The face-tattooed punk accused of kidnapping a billionaire tech boss’s non-binary daughter dropped out of Christian School to become a whacked-out drug addict, ex-pals say.
Christopher Dizefalo, 26, was discovered by San Francisco cops in the back of a van with another adult and 16-year-old Mint Butterfield, child of Slack founder Stewart Butterfield, last weekend — landing him in jail on felony charges.
Butterfield was reported missing a few days earlier and was “quasi dating” Dizefalo, Marin County Sheriff’s Office told The Post — which those who know him say is a very bad idea.
“He always seemed to be on something,” says former friend Julio Ferrera, who says he lost touch with DiZefalo during the pandemic.
“And then he got mad skinny, like he wasn’t eating at all. 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.”
Dizefalo sported a face tattoo of a scythe and overgrown stubble for his initial appearance at Marin County Superior Court Wednesday, where he was officially charged with kidnapping.
He was due to enter a plea Friday, but after falling ill the matter was continued until Monday.
Dizefalo will be held in jail until that time. Separately an arrest warrant was issued for Sarah Atkins, the other person found in the van where Dizefalo was apparently living.
Despite a good start in life, coming from a middle-class family from El Cajon, California, and attending Foothills Christian High School, Dizefalo started taking narcotics in his teens and got worse from there, ex-pals claim.
Former classmate Cleo Madrigal told The Post there was a sudden change in Dizefalo between his junior and senior years of high school.
He was: “Very funny and very, very smart. He had a great sense of humor and was always up for anything fun — until he became a pothead.”
“Then he just cared about getting high,” says Madrigal.
“Always stoned, always broke. Always ‘can I borrow $15?’ He became a very different person than he had been before.”
DiZefalo had become dormant on social media for some time, but old accounts contain references to drugs, including a psychedelic YouTube video he posted in 2016 with the caption “I made this while I was high.”
After high school, DiZefalo took a series of odd jobs, including parking valet cars.
Friends were shocked to see DiZefalo during his first appearance on Wednesday, wearing a yellow prison jumpsuit and looking unkempt.
“He looks like hell,” says Ferrera.
“It’s really sad.”
The Post reached out to DiZefalo’s family members, but received no response.
“At some point they cut him off,” says Ferrera.
“That’s what he told people, that his family didn’t want him around unless he got clean.”
DiZefalo is being held on $50,000 bond.
His public defender’s office did not return The Post’s message for comment.
In an email to the media, Mint’s parents — Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake and Stewart, as well as stepdad and fellow tech founder Jyri Engeström — previously thanked authorities for bringing Mint home.
“A heartfelt thanks to all the family, friends, volunteers and strangers who called in tips and made this recovery possible,” the family wrote.
“We especially want to thank the seasoned law enforcement officers who understand the very real threat of predators who use the allure of drugs to groom teenagers.”
