Toronto: Matt Caught in "Kensington Cat Case"

misanthropy · 03-11-2003, 10:02 AM

(Herbi, I know it's a cross-post as I posted this in Current Events, but I thought it was appropriate here as well. If not, I apologize and you can delete it).

Matt Caught in "Kensington Cat Case"!

THANKS TO KATIE WOODWORD!! Go to the "Find Matt Campaign" http://www.findmatt.org/

*** BAIL HEARING *** for Matt Kaczorowski Wed. March 12, 2003, at 9 a.m. at Old City Hall (NE corner of Queen and Bay), Room 101. Please attend.

Note: I exhibited a photo series of images from a protest and rally outside the sentencing hearing of the two others involved in this case. The link can be found in this thread. The thread gives a little history on this case too.
_____________________________________________

March 11, 2003

Cops finally get their Matt. Long-sought suspect in torture slaying of cat nabbed in Vancouver

By MIKE STROBEL -- Toronto Sun

The man atop every animal lover's Most Wanted list is behind bars.

The elusive "Matt," accused co-star of an infamous cat-torture video, was bagged in Vancouver over the weekend. He had a cat and a dog, apparently unharmed, at his home when the cops showed up. And tiny Katie Woodward, who hunted him for a year, is over the moon.

"I started crying, then I started laughing. I'm still having a hard time believing it," she tells me from her home in Haliburton.

You will remember "Matt." He appeared in the videotaped torture and slaying of a female cat called Kensington in a Bathurst St. rooming house.

Anthony Wennekers, 25, and Jesse Power, 22, were sentenced a year ago to time served and 90 days respectively. Heavy time, eh? Power claimed the video was an art project. The Crown's appeal of his sentence is set for May. Meanwhile, "Matt" vanished.

But he was not forgotten. Katie launched the Find Matt Campaign, with a Web site, http://www.findmatt.org. And she kept the fire burning. So did Toronto police detectives Gordon Scott and John Margetson, of 14 Division.

"I'd like to end the chapter," Scott once told me. "I'd like to catch that man -- even though it means I'd have to watch that video again."

On the weekend, the two cops went to Vancouver and arrested Matthew Kaczorowski, 21. He faces mischief charges (animal cruelty charges have a six-month limit) and returns to Toronto for a bail hearing at Old City Hall tomorrow.

Katie Woodward will be there. "With bells on," she says. "I've seen his face in pictures and in dreams. I want to stand in front of him and look him right in the eye."

Katie's Web site was key. The Vancouver SPCA called it up after hearing Katie on radio three weeks ago. (CKNW picked up the story after Sun colleague Mark Bonokoski and I did columns on the case last year.)

On the site, an SPCA officer recognized a Vancouver street kid. The cops there called Scott and Margetson, who soon were on their way to the airport. And Gord Scott will have to watch that awful video again.

I have seen it, too. Once. Once too often. You see some things in this business, but I've seen few things as unsettling. It lasts 17 minutes. Wennekers hangs Kensington with a phone cord.

"This is good stuff, man," says "Matt." "Beautiful, man." Then he hacks off the cat's ear. This after Wennekers and Power stab and kick the poor, mewling creature as it strangles. They skin it alive, gouge out an eye.

Kensington takes forever to die. Her body was later found in a fridge.

Katie watched the video in court. She cried, then she went on the hunt for "Matt." She has been tireless. She has hounded media and businesses for help all year.

"Forget it, it's just a cat," lots of people told her. "But I've got cats of my own," she says, "and I just couldn't give up. Not even if it had gone on for five years."

Tiny but sturdy. I don't doubt it. Katie is all of 5-foot-3, 110 pounds, but has a set to her jaw that belies her size.

Det. Scott calls the arrest a great example of cops, humane societies and the community combining forces. Funny, but Scott once told me he had a hunch "Matt" had gone west, perhaps to Banff or Vancouver.

