Christopher Dizefalo: Inside Mint Butterfield’s alleged kidnapper’s life from smart boy to ‘stoned’ teen

BOLINAS, CALIFORNIA: New information regarding Christopher Dizefalo, who is facing kidnapping charges in connection with the case of 16-year-old Mint Butterfield, reveals that he dropped out of Christian School to pursue a path of drug addiction. 

Dizefalo was arrested with bail set at $50,000. This development follows the safe discovery of Mint, the child of Slack co-founder Stewart Butterfield, in San Francisco. 

Notably, Butterfield was found in the company of 26-year-old Christopher 'Kio' Dizefalo, who worked as a parking valet, as per the New York Post.

Former classmate of Christopher Dizefalo found sudden change in his behavior

Despite a promising upbringing in a middle-class family from El Cajon, California, and attending Foothills Christian High School, Dizefalo's life took a downward spiral into drug addiction during his teenage years, according to ex-pals.

Christopher Dizefalo's former classmate Cleo Madrigal found a noticeable change in Dizefalo's behavior between his junior and senior years of high school. 

Madrigal described him as "very funny and very, very smart" with a great sense of humor and an adventurous spirit, until he became involved with drugs. 

Madrigal stated, "Then he just cared about getting high. Always stoned, always broke. Always 'can I borrow $15?' He became a very different person than he had been before."

Dizefalo's activity on social media had dwindled over time, but his old accounts still contain references to drugs. For instance, he posted a psychedelic YouTube video in 2016 with the caption "I made this while I was high." 

Following high school, Dizefalo held various odd jobs, including working as a parking valet. Friends were shocked to see Dizefalo during his initial court appearance, where he appeared disheveled in a yellow prison jumpsuit.

"He looks like hell," remarked Dizefalo's former friend Julio Ferrera. "It's really sad."

Ferrera continued, "At some point they cut him off. That's what he told people, that his family didn’t want him around unless he got clean."

Julio Ferrera thinks Christopher Dizefalo was on 'something'

Julio Ferrera, who lost touch with him during the pandemic, remarked, "He always seemed to be on something." 

Ferrera recalled a concerning change in Dizefalo's appearance, noting, "And then he got mad skinny, like he wasn’t eating at all."

He added, "He showed up one time to my house to borrow an old phone and he looked like a skeleton. I was like ‘bro, you okay?’ He was high. I don’t know what he was on, but it wasn’t good. He was in trouble."

Christopher Dizefalo’s plea postponed

Dizefalo who has a face tattoo of a scythe, appeared in Marin County Superior Court on Wednesday, May 1, sporting unkempt facial hair, and was officially charged with kidnapping. 

His plea, scheduled for Friday, was postponed due to his falling ill, and with the matter rescheduled for Monday, May 6, Dizefalo will remain in jail until then. 

Meanwhile, an arrest warrant was issued for Sarah Atkins, the other individual found in the van where Dizefalo was reportedly residing.

Who is Mint Butterfield?

Mint Butterfield is the only child of Flickr founder Caterina Fake and Stewart Butterfield, who separated in 2007 and comes from a family of successful entrepreneurs.

Her mother, Caterina Fake, is a prominent businesswoman and formerly chaired Etsy.

On the other hand, her father, Stewart Butterfield, is known for co-founding Slack, a popular team messaging application, and Flickr, an image-sharing website.

Stewart's involvement in the tech industry continued in 2013 with the co-founding of Slack, an instant messaging service.

The acquisition of Slack by Salesforce for a staggering $28 billion in 2021, skyrocketed his estimated net worth to $1.6 billion. 

In 2022, Butterfield departed from the organization. Both of Mint's parents have since remarried and expanded their families with other children