Darren get paid a bit up front with the rest of what they're owed coming out of my cut when book sales start filtering in once the book is available for sale at online retailers. This is your chance to not only get the book before anyone else, but also to help ensure that while the attention of millions is trained on Kai's case that the flawed Netflix documentary isn't the only thing they leave knowing about the story.
Why It's Important
The documentary didn't mention that a federal judge ruled Kai had sufficiently alleged a conspiracy to deprive him of his due process rights. One more step on the way to being fully exonerated and having guilty parties pay out a portion of what they owe (no monetary value could be enough) but public support and pressure helps . Getting the word out about the monumental miscarriage of justice in this case is one way to help. Being informed and respectful is key to changing hearts and minds in a situation like this. With the book itself going into not only the many issues in Kai's case but the corruption in the county he's in putting into context could result in changes that help not only Kai but others like him who don't have people in their corner or telling their story. 21 million hours of view time in a single week. Imagine if 1/8 of that view time featured the evidence that Kai's story is true, not a "conspiracy theory" as the Union County prosecutors prominently featured in the doc would have you believe.
Making It Happen
This is a big opportunity, but it's also going to be a big challenge. I'm thankful, as I said, to have the help of two immensely talented designers with experience in publishing and marketing to help me put together a solid ad campaign. The difficulty is paying for that campaign. Though they're willing to work for a percentage of sales until their fees are covered but social media and other websites and local and state newspapers and magazines in New Jersey and other promotional and marketing materials cost money and I'm down to the last few hundred and will need to find at least part time work to live on while allowing plenty of time for podcast circuit. The main priority is getting ads up and running and whatever else will offer the greatest ROI on donors' hard earned money. Those are in the works at the moment and THIS week we plan on having truestoryofkai.com up and running leading people to information that the documentary left out available at podcasts I've appeared on, articles I've written and in Kai's own words at his social media channels on Facebook, YouTube and elsewhere.
Other Ways You Can Help
A share costs not one cent and a share is as good as a donation. Just sharing truestoryofkai.com when it's up will help lead people to the archive of court documents, crime scene photos, investigative notes from UCPO detectives and everything I reference from the trial and investigation in the book and end notes. Getting people informed shouldn't cost money and I will continue creating free content at philfairbanks.com and any other site that will publish me related to Kai that will be updated at the http://bit.ly/kaidocs cloud drive and truestoryofkai.com
Just always remember to be polite and informed and put the pressure on until we see true change!