All that was known was "Matt" had been a squeegee kid in Toronto about the time Kensington was killed. On its site, Crime Stoppers kept a video frame of "Matt" in his black, hooded sweatshirt with "Legalize Murder" on its back.

The Toronto Humane Society offered a $10,000 reward.

For "Matt," justice was just a matter of time. Especially with Katie Woodward on his trail.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mike Strobel can be reached at 416-947-2265 or by e-mail at mike.strobel@tor.sunpub.com.

Letters to the editor should be sent to editor@sunpub.com.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

herbi · 03-11-2003, 02:38 PM

I am really glad they caught this sick #@#(*$@^@(#*^!!! It's nice that so many people came together to track him down, too. Unfortunate that such outrageous sadism should be relegated to the territory of "mischief" and have a 6-mo. maximum penalty though.

(And no worries about the cross-post! Definitely relevant in my book!)

misanthropy · 03-11-2003, 08:48 PM

Did you know that the judge in the case of the other two guys actually said something along the lines of "there are worse ways that cat could have died?". The community here was horrified.

It makes me so angry and sad...

Lacykitten · 03-11-2003, 08:56 PM

I think one of my favorite parts was that she's this little tiny person...

It made me smile.. I'm 5'2" and most of the heroes and heroines aren't teeny tiny people.. like on TV shows of any genre.. they're usually average to tall.. at least the women.

When I first read this, after giving thanks that this horrible waste of the breath of life was caught, was

*tears in eyes* "Yet more proof that even the smallest of creatures can make a difference in the world."

herbi · 03-11-2003, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lacykitten
I think one of my favorite parts was that she's this little tiny person...

It's them tiny chicks ya gotta watch out for!

My best friend is about 4 feet 11 inches of concentrated nitroglycerine...

jenbizagogo · 03-11-2003, 09:40 PM

Hey Ida,

Is Kensington's story getting a lot of publicity in Canada? I know here in Chicago, these types of things rarely get media attention. I think it might be a good idea if we could all write a letter to the newspaper, with the email links you provided at the end of your original post...stating our outrage of these kids' (well, technically, they're not kids, but...) actions, and pointing out the connection between younger animal abusers growing up to be adult abusers/murders/etc. Maybe if they get a good response, they may print something about the public outcry, and let it be know that the penalty these three received wasn't enough. I'm a big fan of letter writing campaigns...Just a thought...

Spaceman · 03-11-2003, 10:09 PM

I am so glad this guy was found. I hope he likes his new house mates.

misanthropy · 03-12-2003, 10:14 AM

Jen,

Kensington's story got a lot of publicity locally (don't know about nationally) when they first found the video (approx. 2 years ago)... then during the sentencing hearing of the other two (1 year ago) and only just now because they finally found Matt. The media has already covered the sentences of the other two last year when they were sentenced.

The local media is decent (could be better) about presenting animal cruelty cases at first (mainly severe cases) but what sort of ticks me off is that the general public forgets... or doesn't care after awhile. They don't follow up on their "outrage".

But on the flip side, http://www.anticruelty.ca has been active in campaigning for stricter laws. So people are "on the case", but we can only hope that they change the laws soon. There is a (small) public outcry but I'm not sure how much coverage this will get this time around.

So there are letter writing campaigns in place. I know I've written my fair share of them in the past year. Keep your fingers crossed.

-- Ida

P.S. Lacy, I'm little too! Only 5'2" tall.

Rosemary · 03-12-2003, 12:18 PM

Thanks is due not only to Katie but also the many other activists and concerned citizens locally and internationally, and the police, for their work in tracking down "Matt".

In particular, I would like to acknowledge the tireless dedication of

Suzanne Lahaie

, of Freedom for Animals (http://freeanimals.org/) and the Kensington Market Cat Rescue, who has spent huge amounts of time raising awareness through protests and postering, investigating leads (she lives in the neighbourhood where the crime took place) and giving information to the police, and whose determination has persisted despite receiving various anonymous threats, presumably from friends of the cat torturers (or maybe the torturers themselves) who live in her neighbourhood.

