'Stark Horror'
Courtroom stunned after seeing graphic video of cat being tortured to death
By Philip Lee-Shanok
Originally published in the Toronto Sun, March 29, 2002
A 17-minute video of a cat being disemboweled with knives and dental tools drew gasps as it was played in a courtroom yesterday during a sentencing hearing for two men who admitted torturing the pet to death.
Anthony Ryan Wennekers, 24, and Jessie Champlain Powers, 22, have pleaded guilty to mischief and cruelty to animals. A third man who appears in the video remains at large.
About a hundred members of the public, many of whom brought their pets and held animal rights placards outside Old City Hall courthouse, attended the sentencing hearing.
'IT'S DISTURBING'
Crown prosecutor Robin Flumerfelt repeatedly warned the public gallery about the graphic nature of the video and cautioned them against making outbursts.
"It may make you uncomfortable to see it. That's no reason why it shouldn't be shown in open court," Flumerfelt said. "It's disturbing, but it's in the public interest."
Some looked away and plugged their ears as the cat, hanging by the neck from a cord, mews as it writhes to get free.
Powers is shown trying to cut the cat's neck with a straight-edge razor, while Wennekers and the third man repeatedly stab the tabby with knives.
"It's still alive," one of the assailants is heard to say during a pause in the onslaught.
They continue to beat the hanging cat until it appears to go limp.
The skinned and headless carcass of the cat was later found hanging in a fridge by police.
A number of gallery members abruptly left the courtroom during the video, while others openly cried.
Flumerfelt said the "stark horror" of the crime was beyond other violent acts.
"It was not just an offence marked by cruelty. Cruelty was their motive," he said, asking for a 2 1/2-year jail term for the pair.
"What these men lack is an appreciation of the wrongfulness of their act. They enjoyed it and bragged about it," he said. "So excited were they at the thought of causing agony that they videotaped it so they could watch it again and again."
Powers, who was released last summer on $20,000 bail and has no prior criminal record, was accompanied to court by his parents.
His lawyer, Andrea Tuck-Jackson, asked for either a jail sentence of no longer than 90 days served on weekends or a 12-18 month conditional sentence with community service but no jail time.
Tuck-Jackson said Powers was a vegan—a person who does not eat or use animal products—who wanted to kill the cat quickly and eat it as an artistic statement.
"He did not engage in gratuitous violence. He just slits the cat's throat and holds it by its tail so it can bleed," she said.
'EXTREME ACT'
"He did not intend to participate in cruelty. He wanted to challenge those who choose to eat meat and became involved in an extreme act to make a point," she said.
An earlier video project done by Powers of a chicken being decapitated earned him an A grade at the Ontario College of Art and Design, she said. Powers also made a video called "Dead Animal Disco" in which he used a dead fox, muskrat and a skinned orangutan carcass from the Royal Ontario Museum and makes them dance to music.
Tuck-Jackson said Powers had suffered shame and embarrassment, especially among his college classmates, who have nicknamed him "Jesse Dalmer" after the serial killer.
Unlike Powers, Wennekers has been in custody awaiting sentencing for 10 months, said his lawyer Andrew Czernik.
Judge Edward Ormston will hear Czernik's arguments on Tuesday before he sentences the pair.
