A Winnipeg couple charged with killing and torturing cats allegedly used the “dark web” to sell videos of the female accused crushing small animals to death with her bare feet, a court heard Tuesday.
“These are not quick kills, some of these videos are at least five minutes long,” Crown attorney Sean Sass told provincial court Judge David Ireland at a bail hearing for Chad Kabecz. “They are staged, premeditated torturings that resulted in the deaths of very vulnerable animals. The court can only imagine the suffering these animals endured in their final minutes…. They are living things being killed for profit.”
Kabecz, 40, and Irene Lima, 55, were arrested last week after a tipster came upon a dark web chat group that promoted the videos and, after conducting her own investigation, contacted animal welfare authorities to report the people behind the videos may be from Winnipeg.
Winnipeg police began investigating in August and arrested the couple Oct. 9 after executing a search warrant at their Lord Roberts home, where they found 10 dead cats and one dead rabbit.
The dark web is not indexed by online search engines and can allow users to communicate anonymously.
“It is sheer luck that another user of the dark web saw what was happening, figured out through their own perusal of publicly available sources that the killings might be happening in Manitoba and reached out to the chief veterinary officer’s tip line,” Sass said.
Police allege Kabecz recorded and promoted the videos on which Lima, known on the dark web as “Goddess May,” crushed and killed small animals with her bare feet. Customers were allegedly required to submit their own “crush” videos before being allowed to buy the couple’s videos.
Court was told the two accused allegedly provided customers of “Premium Barefoot Crush” a price list menu of animals killed on video, including budgies, frogs, baby birds, lizards, hamsters, kittens and cats. The prices increased as the size of the animal got bigger.
“The allegations are very difficult to fathom. By the same token, everyone is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”– Defence lawyer Ethan Pollock
“Hosting my girlfriend’s feet adventures… she crushes absolutely everything barefoot,” read one message provided to court. “Who wants some?”
Another message referenced an earlier video in which “Goddess May” killed five kittens in front of their mother.
“As some of you know, May got injured in her last mom and kitten crush, so we didn’t get the crush of mom on video,” the message said. “However, we did capture a bit of video prior to May getting bit. As a thank you to all of our members, we are releasing that bit of footage and you can get a sneak peek of Goddess May. Let us know what you think.”
In another message, allegedly written by Kabecz, customers were told he and Lima had been dating for about a year and that Lima “has been crushing since she was a little girl and does it for her own satisfaction and pleasure.”
“She crushes barefoot because that is what she enjoys and it brings her extreme satisfaction to the point of orgasm without being touched,” the message said. “She is one in a million.”
The message “is kind of like reading a commercial,” Sass said, “which is extremely disturbing.”
Sass opposed Kabecz’s release on bail, arguing there are no conditions that could keep him from reoffending, if that was his intention.
Public warned to back off, let justice system handle case
Police have warned the public against “vigilante justice” after social media posts shared personal information about two people accused of killing cats, and led to incidents in their Lord Roberts housing complex.
On Friday, police announced Irene Lima, 55, and Chad Kabecz, 40, had been charged with animal cruelty after police found 10 cats and one rabbit, all dead, in a home. Investigators believe torture videos and photos were posted on the dark web.
Since the arrests, posts on social media have shared identifying information about the two accused. Property at the complex where the accused live has been destroyed.
On Tuesday, police urged the public to let the justice system handle the case.
“The unfortunate part here is that we have some people that have attended this block and caused some some damage,” Const. Claude Chancy said.
“The people in the in the block who are, of course, innocent bystanders here, are are very concerned about their own safety at this point.”
A Facebook group that called for “justice” for the cats appeared to have been taken down Tuesday.
No arrests have been made in relation to the backlash against the accused.
Chancy said it’s “uncommon” for police to make this kind of public plea but the public attention warranted it.
“If it develops into… other criminal acts or acts of vigilantism, then we need to speak up on that, let people know that that’s not OK and it’s not going to be tolerated.”
— Malak Abas
“He could go right back to what he was doing,” Sass said. “We aren’t dealing with some unsophisticated (accused)… this is someone who knows how to use the technology and is determined enough to remain hidden.”
Defence lawyer Ethan Pollock said Kabecz, a longtime Manitoba Hydro employee with no criminal record, could be safely released to the community under strict conditions that require he live with a family member outside of the city, and have no access to the internet or animals.
“The allegations are very difficult to fathom,” Pollock said. “By the same token, everyone is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. My client is not to be assessed guilty or innocent at bail. This is essentially a risk assessment.”
Pollock described Kabecz as “very capable,intelligent and hardworking.”
“This isn’t a situation where Mr. Kabecz is couch surfing and battling addictions,” Pollock said. “This is a very sophisticated and talented person.”
Ireland agreed to release Kabecz on the recommended conditions, including a $50,000 surety and $20,000 cash bail, saying he was satisfied the bail plan would protect the community from harm.
“The public is going to be appalled… but my job here isn’t to determine if he is guilty or innocent, but if he is a manageable risk,” Ireland said.
Court was told Lima has not applied for bail and remains in custody.
dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca
Dean Pritchard
Courts reporter
Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean.
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