PS: Suzanne is also petite.

misanthropy · 03-12-2003, 12:37 PM

Yes, definitely Rosemary. So many others were involved to help this all come together.

I just hope that one day justice will be served, not only for Kensington, but for all animals.

jenbizagogo · 03-12-2003, 02:29 PM

Thanks for all the info, Ida! I'm glad to hear that there have been active campaigns going on

And that the media is at least giving it some coverage locally. I actually just heard about Kensington's story for the first time a few weeks ago. Breaks my heart

Anyway, I'm glad they finally found this Matt guy.Thanks for keeping us informed!

P.S. I'm only 5'2" as well

Rosemary · 03-12-2003, 05:28 PM

He'll be in court again on Friday.

misanthropy · 03-12-2003, 06:10 PM

Rosemary, thanks for the update.

Rosemary · 03-13-2003, 11:48 AM

Freedom for Animals is planning another memorial for "Kensington" outside the courtroom on Friday, March 14, 9 am, Old City Hall (NE corner, Queen and Bay).

herbi · 03-13-2003, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rosemary
another memorial for "Kensington"

This is a bit off the main topic, and is *NOT* any kind of negative commentary directed at you, Rosemary (thanks much for the updates, btw!), but...

Why do people feel the need to put the names of animals in quotation marks like that??? I have done it myself, falling victim to the prevailing practice at the shelter, but it annoys me to no end! It always feels to me like an attempt to distance onesself (again, NOT applying this to you R, just in general) from the appearance of anthropomorphizing the animal in question. Like the subtext is, "I know animals can't have names, ha ha ha, but humor me here and call her "Fluffy" (makes quote marks in air with fingers, rolls eyes scornfully)." I mean, we would never put quotes around a person's name! Why can't they have a real name and not just a "name"? The only pro-animal take on it I can think of would be if you had the T.S Eliot sort of idea that she already has her own cat-language name that we don't know, so we're calling her "Snowball" in the meantime... but that's a bit corny.

So-- any thoughts on this? (If there are many, I will split this into a new thread. If nobody cares ("Gee that Herbi sure is nuts!

) then I'll just leave it tucked away here...

03-11-2003, 10:02 AM	#1
misanthropy meow! Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Toronto, Ontario (Canada) Posts: 3,238	Toronto: Matt Caught in "Kensington Cat Case" (Herbi, I know it's a cross-post as I posted this in Current Events, but I thought it was appropriate here as well. If not, I apologize and you can delete it). Matt Caught in "Kensington Cat Case"! THANKS TO KATIE WOODWORD!! Go to the "Find Matt Campaign" http://www.findmatt.org/ * BAIL HEARING * for Matt Kaczorowski Wed. March 12, 2003, at 9 a.m. at Old City Hall (NE corner of Queen and Bay), Room 101. Please attend. Note: I exhibited a photo series of images from a protest and rally outside the sentencing hearing of the two others involved in this case. The link can be found in this thread. The thread gives a little history on this case too. _____________________________________________ March 11, 2003 Cops finally get their Matt. Long-sought suspect in torture slaying of cat nabbed in Vancouver By MIKE STROBEL -- Toronto Sun The man atop every animal lover's Most Wanted list is behind bars. The elusive "Matt," accused co-star of an infamous cat-torture video, was bagged in Vancouver over the weekend. He had a cat and a dog, apparently unharmed, at his home when the cops showed up. And tiny Katie Woodward, who hunted him for a year, is over the moon. "I started crying, then I started laughing. I'm still having a hard time believing it," she tells me from her home in Haliburton. You will remember "Matt." He appeared in the videotaped torture and slaying of a female cat called Kensington in a Bathurst St. rooming house. Anthony Wennekers, 25, and Jesse Power, 22, were sentenced a year ago to time served and 90 days respectively. Heavy time, eh? Power claimed the video was an art project. The Crown's appeal of his sentence is set for May. Meanwhile, "Matt" vanished. But he was not forgotten. Katie launched the Find Matt Campaign, with a Web site, http://www.findmatt.org. And she kept the fire burning. So did Toronto police detectives Gordon Scott and John Margetson, of 14 Division. "I'd like to end the chapter," Scott once told me. "I'd like to catch that man -- even though it means I'd have to watch that video again." On the weekend, the two cops went to Vancouver and arrested Matthew Kaczorowski, 21. He faces mischief charges (animal cruelty charges have a six-month limit) and returns to Toronto for a bail hearing at Old City Hall tomorrow. Katie Woodward will be there. "With bells on," she says. "I've seen his face in pictures and in dreams. I want to stand in front of him and look him right in the eye." Katie's Web site was key. The Vancouver SPCA called it up after hearing Katie on radio three weeks ago. (CKNW picked up the story after Sun colleague Mark Bonokoski and I did columns on the case last year.) On the site, an SPCA officer recognized a Vancouver street kid. The cops there called Scott and Margetson, who soon were on their way to the airport. And Gord Scott will have to watch that awful video again. I have seen it, too. Once. Once too often. You see some things in this business, but I've seen few things as unsettling. It lasts 17 minutes. Wennekers hangs Kensington with a phone cord. "This is good stuff, man," says "Matt." "Beautiful, man." Then he hacks off the cat's ear. This after Wennekers and Power stab and kick the poor, mewling creature as it strangles. They skin it alive, gouge out an eye. Kensington takes forever to die. Her body was later found in a fridge. Katie watched the video in court. She cried, then she went on the hunt for "Matt." She has been tireless. She has hounded media and businesses for help all year. "Forget it, it's just a cat," lots of people told her. "But I've got cats of my own," she says, "and I just couldn't give up. Not even if it had gone on for five years." Tiny but sturdy. I don't doubt it. Katie is all of 5-foot-3, 110 pounds, but has a set to her jaw that belies her size. Det. Scott calls the arrest a great example of cops, humane societies and the community combining forces. Funny, but Scott once told me he had a hunch "Matt" had gone west, perhaps to Banff or Vancouver. All that was known was "Matt" had been a squeegee kid in Toronto about the time Kensington was killed. On its site, Crime Stoppers kept a video frame of "Matt" in his black, hooded sweatshirt with "Legalize Murder" on its back. The Toronto Humane Society offered a $10,000 reward. For "Matt," justice was just a matter of time. Especially with Katie Woodward on his trail. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mike Strobel can be reached at 416-947-2265 or by e-mail at mike.strobel@tor.sunpub.com. Letters to the editor should be sent to editor@sunpub.com. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Last edited by misanthropy; 03-11-2003 at 01:30 PM.

03-11-2003, 08:56 PM	#4
Lacykitten Back on the Wagon Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Calgary, Alberta Posts: 1,664	I think one of my favorite parts was that she's this little tiny person... It made me smile.. I'm 5'2" and most of the heroes and heroines aren't teeny tiny people.. like on TV shows of any genre.. they're usually average to tall.. at least the women. When I first read this, after giving thanks that this horrible waste of the breath of life was caught, was tears in eyes "Yet more proof that even the smallest of creatures can make a difference in the world." __________________ "There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." - Elie Wiesel

03-12-2003, 12:18 PM	#9
Rosemary Soft-hearted fool Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Toronto Posts: 625	Credit where credit is due Thanks is due not only to Katie but also the many other activists and concerned citizens locally and internationally, and the police, for their work in tracking down "Matt". In particular, I would like to acknowledge the tireless dedication of Suzanne Lahaie , of Freedom for Animals (http://freeanimals.org/) and the Kensington Market Cat Rescue, who has spent huge amounts of time raising awareness through protests and postering, investigating leads (she lives in the neighbourhood where the crime took place) and giving information to the police, and whose determination has persisted despite receiving various anonymous threats, presumably from friends of the cat torturers (or maybe the torturers themselves) who live in her neighbourhood. PS: Suzanne is also petite.

03-12-2003, 05:28 PM	#12
Rosemary Soft-hearted fool Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Toronto Posts: 625	Kaczorowski has been denied bail He'll be in court again on Friday.

03-13-2003, 11:48 AM	#14
Rosemary Soft-hearted fool Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Toronto Posts: 625	Memorial Freedom for Animals is planning another memorial for "Kensington" outside the courtroom on Friday, March 14, 9 am, Old City Hall (NE corner, Queen and Bay).

03-11-2003, 02:38 PM	#2
herbi Reprazents Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA Posts: 5,030	I am really glad they caught this sick #@#($@^@(#^!!! It's nice that so many people came together to track him down, too. Unfortunate that such outrageous sadism should be relegated to the territory of "mischief" and have a 6-mo. maximum penalty though. (And no worries about the cross-post! Definitely relevant in my book!)

03-11-2003, 08:48 PM	#3
misanthropy meow! Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Toronto, Ontario (Canada) Posts: 3,238	Did you know that the judge in the case of the other two guys actually said something along the lines of "there are worse ways that cat could have died?". The community here was horrified. It makes me so angry and sad...

03-11-2003, 09:40 PM	#6
jenbizagogo Reprazents Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Chi-town Posts: 1,303	Hey Ida, Is Kensington's story getting a lot of publicity in Canada? I know here in Chicago, these types of things rarely get media attention. I think it might be a good idea if we could all write a letter to the newspaper, with the email links you provided at the end of your original post...stating our outrage of these kids' (well, technically, they're not kids, but...) actions, and pointing out the connection between younger animal abusers growing up to be adult abusers/murders/etc. Maybe if they get a good response, they may print something about the public outcry, and let it be know that the penalty these three received wasn't enough. I'm a big fan of letter writing campaigns...Just a thought...

03-11-2003, 10:09 PM	#7
Spaceman Floating in space. Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Churchville, NY, Earth. (near Rochester) Posts: 455	I am so glad this guy was found. I hope he likes his new house mates.

03-12-2003, 10:14 AM	#8
misanthropy meow! Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Toronto, Ontario (Canada) Posts: 3,238	Jen, Kensington's story got a lot of publicity locally (don't know about nationally) when they first found the video (approx. 2 years ago)... then during the sentencing hearing of the other two (1 year ago) and only just now because they finally found Matt. The media has already covered the sentences of the other two last year when they were sentenced. The local media is decent (could be better) about presenting animal cruelty cases at first (mainly severe cases) but what sort of ticks me off is that the general public forgets... or doesn't care after awhile. They don't follow up on their "outrage". But on the flip side, http://www.anticruelty.ca has been active in campaigning for stricter laws. So people are "on the case", but we can only hope that they change the laws soon. There is a (small) public outcry but I'm not sure how much coverage this will get this time around. So there are letter writing campaigns in place. I know I've written my fair share of them in the past year. Keep your fingers crossed. -- Ida P.S. Lacy, I'm little too! Only 5'2" tall.

03-12-2003, 12:37 PM	#10
misanthropy meow! Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Toronto, Ontario (Canada) Posts: 3,238	Yes, definitely Rosemary. So many others were involved to help this all come together. I just hope that one day justice will be served, not only for Kensington, but for all animals.

03-12-2003, 02:29 PM	#11
jenbizagogo Reprazents Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Chi-town Posts: 1,303	Thanks for all the info, Ida! I'm glad to hear that there have been active campaigns going on And that the media is at least giving it some coverage locally. I actually just heard about Kensington's story for the first time a few weeks ago. Breaks my heart Anyway, I'm glad they finally found this Matt guy.Thanks for keeping us informed! P.S. I'm only 5'2" as well

03-12-2003, 06:10 PM	#13
misanthropy meow! Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Toronto, Ontario (Canada) Posts: 3,238	Rosemary, thanks for the update.

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